2020 Gubernational elections: Who is running megathread

[The Other Castro]

Politics1.com ‏@Politics1com  4m4 minutes ago
SOUTH CAROLINA: Ex-St Health Dir & ex-St Labor Dir Catherine Templeton (R) told media she will enter open gubernatorial race in January.

[The Other Castro]

J.B. Pritzker considers running as a Democrat in Illinois:

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http://www.politico.com/states/illinois/story/2016/12/jb-pritzker-would-self-fund-2018-gubernatorial-run-107807

[The Other Castro]

Politics1.com ‏@Politics1com  10m10 minutes ago
"Maybe in the year 2090" - US Sen Tim Scott (R-SC), on whether he will run for Governor

Politics1.com ‏@Politics1com  1m1 minute ago
GEORGIA: Retiring Cong Lynn Westmoreland (R) holding "reconnect tour" around state; says he's considering 2018 run for Governor.

[The Other Castro]

With Malloy getting a 2nd term as DGA Chair, some are saying this means it's unlikely he'll run for reelection in Connecticut.
http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Malloy-to-lead-Democratic-governors-group-again-10695607.php

At the same time, State Comptroller Kevin Lembo might be making some moves:
http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Outspoken-comptroller-could-be-mulling-10688402.php

[The Other Castro]

With Branstad accepting the offer of Chinese Ambassador, the race for Iowa Governor is now open.

[The Other Castro]

Politics1.com ‏@Politics1com  36s36 seconds ago
IOWA: Cong Steve King (R) says he may run for Gov in 2018. Lt Gov Kim Reynolds (R) to move up to Gov, certain to run in 2018.

We may have a battle a brewing.

[The Other Castro]

Florida Dems gonna Florida Dem?

Politics1.com ‏@Politics1com  4m4 minutes ago
FLORIDA: Outgoing Cong Patrick Murphy (D), who lost US Sen run, says he wants "to keep all options on the table" about poss 2018 Gov run.

[The Other Castro]

So what's the word on Michigan? On the one hand it went to Trump but on the other hand the Flint water crisis is gonna be a big talking point against republicans at the local level

It's probably best to mostly ignore presidential results when thinking about Governor races, especially during midterms.

[The Other Castro]

Star Tribune ‏@StarTribune  5m5 minutes ago
BREAKING: St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman has filed paperwork to run for Governor of Minnesota.

[The Other Castro]

Politics1.com ‏@Politics1com  21m21 minutes ago
CALIFORNIA: Retiring Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin (R), the top GOP prospect for Governor in 2018, announced she will NOT run.

[The Other Castro]

New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart (R) might be considering a run for CT Gov. She's the youngest big city mayor in the country at 29.

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http://www.newsmax.com/t/newsmax/article/766368?section=JohnGizzi&keywords=erin-stewart-mayor-new-britain&year=2017&month=01&date=01&id=766368&aliaspath=%2FManage%2FArticles%2FTemplate-Main&oref=www.google.com

[The Other Castro]

IA: Rich Leopold (D) to run for governor.

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http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/04/democrat-rich-leopold-run-governor/96148242/

[The Other Castro]

The race is wide open in CT for 2018. Here's some background on the potential candidates, roughly in order of likelihood of running.

Democrats:
Dan Drew - Middletown Mayor, ambitious guy but pretty young (36), would have fundraising troubles
Kevin Lembo - Comptroller, wants to run but would probably defer to Wyman
Martin Looney - CT Sen Pres Pro Tem, interested but would defer to Wyman
Dan Esty - Yale Professor and Environmental Lawyer, husband to Rep. Elizabeth Esty (CT-5)
Susan Bysiewicz - Fmr SoS, well known but has a losing streak, out of politics too long
Ted Kennedy Jr - State Sen., has a famous name, some history of campaign funding issues
Jonathan Harris - Consumer Protection Admin, has been making the rounds, but pretty unknown
Nancy Wyman - Lt. Gov, may be too connected to Malloy
Dan Malloy - Incumbent Gov, he's probably out and would face a primary challenger if he ran
George Jepsen - CT AG, like's being AG and probably won't run


From what I've heard from state party people, Dan Drew and Kevin Lembo both really want the job and will run if Nancy Wyman does not. Right now, I would guess that both Malloy and Wyman pass, and the top tier of entering candidates will be Drew, Lembo, and Looney (with Lembo possibly a slight favorite).

Republicans:
Prasad Srinivasan - State Rep., only declared candidate of either party so far
Tim Herbst - Trumbull First Selectman, mentioned by CT GOP Chair as a potential candidate
Peter Lumaj - Attorney, ran for Senate in 2012, created exploratory committee
Mark Lauretti - Shelton Mayor, mentioned by CT GOP Chair as a potential candidate
Tony Hwang - State Sen., created exploratory committee 2 years ago but internal #s are meh
Mark Boughton - Danbury Mayor, ran for Lt. Gov in 2010 and Gov in 2014, created exploratory committee
Rob Kane - State Sen., created exploratory committee
Erin Stewart - Not ruling it out, she's like the Republican version of Dan Drew, there's a post about her made earlier.
Greg Butler -  Like's being considered a potential candidate
Len Fasano -  Like's being considered a potential candidate
Toni Boucher - Linda McMahon said to watch her
Jayme Stevenson - Linda McMahon said to watch her
John McKinney - Fmr House Minority Leader, ran for Gov in 2014
Tom Foley - Gov nominee in 2010 and 2014, probably not interested in running again


I don't know as much about GOP politics in CT, but the bigger names to watch here are probably Herbst, Boughton, and Hwang.

