1986Final results
1986 election for Michigan Governor
Governor · Michigan
James J. Blanchard (D) won with 68.4% of the vote, defeating William Lucas (R) by 36.8 points.
James J. BlanchardDemocrat · winner
68.4%1,632,138
William LucasRepublican
31.6%753,647
2,385,785 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 1986
Races before and after
Source: Algara, Carlos; Amlani, Sharif (Harvard Dataverse)Updated Oct 5, 2026, 12:23 AM ET