Governor News & Analysis
Alaska. Open; Bill Walker (I), not seeking re-election. Independent Gov. Bill Walker dropped his re-election bid, boosting the prospects of former Democratic Sen. Mark Begich. The two men were at risk of dividing Democratic and left-of-center voters, which would have allowed Republican Mike Dunleavy to win with less than 50…
Weather metaphors are often used (and overused) in election analysis, but there’s a better way to describe the Republicans’ challenge in 2018. The GOP is dealing with many headaches as it tries to preserve the Republican congressional majorities.
From tension to cluster to migraine, they can vary in frequency and…
By Nathan L. Gonzales and Leah Askarinam
With less than a month before Nov. 6, the fundamentals of these midterm elections are set and broadly good news for Democrats. But with dozens of close races around the country, a shift of just a couple points across the board is the…
Arizona. Doug Ducey (R), elected 2014 (53%). The governor and his GOP allies are enjoying a tremendous spending advantage on television in the final weeks of the campaign — $13 million to $500,000. It’s tough to see how Democrat David Garcia is going to overcome that dynamic in a state…
As teacher protests in West Virginia, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Kentucky fade from the national spotlight, education continues to shine as a campaign issue as a handful of candidates bring academic credentials to high-profile elections.
Because education is largely considered a state issue, the fallout from teacher strikes throughout the country…
By now it should be clear that the fights for the House and Senate majorities are being played out on two politically different maps. But the race to collect governorships is being fought on yet another battleground.
Democrats need to defend and win GOP-leaning states in order to take back…
ALABAMA. Kay Ivey (R), assumed governorship April 2017. *Redistricting role. Ivey, the first female governor of Alabama since the late 1960s, ascended to the office when GOP Gov. Richard Bentley resigned in disgrace, so she hasn’t been elected in her own right. But Ivey won the June Republican primary outright…
IOWA. Kim Reynolds (R) ascended to office May 2017. *Redistricting role. Reynolds, a former state senator and lieutenant governor, is running for a full term after taking office last year when Gov. Terry Branstad became President Trump’s ambassador to China. She ran unopposed in the GOP primary, while wealthy businessman…
NEW YORK. Andrew Cuomo (D) elected 2010 (63%), 2014 (54%). Sept. 13 primary. *Redistricting role. Actress Cynthia Nixon’s primary challenge to Cuomo has received plenty of national attention, but public polling still shows her distinctly behind with less than two weeks to go. Law professor Zephyr Teachout challenged the governor…
Despite the breathless analysis in the run up to California’s Top Two primary, Democrats successfully navigated complicated races and have a nominee in each of their targeted House races.
Getting locked out of the general election by not finishing in the top two would have been a disappointment and an…