If Governors races took a backseat to the presidential race and Senate contests in 2012, they will occupy a good bit more of the spotlight in 2013 and 2014. There are gubernatorial contests in 38 states over the next two years. New Jersey and Virginia host contests in 2013, followed by 36 races in 2014.
This crop of seats was last up in 2009 and 2010. It was an especially volatile cycle. In 2009, Republicans picked up the open gubernatorial contest in Virginia, and former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie unseated Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine in New Jersey. These victories gave Republicans a bit of momentum going into 2010. There were 37 races that year because Utah was holding a special election. Republicans were defending 19 seats to 18 for Democrats. Open seats accounted for much of the volatility in 2010; the economy, of course, played a big role as well. Of the 37 races, 24 were open-seat contests with each party defending 12 of those seats. And, 19 of the 24 seats were open because the incumbent was term-limited.
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The Cook Political Report is an independent, non-partisan newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the US House of Representatives, US Senate, Governors and President as well as American political trends.
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