Democrats reclaim majority of governorships

updated 10:27 a.m. ET Nov. 8, 2006

For the first time in a dozen years, Democrats hold a majority of the nation’s governorships after taking 20 of 36 races, including contests in battleground states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and Colorado that will be crucial to the 2008 presidential race.

Democrats now possess 28 of the top state jobs, the same majority enjoyed by Republicans going into Tuesday’s elections.

The mood behind the reversal was no better expressed than in Ohio. No Republican president has ever taken office without winning that state.

“I feel like the Republican Party is not my party anymore,” Joan Domek, 75, said after voting in Parma Heights, near Cleveland.

Democratic Rep. Ted Strickland became Ohio’s first Democratic governor since 1986, routing Republican challenger Ken Blackwell, whom Democrats criticized for his role in overseeing the 2004 presidential election as secretary of state.

“It’s time for a change. That’s the buzzword,” said Cindy Mushrush, 54, a stay-at-home mom from suburban Columbus.

Ten states had open seats because of retirements, term limits and, in the case of Alaska, a failure by the incumbent to win the primary. Democrats won six of those, and held onto vulnerable seats in Iowa, Michigan, Oregon and Wisconsin.

Democrats dominant
The trend followed a national wave of dominance — Democrats wrested control of the House and were in a strong position to capture the Senate. They also made gains in state legislatures around the country — largely fueled by President Bush’s fading popularity, resentment over the war in Iraq and various scandals involving the GOP.

Highlighting other gubernatorial races Tuesday:

• In Massachusetts, Democrat and former civil rights prosecutor Deval Patrick became the state’s first black governor and the nation’s second to be elected. He also ended a 20-year Republican grip on the governor’s office.
• In New York, Eliot Spitzer, the crusading attorney general who led a crackdown on Wall Street abuses, captured a state-record 69 percent of the vote on his way to becoming the first Democrat elected governor since 1990. Spitzer’s margin beat Mario Cuomo’s mark of 64.6 percent in 1986.
• In Colorado, which has voted Republican in the last three presidential elections, former Denver district attorney Bill Ritter won perhaps one of the most bitter races — complete with an FBI investigation into one of many attack ads. The Democrat’s campaign said the information in that ad, which accused him of being soft on illegal immigrants, came from a restricted federal database.
• In Maryland, Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley unseated Republican Gov. Robert Ehrlich in a very close race. Just as Ehrlich benefited four years ago from his association with Bush, he suffered for it Tuesday.

The geographical reach of the victories will be critical for the next White House race and for redistricting of congressional seats, which is typically controlled by the governor and the legislature. Governors don’t enact national policy, but they can strengthen a party’s grass roots, turn out votes for presidential contests, and cultivate future national leaders.

“In the past, the Democratic party was strong in the Northeast and California, and that was about it,” said New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who won re-election — and is also exploring a presidential run. “Now we’re a more centrist, national party who can show victories across the country.”

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