Voters in 36 states choose governors as Democrats pursue a majority

Top Democratic pickup prospects are Alaska, Georgia, Iowa, Ohio and Nevada

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Democrats entered Tuesday’s midterm elections seeking a majority of governorships for the first time in two decades, the Associated Press reported. The party was riding a wave of voter discontent over the economy, inflation, healthcare and the future of democracy.

The 36 states, home to about 80% of the nation’s population, were set to elect a governor Tuesday, and the office was open in 19 states. Before Election Day, Democratic governors represented 60% of the nation’s population, while Republicans held 26 of the nation’s 50 governors’ offices.

The Associated Press said control of the executive branch was on the line in six swing states from the 2024 presidential election: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The winners could have substantial influence over election administration during the 2028 presidential election. The AP said that prospect could matter because President Donald Trump has expressed interest in expanding federal control over elections.

Three Democratic governors seeking reelection were among those considered possible 2028 presidential candidates: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. Analysts told the AP that a large margin of victory, fundraising prowess and the electoral strength to help other Democrats win would send a strong signal to donors and party activists.

The AP said the unusually large number of states in play reflected Trump’s poor approval ratings dragging on his party. In the weeks before Election Day, Trump traveled to heavily Republican areas to headline rallies attended by Republican gubernatorial candidates looking for a boost. The AP cited heavily populated Texas and Florida, presidential battlegrounds Michigan and Wisconsin, and reliably Republican Iowa and Ohio among the competitive races.

“Our goal is not just the majority of the population, but the majority of states,” Meghan Meehan-Draper, the executive director of the Democratic Governors Association, told the AP. Democrats last gained a majority of governorships in 2006, flipping six governors’ offices in the last midterm under a second-term Republican president. Republicans recaptured the majority four years later.

The AP said more states under Democratic leadership could mean more governors fighting, or ignoring, Trump’s agenda. Trump had tested the power of states, clashing primarily with Democratic-led states over National Guard call-ups, immigration operations, conditions on federal aid and efforts to assert federal control over election requirements, including restricting mail voting.

The Associated Press said a dozen races were seen as the most competitive. Democrats’ best opportunities to pick up a governor’s office were Alaska, Georgia, Iowa and Ohio, where the incumbents are term-limited, and Nevada, where state Attorney General Aaron Ford is challenging Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo. Georgia and Alaska have not elected a Democratic governor since 1998, while Iowa and Ohio have not done so since 2006.

The AP identified Kansas, a normally deep-red state where Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly is term-limited, as Republicans’ best chance to capture an executive office. Wisconsin was next on the Republican list: Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany is taking on Democrat David Crowley after the Milwaukee County executive eked out a primary win. Republicans also have an eye on Michigan’s open governor’s office and on Oregon, where Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek is defending against a second challenge from Republican state Sen. Christine Drazan. Democrats said they saw chances in Texas, Florida, Oklahoma and Nebraska.

Ohio’s race grabbed national headlines when Republican Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign created an advertisement featuring Democrat Amy Acton’s estranged mother criticizing her. The AP reported that Acton’s mother lost custody of her children decades ago after her husband, who was Acton’s stepfather, was indicted for raping Acton as a child. The advertisement drew bipartisan rebukes, including from Republican Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio, while Trump praised it and Vice President JD Vance, an Ohioan, defended it.

In Texas, where no Democrat had been elected to statewide office since 1994, Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa mounted a competitive challenge to third-term Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. The AP said Hinojosa was seen as a long shot after she emerged from a primary with a fraction of Abbott’s cash total. In September, fellow Latino politicians and politicos wrote to the Democratic Governors Association requesting $10 million in campaign aid, saying Hinojosa had made the race close. The association gave $1 million, far less than it spent in Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin. Abbott skipped Trump’s rally in Texas, which the AP described as a sign of the president’s unpopularity.

The AP said California Democrat Xavier Becerra was expected to cruise to victory, as was Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York. Republicans are trying to retain Florida, the nation’s third-most populous state, where Republican U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds is vying against Democrat David Jolly, a former Republican congressman.

The 2026 election could produce historic firsts, the AP said. Hinojosa is vying to become the first Latina governor, while Deb Haaland of New Mexico hopes to become the first Native American woman to lead a state. The AP said more states are poised to elect Black governors. Seven Black major-party gubernatorial nominees are on ballots in addition to Maryland’s Moore. In the past 250 years, only three elected governors have been Black.