The Governor’s Races We’ll Be Watching Tonight
Don’t forget: There are 36 gubernatorial races taking place tonight, too. And the results of these contests will likely have a bigger impact on your day-to-day lives than congressional races, as governors have an outsized influence on state-level policy issues like health care, education, tax policy and more.
According to FiveThirtyEight’s final Deluxe Forecast, Republicans and Democrats are each poised for a few pickups. There are a bunch of competitive races — specifically in Arizona, Kansas, Nevada, Oregon and Wisconsin — and a few races that are slightly competitive, but probably won’t flip (I’m looking at you, Alaska, Georgia, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico and Oklahoma).
Meanwhile, Democrats are poised for a few easy pickups in both Maryland and Massachusetts. And if the party prevails here (as we suspect they will) both victors could make history: In Maryland, a win for Democrat Wes Moore would make him the state’s first Black governor. While, in Massachusetts, Democrat Maura Healey’s win would her the country’s first out lesbian governor and the first woman elected to the governor’s mansion In Massachusetts.