The Midwest is at the center of this year’s races for governor. But some blue-leaning states out West are fast becoming some of the most competitive — and surprising — races of 2022.
Democratic governors swept across the middle of the country in 2018, winning governorships in states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. And while all the races will be hyper-competitive in November, Democrats have piled up fundraising advantages and polling leads in those states, from Govs. Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan and Tony Evers in Wisconsin to open-seat Pennsylvania candidate Josh Shapiro.
Yet as some of those races have gotten tougher for the GOP, Republicans have grown increasingly bullish on a quartet of gubernatorial elections further west: Defending their open seat in Arizona, challenging incumbent Democrats in New Mexico and Nevada, and — most surprisingly — making a strong charge for the open seat in reliably blue Oregon, where an independent candidate has scrambled the usual electoral math.
Those dynamics — along with the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision focusing more attention than ever on elections for governor — have seen Republicans get a boost in some places while also buoying Democratic hopes of beating back a wave in some of the key presidential battleground states.
Stay tuned..
