Thirty-six of the 50 states will elect governors in Tuesday’s U.S. midterm elections. Though the races typically get less attention than the battle for control of Congress, they carry high stakes for issues such as abortion access, transgender rights, guns and future elections in those states.
Here are some of the most consequential gubernatorial races to watch.
Arizona
Widely seen as one of the closest gubernatorial races in the country, the contest for Arizona’s open governorship pits Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, against former news anchor Kari Lake, a Republican. Several recent polls show Lake leading Hobbs by a small margin.
Hobbs rose to national prominence in 2020 when she defended Arizona’s election results against former President Donald Trump’s false claims of fraud. Lake, who received Trump’s endorsement, has embraced those claims and vowed to ban mail-in voting if she wins.
Florida
Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is seeking re-election for a second term in what is widely seen as a precursor to a presidential run in 2024. He has been at the forefront of a number of the country’s partisan fights, bucking COVID-19 restrictions while backing a law limiting discussion of LGBTQ issues in the state’s schools.
Polls show him ahead of opponent Charlie Crist, a former Republican governor who switched parties and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat. Crist has criticized DeSantis as divisive and tried to appeal to moderate...
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