This likely won't be accurate, but my very early guess is that Lembo defeats Herbst.

http://www.dailyructions.com/eye-on-estys-its-him-not-her-malloy-ally-testing-waters-for-2018-run-for-governor/
https://dennishouse.tv/2017/01/02/who-will-run-for-governor-in-2018/

[The Other Castro]

NV: Hutchison out. Laxalt has the field to himself.

That's kind of surprising.

[The Other Castro]

Texas Lt. Gov Dan Patrick will not challenge Gov. Greg Abbott in 2018.

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas-politics/2017/01/09/texas-lt-gov-dan-patrick-seek-reelection-2018-repeats-promise-challenge-gov-greg-abbott


Otto is in for MN.

Politics1.com ‏@Politics1com  14m14 minutes ago
MINNESOTA: St Auditor Rebecca Otto (D) today became the 3rd Dem to enter the open 2018 gubernatorial race.

[The Other Castro]

Is NV Gov looking to be Sisolak vs Cloobeck? I have a hunch Ross Miller runs for the open AG slot personally

Cloobeck may run for Senate instead.

[The Other Castro]

Middletown, CT mayor Dan Drew (D) has formed an exploratory committee for Governor. My state sources say Malloy has said he won't run, but are pissed at Drew for doing this.

http://www.middletownpress.com/government-and-politics/20170112/middletown-mayor-dan-drew-explores-run-for-connecticut-governor

[The Other Castro]

CT: First Selectman of Trumbull Tim Herbst (R) is in.

He's probably one of the strongest Republicans that will run, and could very well be the next Governor of Connecticut.

http://www.courant.com/politics/hc-tim-herbst-running-governor-20170113-story.html

[The Other Castro]

CT Gov. Malloy says he will decide on reelection after the budget is completed in the spring.

https://twitter.com/Zachary_Cohen/status/835242866586828802

[The Other Castro]

CT Gov. Malloy says he will decide on reelection after the budget is completed in the spring.

https://twitter.com/Zachary_Cohen/status/835242866586828802

Is there a Democrat who could successfully primary him/force him to retire?

Middletown Mayor Dan Drew has already entered the race, and I'm sure a lot of Democrats don't want Malloy to be the nominee. Malloy would probably win the primary if he runs, but I don't think he's going to run again.

[The Other Castro]

CT Gov. Malloy says he will decide on reelection after the budget is completed in the spring.

https://twitter.com/Zachary_Cohen/status/835242866586828802

Is there a Democrat who could successfully primary him/force him to retire?

Middletown Mayor Dan Drew has already entered the race, and I'm sure a lot of Democrats don't want Malloy to be the nominee. Malloy would probably win the primary if he runs, but I don't think he's going to run again.

Did he?  My mom's cousin is very involved in Middletown politics and campaigned for Drew's opponent last election despite being a staunch Democrat, supposedly because Drew used his position in the Middletown DP to keep a dissenting Democratic council member off the ballot.  He's also very close to Malloy, as he campaigned in Middletown for him because the election was expected to be close, even though it wasn't.  I'd be shocked if he challenged Malloy.

Sorry, clarification: Dan Drew has created an exploratory committee for a Gubernatorial run, not officially running yet (but he's basically running). This is presumably because it's known among higher up Dems that Malloy isn't running again, but state Dems are still upset with Drew because he was supposed to wait for Malloy to announce first that he wasn't running. IF Malloy does for some reason decide to run after all, Dan Drew probably isn't the type to stay in the race.

As for the mess with Drew and the council member, I believe this has more info on that:
http://www.middletownpress.com/article/MI/20151002/NEWS/151009919

[The Other Castro]

SC: Dem Chair Jaime Harrison is considering a run.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/governors-races-democrats-rift-235951

[The Other Castro]

CO-GOV: Ken Salazar is not running.

Looking more and more like the Ed Perlmutter show.

BUT Rep. Jared Polis is not ruling out a run:

"I haven’t ruled anything out and I’m not going to be rushed into a premature decision by today’s news."

[The Other Castro]

CT: Ted Kennedy Jr. probably running.

Maybe not the strongest candidate, but still better than Drew or Malloy.

[The Other Castro]

Tim Walz in for MN Gov. http://www.postbulletin.com/news/politics/walz-to-run-for-governor/article_bf1a1a38-f506-5c21-b2f1-cf2365af29c0.html

Seems like he'd be the favorite in the Democratic primary over Coleman

Echh MN-1 is going to be a tough seat to hold.