by Pamela M. Prah, Stateline.org Staff Writer
While much of the media are focused on this year’s presidential election, races with equal or even greater power to impact folks’ everyday lives will be decided at the state level, with 11 governors’ contests headlining the year.
“One heck of a race, quite possibly the best in the nation,” is what University of Virginia political expert Larry Sabato calls the 2008 contest in Washington state. It pits Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire against Republican challenger Dino Rossi in a rematch of their 2004 political slugfest. Gregoire won that contest by just 133 votes after three recounts and a lawsuit.
The race in Missouri, a key presidential swing state, shapes up as a knockdown- dragout fight between Republican Gov. Matt Blunt and Jay Nixon, the state’s Democratic attorney general. The two have sparred on several fronts, including Blunt’s decision to auction off a sizable part of the state’s student loan portfolio, a move Nixon’s office went to court to block.
Republicans hope to chip away at Democrats’ 28-to-22 advantage in gubernatorial control by picking up two open seats. Democrats Ruth Ann Minner of Delaware and Mike Easley of North Carolina cannot run again because of term limits. But both governors’ mansions have been occupied by Democrats since the early 1990s.
Five Republican and four Democratic governors are seeking re-election, and the power of incumbency gives them the edge. As the 2008 campaign season began, some didn’t even have challengers yet.
The 11 governors’ contests and legislative races in 44 states will compete for attention with the country’s longest, costliest presidential race. States will be under intense scrutiny to prove they have done the nuts-and-bolts work to avoid voting machine malfunctions and other glitches that plagued previous elections.
More is at stake than simply who wins in 2008. Both parties are looking ahead to the 2010 census, seeking to gain political advantages in statehouses that will use the new population numbers to redraw boundaries for congressional and legislative districts.
What could be a record-breaking number of ballot measures also will lure voters to the ballot box in 2008, letting state residents have their say on controversial issues from immigration to affirmative action to the way states elect future presidents.
For a review of how the races are shaping up at the start of 2008, read the complete story at stateline.org.
This article was excerpted from “State of the States 2008,” Stateline.org’s annual report on significant state policy developments and trends. The 72-page report will be published Jan. 16.You can order a print copy here,while supplies last. Or register for a PDF version here.
