Governor News & Analysis

Gubernatorial Report Shorts (October 17, 2014)

by Nathan L. Gonzales October 17, 2014 · 3:28 PM EDT

Alaska Governor. GOP Gov. Sean Parnell continues to be in a very close race for re-election. He faces Independent Bill Walker, who ran in the Republican primary four years ago, but has been embraced by the Democratic Party after their nominee dropped out to run on the ticket as…

Three Election Trends That Could End in 2014

by Stuart Rothenberg October 7, 2014 · 10:20 AM EDT

I’m not certain how long a trend has to exist before it earns the status of an immutable political “law,” but three longtime truths are threatened this election cycle. Will all of them fall in November?

Trend #1: One party holds the Pennsylvania governorship for eight years and…

Volatility Reigns in Gubernatorial Contests

by Nathan L. Gonzales October 3, 2014 · 2:28 PM EDT

The fight for the Senate has narrowed to a handful of states, while the fight for the House isn’t much of one at all. But the most volatility in this election cycle appears to be in the races for governor.

Republican governors in Red states such as Sam…

The Election Results Don’t Matter

by Nathan L. Gonzales September 24, 2014 · 4:59 PM EDT

What happens in this year’s midterm elections doesn’t matter. What elected officials and party strategists think happened, will carry far more weight into the next Congress and the 2016 elections.

What if Republicans win control of the Senate and expand their majority in the House?

It will…

The Republican Brand’s Recovery Tour — Sort Of

by Stuart Rothenberg September 17, 2014 · 11:19 AM EDT

There was a time, a little less than a year ago, when Democrats salivated at the thought of running against the GOP brand and demonizing Republican candidates by attacking them and their party for “shutting down the government.”

But the Republican brand has largely recovered from its low…

Democratic Hopes Shine Brighter in Gubernatorial Races

by Nathan L. Gonzales September 12, 2014 · 4:28 PM EDT

Some of the best news of the election cycle for Democrats continues to be in gubernatorial races.

With the Senate majority in a precarious position and trying to stem further losses in the House, Democrats have the opportunity to capture a handful of governorships, including big states such…

Gubernatorial Report Shorts (August 15, 2014)

by Nathan L. Gonzales August 15, 2014 · 3:01 PM EDT

Connecticut Governor. Former Ambassador Tom Foley won the GOP nomination, 56 percent to 44 percent, against state Senate Minority Leader John McKinney on Tuesday. Foley will now face Gov. Dan Malloy (D) in the general election in a rematch of 2010, which was decided by less than 1 percent…

New Poll Numbers Reinforce Bush-Obama Comparisons

by Stuart Rothenberg August 7, 2014 · 9:31 AM EDT

My last column, which argued President Barack Obama’s situation going into his second midterm closely resembled President George W. Bush’s standing going into his second midterm, is reinforced in a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.

When I filed the column on Monday, I used the…

President George W. Obama Meets the Midterms

by Stuart Rothenberg August 7, 2014 · 9:30 AM EDT

I certainly didn’t know foreign policy would be front and center in the final months before the midterm elections when I wrote in late April that these issues “could have an indirect yet significant impact on the midterm elections.”

But now, it looks increasingly as if foreign…

Instead of Waves, Dems Looking to Make a Splash in Big Gubernatorial Races

by Nathan L. Gonzales August 1, 2014 · 3:03 PM EDT

Democrats are looking at a very rough cycle in the House and a potentially disastrous outcome in the Senate, but gubernatorial races might offer some rare bright spots on Election Night.

Unlike the Senate playing field, Democrats have a large number of offensive opportunities in gubernatorial races, including…