The most heated race may occur in Washington state between Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire and Republican challenger Dino Rossi.  Gregoire won in 2004 by just 133 votes after three recounts and a lawsuit.

Missouri, a key presidential swing state, will host the gubernatorial race between Republican Gov. Matt Blunt and Jay Nixon, the Democratic state’s attorney. The two have sparred on several political fronts in the past.

Republicans hope to diminish the 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.

Here’s how the races stand as of January:

• Delaware’s lieutenant governor, John C. Carney Jr., against Jack Markell, the state treasurer, for the Democratic nomination to succeed Minner. No Republican candidate had emerged yet.
  
  
• North Carolina, the other open seat, has seven candidates seeking to follow Easley. The top two Democratic contenders are Lt. Gov. Beverly Purdue and State Treasurer Richard H. Moore. On the Republican side are Bill Graham, who has campaigned against the gas tax, former state Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr and state Sen. Fred Smith.
  
  
• Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) could have a re-election fight on his hands. Daniels’ Democratic challenger will come from a field that includes Jill Long Thompson, a former congresswoman, and Jim Schellinger, an architect.
  
  
• Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer is enjoying approval ratings of 70% in his first term. Republican state Sen. Roy Brown was first to announce as an opponent, but other possible contenders for the GOP nomination are Senate Minority Leader Bob Keenan and Montana House Speaker John Mercer.
  
  
• New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch (D) was dubbed “Mr. 70 Percent” to reflect his vote count in winning a second two-year term in 2006, and his approval ratings have stayed in that range. Possible opponents include Kelly Ayotte, the state’s first female attorney general, and state Sen. Joe Kenney, a Marine who served in the Iraq war.
  
  
• North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven (R), who in 2006 had the highest approval rating of any governor at 86%, is expected to have little problem securing a third term. State Sen. Tim Mathern, a Democrat from Fargo, is running.
  
  
• Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, Jr. (R) has strong approval ratings.  The GOP has held the Utah governorship since 1985, and no Democrat candidate has emerged.
  
  
• Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas is looking for his fourth two-year term as a Republican governor in a “blue” state, where Democrats control the Statehouse and traditionally win the electoral votes in presidential elections. A Democrat had yet to get into the governor’s race.
  
  
• West Virginia’s Joe Manchin III, the chair of the Democratic Governors Association, appears in a strong position to win a second term with 74% job approval. Republican businessman Bob Adams has announced plans to challenge Manchin.  

For more information on building your political affairs program, e-mail Gideon Lett, or Karl Eckhart at NAHB.   [ return to top ]