1978Final results
1978 election for Nebraska Governor
Governor · Nebraska
Charles Thone (R) won with 56.0% of the vote, defeating Gerald T. Whelan (D) by 11.9 points.
Charles ThoneRepublican · winner
56.0%275,473
Gerald T. WhelanDemocrat
44.0%216,754
492,227 votes
Source: Algara, Carlos; Amlani, Sharif (Harvard Dataverse)Updated Oct 5, 2026, 12:23 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1978
Races before and after
Source: Algara, Carlos; Amlani, Sharif (Harvard Dataverse)Updated Oct 5, 2026, 12:23 AM ET