United States gubernatorial elections, 2008
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The United States gubernatorial elections of 2008 will be held on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 in 11 states with 6 of the seats held by Democrats and 5 by Republicans.
These elections will coincide with the presidential election, as well as the elections of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives and countless local elections, state elections, and ballot propositions.
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[edit] Major parties
As of January 2007, there are 22 Republican governors and 28 Democratic governors. The number may change after the 2007 races in Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
[edit] Election summaries
Two governors are prohibited from seeking re-election in 2008, and a third, while eligible, is thought likely to retire. Further open seats are possible if any of the governors listed below dies, resigns, elects to retire, or is denied re-nomination in their party's primary.
[edit] Retiring Democratic governors
[edit] Ruth Ann Minner (Delaware)
Ruth Ann Minner will be term limited in 2008. By 2008, Democrats will have controlled the Delaware governorship for 16 years. Leading Democratic contenders include Lieutenant Governor John Carney and State Treasurer Jack Markell.
[edit] Mike Easley (North Carolina)
Mike Easley will be term limited in 2008. By 2008, Democrats will have controlled the North Carolina governorship for 16 years. Democratic Lieutenant Governor Beverly Perdue is currently considered the frontrunner to succeed Easley.
[edit] Democratic incumbents
[edit] Togiola Tulafono (American Samoa)
American Samoa's Togiola Tulafono is up for reelection in 2008. He won his first term 55.7% to 44.3% in the 2004 run-off.
[edit] Brian Schweitzer (Montana)
Brian Schweitzer of Montana is favored to win re-election.
[edit] John Lynch (New Hampshire)
In New Hampshire, John Lynch is favored to win re-election. There is speculation after Charlie Bass lost his seat in the House of Representatives in 2007 that he will run for Governor in 2008. Bass has yet to decide but could provide a formidable challenge to Lynch.
[edit] Aníbal Acevedo Vilá (Puerto Rico)
Aníbal Acevedo Vilá of Puerto Rico is up for a second term in 2008. Republican at-large Resident Commissioner Luis Fortuño, who announced in December 2006 that he would not again seek reelection to his current post, is running against him.
[edit] Christine Gregoire (Washington)
Christine Gregoire is perhaps best known for having won Washington's 2004 gubernatorial election by 133 votes in the third official count, after having lost the initial count by 261 votes and the first recount by 24 votes. Her 2004 opponent, former Washington State Senator Dino Rossi, is presumed to be her Republican opponent, but his candidacy has not been confirmed. By 2008, Democrats will have controlled the Washington governorship for 24 years.
[edit] Joe Manchin (West Virginia)
Joe Manchin is favored to win re-election in West Virginia.
[edit] Republican incumbents
[edit] Mitch Daniels (Indiana)
Mitch Daniels may be vulnerable. While Indiana has not voted Democratic for President since 1964, Daniels is the first Republican elected governor in 20 years. His approval rating has not risen above 50% since 2005, and has been especially low in the wake of his prominent June 2006 deal to privatize the Indiana Toll Road by selling 75 year operation rights to a foreign consortium. Some speculators believe that because Daniels was not on the ticket in 2006, public outrage over the sale of the toll road contributed to the 2006 defeats of three Republican congressmen in Indiana, Chris Chocola, John Hostettler, and Mike Sodrel. Daniels is currently facing a lawsuit from outraged truckers and commuters who claim that the decision to privatize the road went over the heads of the people, and the issue as a whole has made him very unpopular in Indiana.
Democrat Tim Roemer, a former congressman and member of the 9/11 Commission, would be among the strongest challengers to Daniels for the Governorship.
Democratic Congressman Baron Hill has been mentioned as a possible strong challenger to Daniels.[1]
Former Congresswoman and undersecretary of Agriculture Jill Long Thompson has also been mentioned as a possible challenger.
State Senate Minority Leader Richard Young and Indianapolis businessman Jim Schellinger announced their separate candidacies for Governor in early 2007.
[edit] Matt Blunt (Missouri)
Matt Blunt may be the most vulnerable incumbent governor seeking re-election. Blunt's approval rating is the nation's second-lowest after Governor Ernie Fletcher of Kentucky. Blunt's Democratic opponent will likely be four-term Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon.
[edit] John Hoeven (North Dakota)
John Hoeven is not term-limited in 2008, and may run for reelection. Most governors in the state of North Dakota have chosen not to seek a third term and instead retired.
[edit] Jon Huntsman, Jr. (Utah)
Jon Huntsman, Jr. is favored to win re-election in Utah. By 2008, Republicans will have controlled the Utah governorship for 24 years.
[edit] Jim Douglas (Vermont)
Jim Douglas is favored to win re-election should he seek it. By 2008, he will have been governor of Vermont for 6 years, or 3 terms.
[edit] See also
- United States Senate elections, 2008
- United States House elections, 2008
- United States presidential election, 2008
[edit] References
- ^ Novak, Robert. "Evans-Novak Political Report", Human Events.com, 2007-02-07. Retrieved on February 21, 2007.
| Recent United States gubernatorial elections |
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| 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008• 2010 See also: House elections • Senate elections • Presidential elections • List of current United States Governors |
