Overall I see very little change in the current make up of the govenor's races. The three tossup races in Missouri, Washington, and North Carolina are just that tossups. I have no idea who will win in any of them and in fact either side could claim victory tomorrow. Having said all that here is my final prediction and thoughts on the various races.

New Hampshire - Lynch should have no trouble with his reelection. He won in 2004 with 51% of the vote and again in 2006 with 71%. His popularity remains quiet high and I feel that given the trends in the Northeast he's very safe. We get a Republican govenor in New Hampshire but it won't be in 2008.

Delaware - Minner is term limited and can't run for reelection. I expect the current Lt Governor, John Carney, to retain the seat. Delaware is a trough state for Republicans to get elected in and with Joe Biden on the national ticket I think all the state's races are safely in the Democratic column.

West Virginia - Manchin should have no trouble holding his seat. His popularity is very high and he won in 2004 with 64% of the vote. West Virginia will vote GOP on a national level but currently as far as state politics go it's a solid safe seat for Democrats.

Montana - Schweitzer is another popular incumbent who won in 2004 50%-46%. Given his high approval ratings and the fact that he is running against a weak opponent I'd say Schweitzer will have no trouble in getting reelected. He's just too popular to unseat at this time.

Vermont - The incumbent Governor Douglas looks to be in fine shape to win reelection. He won his last election with 58% of the vote and has no serious challengers. To date his approval is still pretty decent. He's a liberal Republican, very much a Rockefeller. Even though Vermont tends to go Democratic national I doubt Douglas has anything to worry about.

Indiana - Over the summer it looked like Daniels might have some troubles in getting reelected. However as the campign has continued it looks like the race has settled down. It could be closer than his last election where he unseated the then-current Democratic governor by a margin of 53%-45%. However, he still has a strong standing and seems to have weathered the worst of his political storms. I expect him to retain his office.

North Dakota - Wildly popular Governor Hoeven won in 2004 with about 71% of the vote. Hoeven has one of the best approval ratings of any govenor in the country and so I think he is very safe in his bid for reelected. A solid, safe seat for the GOP.

Utah - It looks like Governor Huntsman is going to have an easy reelection as well. He won in 2004 by a margin of 58%-41%. He, like Hoeven, remains quiet popular and is facing a weak, token Democratic challenger. The seat is solid for the Republicans.

Washington - Current Governor Gregoire won her 2004 race by about 133 votes against Dino Rossi. Now his back for a rematch and this race is going to be tight any way you slice it. This is one to watch and really could go either way. Currently I think that Rossi could eek out a very slim win over Gregoire but it could easily go the other way.

North Carolina - Though Easley was a popular govenor, the GOP has a good organization in North Carolina and this could be a pick up. Lt Governor Beverly Perdue is running a strong campign for the Democrats but the popular Mayor McCrory of Charlotte is also been gainning momentum. It could go either way and we've seen it slide back and forth for several weeks now. I'd say this race is similar to the one in Washington state but I think McCrory's chances are much better than Rossi's.

Missouri - This is a race I hate to call for the Democrats. Jay Nixon has a high amount of name recognition as he's been our Attorney General forever. Kenny Hulshof is a good guy and we here in the 9th congressional district (my home district) highly approve of him. However, I'm not sure that he is that well known outside of the 9th District and St Charles. While Kenny should do well along the I-70 corridor I worry about turnout in the southern parts of the state. Sarah Steeleman did a lot of damage to him during the primaries down there. We'll have to wait and see but for now I'm calling this race for Jay Nixon.

Well while 2008 will most likely prove to be a disaster for us in the congressional races and a rough race for us to keep the White House I am optmistic about our chances in the govenors' races this year.

New Hampshire - Lynch is favored to win. He won in 2004 51%-49% and again in 2006 with 71% of the popular vote. His popularity also remains quiet high and I feel that given the trends in the Northeast he'll be reelected.

Delaware - Minner is term limited and can't run for reelection. The current Lt Governor John Carney is the most likely nominee for the Democrats and I expect him to retain the seat. No current GOP candidate has been chosen nor do I think we could easily pick up this seat.

West Virginia - Manchin should have no trouble holding his seat. His popularity is high and he won in 2004 with 64% of the vote. It's a solid safe seat for Democrats.

Montana - Schweitzer is another popular incumbent who won in 2004 50%-46%. He has no serious challengers at this time and given his approval ratings I doubt he'll be beaten.

Vermont - The incumbent Governor Douglas looks to be in fine shape to win reelection. He won his last election with 58% of the vote and has no serious challengers. To date his approval is still pretty decent.

