Republicans Poised to Make Gains in Races for Governor

From The New York Times:

Republicans are well-positioned to pick up a substantial number of governor’s seats in this year’s election, with potentially far-reaching effects on issues like the new health care law, Congressional redistricting and presidential politics.

Democrats hold 26 governorships, and Republicans 24. But the balance appears likely to shift, perhaps markedly, with Republicans holding the upper hand in many of this year’s 37 races, including those in crucial political battlegrounds.

In Iowa, Michigan and Pennsylvania — all states that have Democratic governors — Republicans have pulled away from their opponents. The Republican Party is also increasing its investment in Democratic-leaning states like Illinois, Massachusetts and Oregon, seeing opportunities for pickups there as well.

Democrats are in tough fights in Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin, hoping to block a Republican sweep of the Midwest. And they are intensifying efforts in California, Florida and Georgia, all tossup races in states that have Republican governors.

Much of the focus has been on Republican efforts to win control of Congress, but a wave of Republican victories in the governor’s races could have just as significant, and potentially longer lasting, implications.

Many of the governors who are in office over the next two years will preside over the redrawing of Congressional and legislative districts based on the 2010 census, giving them considerable influence over the political map for the next decade. In at least 36 states, governors have a say in how Congressional districts will be redrawn. And governors in at least 39 states have a role in shaping state legislative maps.

Having Republicans in office in big battleground states could also complicate President Obama’s re-election campaign, which could find it that much harder to hang on to crucial swing states like Ohio and Pennsylvania. And Republican governors would be a force in how Obama administration initiatives in health care, education, economic stimulus and other issues are installed on the state level, intensifying partisan policy battles.

In state after state, Republican candidates are criticizing the health care law and the stimulus plan, even as they grapple with spending cuts, overburdened pension systems and unemployment. The anxieties are being translated into a broader feeling from voters: a call for change not only in Washington but also in state capitals.

The answer to that demand in several states, Democrats say, is a Democrat, not a Republican.