Virginia gubernatorial election, 1989

Virginia gubernatorial election, 1989

← 1985 November 7, 1989 1993 →
Turnout	66.5% (voting eligible)
Candidate Douglas Wilder Marshall Coleman Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 897,139 890,285 Percentage 50.14% 49.75%
Virginia gubernatorial election results map. Blue denotes counties/districts won by Wilder. Red denotes those won by Coleman.
Governor before election Jerry Baliles Democratic Elected Governor Douglas Wilder Democratic

Jerry Baliles
Democratic

Douglas Wilder
Democratic

Incumbent Democratic Governor Jerry Baliles was unable to seek a second term due to term limits. Democratic nominee and Lieutenant Governor L. Douglas Wilder went against former Attorney General of Virginia J. Marshall Coleman in one of the closest elections in Virginia history. Upon taking the oath of office in January 1990, Governor Wilder became the first African-American governor of Virginia, and the first African-American governor of any state since Reconstruction more than one hundred years earlier.