Daily Archives: July 18, 2018

Governors’ Ratings

By Jim Ellis

To see the full-size map, go to governing.com

To see the full-size map, click on the image above
or go to governing.com

July 18, 2018 — A new set of governors’ race ratings were released from the Governing.com website, and while nine of the 36 campaigns are placed in the toss-up category, it is arguable that possibly two others could be added.

The governors’ races are of note because, primarily, 2018 is a redistricting election, meaning the state chief executives elected this year, for the most part, will hold veto power when the new congressional and state legislature districts are re-drawn in 2021 following the impending 2020 national census.

Additionally, the two parties are in exact opposite positions in defending seats when comparing the governors’ campaigns to those in the US Senate. While Democrats must risk and defend 26 Senate states, Republicans must protect the identical number of governors’ mansions.

According to governing.com, eight states are now in toss-up mode:

Alaska: Gov. Bill Walker (I); Party Primary, Aug. 21

Colorado (Open): Treasurer Walker Stapleton (R) vs. Rep. Jared Polis (D)

Connecticut (Open): Party Primary, Aug. 14

Florida (Open): Party Primary, Aug. 28

Iowa: Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) vs. Businessman Fred Hubbell (D)
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