Indiana - Despite some rough issues I feel that Daniels will win reeelection. It may well be closer than his last election where he unseated the then-current Democratic governor 53%-45%. However, he still has a strong standing and seems to have weathered the worst of his political storms.

North Dakota - Wildly popular Governor Hoeven won in 2004 with about 71% of the vote. He is extremely popular and his seat is about as solid as it can get.

Utah - It looks like Governor Huntsman is going to have an easy reelection. He won in 2004 58%-41%. His remains quiet high in approval and popularity. The seat is solid for the Republicans.

Washington - Current Governor Gregoire won her 2004 race by about 133 votes against Dino Rossi. This race is going to be tight either way you slice it and Rossi does have a chance. However I feel at the moment the advantage rests with the incumbent Gregoire. Her approval ratings are modest at this point but the race can change. We'll have to watch this one.

North Carolina - Though Easley was a popular govenor, the GOP has a good organization in North Carolina and this could be a pick up. Right now the race looks tight between the current Lt Governor Beverly Perdue for the Democrats and the popular Mayor McCrory of Charlotte. It could go either way.

Missouri - Right now Nixon is enjoying name recognition and despite the polls he's up against some tough opposition. Kenny Hulshof is a well respected Republican and well liked by many folks around the state. I believe that he can beat Nixon in the fall but we'll just have to see how the campign goes.

At this point in the race I see very little change in the gubernatorial landscape.

Safe Democratic States:

New Hampshire - Lynch is favored to win. He won in 2004 51%-49% and again in 2006 with 71% of the popular vote. His popularity also remains quiet high.

Delaware - Minner is term limited and can't run for reelection. The current Lt Governor John Carney is the most likely nominee for the Democrats and I expect him to retain the seat. No current GOP candidate has been chosen.

West Virginia - Manchin should have no trouble holding his seat. His popularity is high and he won in 2004 with 64% of the vote. It's a solid safe seat for Democrats

Montana - Schweitzer is another popular incumbent who won in 2004 50%-46%. He has no serious challengers at this time.

Safe Republican States:

Vermont - The incumbent Governor Douglas looks to be in fine shape to win reelection. He won his last election with 58% of the vote and has no serious challengers.

Indiana - Despite some rough issues I feel that Daniels can still pull off a close reelection. It may well be closer than his last election where he unseated the then-current Democratic governor 53%-45%. However, he still has a strong standing and his seat is lean at the moment.

North Dakota - Wildly popular Governor Hoeven won in 2004 with about 71% of the vote. He is extremely popular and his seat is about as solid as it can get. There is no current challenger in either the primary or the general election.

Utah - It looks like Governor Huntsman is going to have an easy reelection. He won in 2004 58%-41%. His remains quiet high and the seat is solid for the Republicans.

Tossup States:

Missouri - Govenor Blunt faces a tough reelection against Jay Nixon. However, I feel that even though the race will be tight that Blunt can pull it off. His approval rating is moderate at the moment. I also don't think that Nixon is the best candidate to run. Still it will be a nail bitter all the way to the end.

Washington - Current Governor Gregoire won her 2004 race by about 133 votes against Dino Rossi. It looks to be a rematch in 2008 and I expect it to be tight again. However, Gregoire has done a moderately good job of managing this liberal state and as it stands today enjoys moderate approval ratings. I predict she can hold her seat at this time. Rossi may not be the best candidate for the GOP to run again.

North Carolina - I have moved this state into the tossup column as Governor Easley is term limited and can not run in 2008. Though Easley is popular the GOP has a good organization in North Carolina and this could be a pick up. Right now the race looks like it will be between the current Lt Governor Beverly Perdue for the Democrats and attorney Bill Graham for the GOP.

Of course all these races are subject to change as the year goes on and we collect more information on the races. I, however, don't see much of a change right now.

Again, much like the Senate I see very little change in the govenor's races. The anti-Washington sweep that is building should largely by-pass state politics, it all depends on how things shape up over the next year.

I am fairly certain that at this point Montana, North Carolina, West Virginia, and Delaware are safe bets for the Democrats. And I think that Utah, North Dakota, Indiana, and Vermont are in good shape for the Republicans.

The tossups are in New Hampshire, Washington, and Missouri. The Washington race extremely close last time and there may be a repeat Gregoire-Rossi race. The last time the results were heavily contested so its a possible pick up. I'm not sure what to expect in New Hampshire so I'll leave it with the current incumbent. I do believe that Governor Blunt can pull off reelection against Attonrey General Jay Nixon here in the Show Me state.

We shall see how things progress.

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