Governor Races Recap: No Surprises Here

Even as votes are still being counted in Georgia, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, all 11 governorships up this cycle have been called. As predicted, there were no major shakeups or surprises on the gubernatorial side, with only one governorship changing parties. All the governors up for re-election handily won their bids for another term. Republicans now control 27 governors’ mansions to Democrats’ 23.

The only remotely competitive open seat governor’s race was in Montana, pitting current At-Large U.S. Congressman Greg Gianforte (R) against Lieutenant Governor Mike Cooney (D). Governor-elect Gianforte (R) was able to avenge his 2016 loss for the governor’s mansion, and now Republicans control the governor’s seat in Montana for the first time since 2005. Governor-elect Gianforte was likely able to benefit from Republicans sweeping up and down the ballot, with President Trump carrying the state by nearly 14 points, and U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R) winning another term by nine points.

North Carolina was another state that received a lot of national attention because of its stature as a swing state across the ballot, for presidential, senatorial, and gubernatorial races. While the presidential race remains uncalled and the Senate race is neck-and-neck, Governor Roy Cooper (D) early on defeated Lieutenant Governor Dan Forrest (R). Governor Cooper maintained a significant fundraising advantage into Election Day, scored high marks with North Carolinians, and benefited from being an incumbent. North Carolina voters also continued their trend of split ticket voting, reflected in President Trump's (R) and Senator Tillis’s (R) narrow leads, and Governor Cooper’s re-election.

Over the last few weeks, Missouri also garnered a lot of attention as a possibly competitive governor’s race, however incumbent Governor Parson (R) currently leads 57.2 percent to State Auditor Nicole Galloway (D)’s 40.6 percent, with 98 percent of votes counted. With so few competitive governors’ races this cycle, Missouri’s race received outsized attention by national groups, with the Republican and Democratic Governors Associations investing a combined $25 million into the state through their affiliated groups. Despite the money invested, Governor Parson benefited strongly from increasingly Republican tilt in the state, with President Trump currently carrying the state and even out performing his 2016 total number of votes.

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