Governors, Governor's Race | featured news

Eleven governorships are on the table in Tuesday's election and Republicans hope a good chunk of them will go red, strengthening their already robust lead in state leadership. Republicans currently hold 29 governorships, and according to the Republican Governors Association, the GOP has a chance to take as many as four of the eight currently Democratically-held states up for grabs.

Republicans are in position to extend their recent gains among governors as they compete for seats they haven't won in a quarter-century. Of the 11 states with gubernatorial elections in November, eight are now led by Democrats, and each of the most competitive races is a GOP pickup opportunity. The numbers suggests that Republicans soon will claim 30 to 33 governorships after holding just 22 a few years ago - an advantage not reflected in the divided Congress or competitive presidential race.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has survived a recall election, defeating the Democratic mayor of Milwaukee to keep the state's top political job. Walker becomes the first governor in American history to stay in office after a recall challenge.

Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican who has sought to limit collective bargaining, faces a tough race that has implications for unions and the results of the presidential election.

Bill Clinton will stump in Wisconsin on Friday for that state’s Democratic gubernatorial challenger, the latest in a series of high-profile campaign roles for the former president.

The candidates may be the same, but Wisconsin isn't. In the tumultuous 18 months since Republican Scott Walker defeated Democrat Tom Barrett in the 2010 governor's race, Wisconsin has been rocked with massive protests over workers' rights, recall elections over a contentious union rights law and a partisan divide that's strained families and friendships.

Kentucky Senate president David Williams easily defeated two others to win the GOP primary.

Dannel P. Malloy, the Democrat who is sure he was elected, and Thomas C. Foley, the Republican who feels the same, are both preparing for the job.

The Republican wave crashing across the nation stopped at the California border on Tuesday, as Jerry Brown won the governorship and U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer claimed a victory that would send her back to Washington for a fourth term.

Republicans captured Democratic governorships in at least 10 states on Tuesday, including some prime presidential battlegrounds, and hoped for even more statehouse gains.