Getting the Dream Team on the Ballot: The Legality of Bipartisan Gubernatorial Tickets

In the mid-twentieth century, states began amending their constitutions to integrate their gubernatorial and lieutenantgubernatorial elections, creating a method of gubernatorial elections that frequently mirrored the presidential system. In the decades following these changes to state constitutions, there have frequently been pushes, both at the national and state level, for Democrats and Republicans to put aside their differences and to run together on a single ticket—a “dream team” of moderates who can transcend typical party politics and aspire to something greater. While pushes for a bipartisan ticket have not panned out in presidential elections, they have seen greater success at the state level. But the legality of bipartisan gubernatorial tickets remains far from clear. State statutes are often ambiguous on the question, no state court decisions have provided any significant guidance, and norms and practices have pointed in different directions. It is in light of this widespread ambiguity that this Article seeks to clarify the matter. It comprehensively reviews the legality of bipartisan gubernatorial tickets in every state with team-ticket gubernatorial elections, classifying states based on the legal feasibility of such a candidacy wherever possible—as a function of both major- and minor-party nomination or through an independent candidacy. Ultimately, it argues that states should allow bipartisan gubernatorial tickets only when the voters of a party are able to endorse the change