Incumbent Doug Ducey (R) defeated professor David Garcia (D) and Angel Torres (G) in the general election on November 6, 2018, for governor of Arizona.

Ducey was first elected in 2014 by a margin of 12 percentage points. Of the ten preceding gubernatorial elections, a Republican candidate won six—including Ducey's victory in 2014—and a Democratic candidate won four. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) carried the state by a margin of 4 percentage points. As of November 2018, three race rating outlets rated the race Likely Republican.

Ducey's victory preserved the state's Republican trifecta. At the time of the 2018 election, Arizona had been a Republican trifecta since Gov. Jan Brewer (R) took office in 2009.

Arizona was one of 36 states that held an election for governor in 2018. Democrats gained seven previously Republican-held seats, and Republicans gained one previously independent-held seat. Heading into the 2018 elections, there were 16 Democratic governors, 33 Republican governors, and one independent governor. In 2018, 26 of the 33 states with a Republican governor held a gubernatorial election, while nine out of the 16 states with a Democratic governor held a gubernatorial election. Seventeen of the 36 seats up for election were open seats (four Democratic, 12 Republican, and one independent), meaning that the sitting governor was not seeking re-election.

Polls

Governor of Arizona, 2018

Governor of Arizona, 2018

Race ratings

The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, and Sabato's Crystal Ball. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage. Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.

Race ratings: Arizona gubernatorial election, 2018

Election history

2014

Governor of Arizona, 2014

Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Doug Ducey	53.4%	805,062
	Democratic	Fred DuVal	41.6%	626,921
	Libertarian	Barry J. Hess	3.8%	57,337
	Americans Elect	J.L. Mealer	1%	15,432
	Nonpartisan	Write-ins	0.1%	1,664
Total Votes			1,506,416
Election results via Arizona Secretary of State

2010

On November 2, 2010, Jan Brewer won re-election to the office of Governor of Arizona. She defeated Terry Goddard (D), Barry J. Hess (LBT), Larry Gist (Green) and various write-in challengers in the general election.

Governor of Arizona, 2010

Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Jan Brewer Incumbent	54.3%	938,934
	Democratic	Terry Goddard	42.4%	733,935
	Libertarian	Barry J. Hess	2.2%	38,722
	Green	Larry Gist	0.9%	16,128
	N/A	Write-ins	0.1%	2,017
Total Votes			1,729,736
Election results via Arizona Secretary of State.

2006

On November 7, 2006, Janet Napolitano won re-election to the office of Governor of Arizona. He defeated Len Munsil (R), Barry J. Hess (LBT) and various write-in challengers in the general election.

Governor of Arizona, 2006

Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Janet Napolitano Incumbent	62.6%	959,830
	Republican	Len Munsil	35.4%	543,528
	Libertarian	Barry J. Hess	2%	30,268
	N/A	Write-ins	0%	19
Total Votes			1,533,645
Election results via Arizona Secretary of State.

2002

On November 5, 2002, Janet Napolitano won election to the office of Governor of Arizona. He defeated Matt Salmon (R), Barry Hess (LBT), Richard Mahoney (I), and various write-in challengers in the general election.

Governor of Arizona, 2002

Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Janet Napolitano	46.6%	566,284
	Republican	Matt Salmon	44.8%	544,465
	Libertarian	Barry Hess	7%	84,947
	Independent	Richard Mahoney	1.7%	20,356
	N/A	Write-ins	0%	59
Total Votes			1,216,111
Election results via Arizona Secretary of State.

Demographics

Demographic data for Arizona

As of July 2016, Arizona's three largest cities were Phoenix (pop. est. 1,626,078), Tucson (pop. est. 535,677), and Mesa (pop. est. 496,401).