Competitive governers races weighs heavy on abortion, voting rights

• In almost a dozen states, competitive governors’ races will be decided on Tuesday.
• The outcome could have far-reaching implications on issues such as abortion, voting rights, and guns.
• Democrats are battling to maintain control of the governorships in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

In almost a dozen states, competitive governors’ races will be decided in Tuesday’s midterm elections, with the outcomes having far-reaching implications on issues such as abortion, voting rights, and guns.

The high stakes have attracted more money and attention to state-level contests, which are often overshadowed by the battle for control of Congress in midterm elections.

Democrats are battling to maintain control of the governorships in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan in order to retain the ability to veto any legislation passed by the three states’ Republican-controlled legislatures that could restrict abortion rights and voting access.

The Republican victory in presidential swing states such as Arizona could have repercussions for the 2024 race for the White House. In numerous of these states, the party’s nominees have endorsed former President Donald Trump’s baseless allegations that the 2020 election was stolen.

In Arizona, which has one of the closest gubernatorial contests in the country, Trump-backed candidate Kari Lake has reiterated his claims of voter fraud and stated that she would not have verified President Joe Biden’s victory in that state. If elected, she has threatened to prohibit voting by mail.

Katie Hobbs, the Democratic secretary of state of Arizona, gained national prominence in 2020 when she defended the state’s election results.

Monday, Lake distanced himself from the stolen election theme during a campaign event near Phoenix. She urged her supporters to vote “like your life depends on it.”

On Tuesday, governors will be elected in 36 of the country’s 50 states, with the majority firmly in Democratic or Republican control. Nationally, Republicans have 28 governorships compared to 22 held by Democrats.

Polls indicate that current Republican Ron DeSantis is poised to defeat Democratic challenger Charlie Crist in Florida prior to DeSantis’ highly anticipated run for the presidency in 2024.

Despite a vigorous campaign by his Democratic opponent, former U.S. congressman Beto O’Rourke, Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott is anticipated to win a third term. In a rerun of their 2018 contest, Georgia’s Republican governor, Brian Kemp, appears certain to succeed against his Democratic opponent, Stacey Abrams.

In the states of Maryland and Massachusetts, it is anticipated that the Democrats would win the governorships currently held by Republicans. However, in a few other Democratic-controlled states, the Democrats will encounter arduous opposition.

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Tough contests

In Oregon, a three-way race could result in a Republican being elected governor for the first time in forty years.

Democrat Tina Kotek and Republican Christine Drazan are in a tight race for the open seat, while former Democrat Betsy Johnson, who is running as an independent, could potentially drain votes away from Kotek.

Biden campaigned on Sunday in New York, where Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul’s poll advantage against Republican rival Lee Zeldin has slipped to single digits due to Zeldin’s emphasis on the problem of crime. In the past two decades, no Republican has won a statewide post in New York.

As with congressional contests across the country, Democratic gubernatorial candidates have warned of the threats to abortion rights and elections posed by a Republican victory on Tuesday. Republicans have primarily concentrated on crime and the economy, blaming Democratic policies for inflation.

In Michigan, Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer has made abortion a centerpiece of her re-election campaign, and voters will also weigh a ballot issue that would protect abortion rights in the state constitution.

Her Republican opponent, Trump-backed conservative pundit Tudor Dixon, supports a near-total ban on abortion but argues that the subject is irrelevant in the race for governor due to the ballot question.

Tim Michels, a Republican construction billionaire running against Democratic incumbent Tony Evers in Wisconsin, has pledged to enforce a 19th-century abortion prohibition that Evers is defending in court.

Michels has raised worries about his handling of future elections, assuring supporters at a recent campaign rally, “Republicans will never lose another election in Wisconsin after I’m elected governor.”

The governor of Pennsylvania appoints the secretary of state, who is responsible for election administration. Biden, Obama, and Trump all spent a portion of the penultimate weekend preceding Election Day rallying with their respective party’s nominees in the important state.

Doug Mastriano was present in the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, to protest the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

Josh Shapiro, the state’s attorney general and leading Democratic candidate for the open seat has portrayed Mastriano as too extremist for Pennsylvania.

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