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Democrats score governor wins in Trump states, Florida down to wire

Democrats score governor wins in Trump states, Florida down to wire
November 7, 2018
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Reuters) - Democrats scored big victories on Tuesday in governor races in Michigan and Kansas, US states that voted for Republican President Donald Trump in 2016, while the hotly contested gubernatorial elections in Georgia and Florida remained too close to call. But Republican Mike DeWine defeated Democrat Richard Cordray in Ohio, one of the highest-profile governor’s races, according to an NBC News projection. While much of the elections’ focus was on which party would win control of the U.S. Congress, Republicans and Democrats were battling across the country for state-level power, including in three dozen governors’ races. In Michigan, Democrat Gretchen Whitmer turned back Republican Bill Schuette in the contest to replace Republican Governor Rick Snyder, who could not run again due to term limits. In Kansas, Democrat Laura Kelly defeated Kris Kobach, a staunch Trump ally, where outgoing Republican Governor Sam Brownback suffered from low approval ratings. The contests for governor in Florida and Georgia - in which liberal black Democrats faced off against white Republicans strongly supported by Trump - had not been resolved by 11 p.m. EST (0400 GMT). The Florida race in particular appeared to be coming down to the wire. Democrat Andrew Gillum, the 39-year-old mayor of Tallahassee, was aiming to become the state’s first black governor against Republican former congressman Ron DeSantis. With more than 80 percent of the vote counted, DeSantis held a lead of 1 percent. “We all learned in 2016 not to count on anything, not polls, not election integrity, not the electoral mood,” Dawn Hucklebridge, 36, a friend of Gillum, said at his election night gathering, where the mood turned restive as the results trickled in. In Georgia, Democrat Stacey Abrams, 44, was vying to become the nation’s first black female governor against Republican Brian Kemp, the state’s secretary of state. The two races were seen as a test of whether liberal candidates could prevail in Southern states, where centrist Democrats have repeatedly lost, by appealing to a coalition of young and minority voters. Both campaigns drew national attention. Trump traveled to each state in the closing days of the election cycle to energize Republicans at “Make America Great Again” rallies. Democratic former President Barack Obama swooped in to boost the Democrats, and media star Oprah Winfrey visited Georgia on behalf of Abrams. Accusations of race-baiting have dogged Kemp, 55, and DeSantis, 40. They deny the charges. After casting his ballot on a drizzly morning in Tallahassee, the capital of Florida, Gillum said his election would send a message to Trump “that the politics of hatred and of division, of separation, that they’ve come to an end.” DeSantis, after voting in Ponte Vedra Beach, told reporters: “We did as much as can be done and I’m happy. Let the chips fall where they may.” STATE-LEVEL POWER Winning state-level power would help Republicans and Democrats support or resist Trump’s agenda on issues such as healthcare, gun control and gay rights. Democrats, playing catch-up after a net loss of 13 governorships and more than 900 state legislative seats during the eight-year Obama administration, fielded their largest slate of legislative candidates in more than three decades. Republicans controlled 33 governors’ mansions and two-thirds of state legislative chambers going into Tuesday. The outcome of elections for state positions could also affect future control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Governors and hundreds of legislators elected this year will be in office when congressional districts are redrawn after the 2020 Census. In some states, a governor’s power to sign or veto congressional maps could decide the partisan balance. Jennifer Duffy, who analyzes governors’ races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, expected Democrats to wrest between six and eight governorships away from Republicans, who are defending a large number of open seats in battleground states. Democrats viewed the governor’s race in Wisconsin, where Republican Scott Walker was seeking a third term, as winnable. Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania - where Democratic incumbent Tom Wolf easily won re-election on Tuesday - are typically Democratic states that swung to Trump in 2016, handing him the presidency. In Oklahoma, Republican Kevin Stitt defeated Democrat Drew Edmondson, dashing Democratic hopes that outgoing Republican Governor Mary Fallin’s low approval numbers had provided a rare opportunity in a deeply conservative state. Republicans, meanwhile, were eyeing potential pickups in Connecticut and Oregon, both traditionally Democratic states. In Colorado, Democrat Jared Polis was set to become the first openly gay man to be elected governor of a U.S. state, after NBC News projected him to win against Republican Walker Stapleton. In Georgia, critics have drawn attention to Kemp’s dual role as a candidate for governor and as supervisor of the state’s elections in his capacity as secretary of state. Kemp accused Democrats on Sunday of trying to hack voter registration systems, without offering any supporting evidence. Democratic Party officials, who have accused Kemp of trying to suppress the minority vote, quickly denied the charge. A nonprofit group, Protect Democracy, said it had filed an emergency lawsuit on Tuesday asking a federal judge to block Kemp from presiding over the election results, including any recount or runoff race. Under Georgia law, if neither Abrams nor Kemp wins a majority of the vote on Tuesday, their battle continues to a December runoff. The presence of a third-party candidate on the ballot makes that possibility more likely.