Governor News & Analysis

2017-18 Gubernatorial Overview (April 21, 2017) Alabama - Illinois

April 21, 2017 · 2:59 PM EDT

ALABAMA -- Kay Ivey (R), assumed governorship April 2017. Ivey recently became governor after GOP Gov. Robert Bentley resigned under an ethical cloud involving an extramarital affair and improper use of state resources. Ivey becomes the first female governor of Alabama since Lurleen Wallace, wife of George Wallace, whom Ivey…

2017-18 Gubernatorial Overview (April 21, 2017) Iowa - New Mexico

April 21, 2017 · 2:58 PM EDT

IOWA -- Terry Branstad (R), elected 2010 (53%), 2014 (59%); previously elected 1982 (53%), 1986 (52%), 1990 (61%) and 1994 (57%). Branstad is President Trump’s choice to be the U.S. ambassador to China, which would elevate Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds to governor of the Hawkeye State upon Branstad’s confirmation and…

2017-18 Gubernatorial Overview (April 21, 2017) New York - Wyoming

April 21, 2017 · 2:57 PM EDT

NEW YORK -- Andrew Cuomo (D) elected 2010 (63%), 2014 (54%). The governor is expected to seek a third term and the race is not expected to be particularly competitive. Law professor Zephyr Teachout challenged Cuomo in the 2014 primary (lost 63-33% percent) and then lost a competitive congressional race…

Candidate Conversation - Brad Little (R)

April 7, 2017 · 2:51 PM EDT

Candidate for Governor of Idaho

Interview Date: March 28, 2017

Date of Birth: Feb. 15, 1954; Emmett, Idaho

Education: Univ. of Idaho (1976)

Political Office: Lieutenant Governor (current); State senator

Current Outlook: As the sitting lieutenant governor with Gov. Butch Otter’s endorsement, Little is a top contender to become Idaho’s…

Off-Year Governors Races Look Challenging for GOP

by Stuart Rothenberg March 14, 2017 · 10:00 AM EDT

Gubernatorial contests in Virginia and New Jersey will get plenty of attention this year, in part because of Donald Trump’s victory and the developing divisions in the two major parties.

Observers will be looking for possible signs that Trump’s “new” Republican Party is changing the political arithmetic or that Democrats…

At DGA, Pearson Quietly Pulling Democrats Back to Prominence

by Nathan L. Gonzales February 21, 2017 · 9:15 AM EST

Democratic lawmakers probably wouldn’t recognize Elisabeth Pearson if she walked into their Capitol Hill office, but they might be owing her their jobs before too long. 

As executive director of the Democratic Governors Association and a leading strategist in the party’s redistricting efforts, Pearson’s success will determine how long members…

Fight Over Congressional Redistricting Begins With Key Gubernatorial Contests

by Stuart Rothenberg February 8, 2017 · 9:00 AM EST

While the 2020 census is still three years away, the fight for control of the congressional redistricting process is underway -- in developing gubernatorial contests in a handful of key states.

Yes, there are plenty of unknowns about reapportionment and redistricting, since the courts, the Trump Justice Department and state…

Women’s March: A Moment or a Movement?

by Nathan L. Gonzales January 27, 2017 · 4:18 PM EST

Less than 24 hours after Donald Trump took the oath of office, hundreds of thousands of women descended onto the streets of Washington, D.C. in protest of the new president. 

There were immediate comparisons to the Tea Party movement that began in 2009 with rallies against new President Barack Obama,…

Pelosi Remains But ‘Winter is Coming’ for Democrats

by Nathan L. Gonzales December 7, 2016 · 9:08 AM EST

Nancy Pelosi survived her leadership election and will continue to lead House Democrats in the next Congress. But the fact that she received a credible challenge, who was supported by one-third of her members, is yet another sign that the times have changed for the Democratic Party.

For the last…

Gubernatorial Losers Descend on Next Congress

by Nathan L. Gonzales December 6, 2016 · 9:15 AM EST

Getting to know your new classmates is always an awkward experience, but a handful of new House members will have at least one thing in common: losing a race for governor.

Two years ago, Democrat Anthony Brown lost the Maryland gubernatorial race to Republican Larry Hogan in an upset, 51…