Governor News & Analysis

Election Eve Update: Gubernatorial Race Ratings Changes

by Nathan L. Gonzales November 3, 2014 · 4:39 PM EST

Here are a ratings changes in a handful of competitive gubernatorial contests on the day before the election. 

Arkansas Governor. After months of optimism from Democrats about their ability to re-elect Sen. Mark Pryor (D) and elect former Rep. Mike Ross (D) as governor, it’s clear that both…

Obama’s Midterm Loss Record Could Make History

by Stuart Rothenberg November 1, 2014 · 10:52 AM EDT

President Barack Obama is about to do what no president has done in the past 50 years: Have two horrible, terrible, awful midterm elections in a row.

In fact, Obama is likely to have the worst midterm numbers of any two-term president going back to Democrat Harry S.…

Governors on the Defensive as Close Races Go Down to the Wire

by Nathan L. Gonzales October 29, 2014 · 3:57 PM EDT

The extraordinary number of very close races is not limited to contests for the House and Senate. The electoral environment is volatile, and a large number of tight and competitive gubernatorial contests leaves open the possibility of a wide range of outcomes.

On one hand, nearly a dozen…

Will Obama Leave the Democratic Party Better Than He Found It?

by Nathan L. Gonzales October 27, 2014 · 9:00 AM EDT

Barack Obama was elected on a swell of energy and enthusiasm, but he might leave the Democratic Party worse off than when he took office.

The disconnect between the Obama political operation and Democratic strategists focused on Congress is nothing new. Congressional Democrats have always been a bit…

Ratings Change: Massachusetts Governor

by Nathan L. Gonzales October 24, 2014 · 3:04 PM EDT

Plenty of Democrats woke up Friday morning with a case of deja vu. The latest survey for The Boston Globe showed Democratic Attorney General Martha Coakley losing the race for governor of Massachusetts to Republican Charlie Baker, 45 percent to 36 percent. Once again, it’s Coakley struggling in…

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…