TIME Magazine: Republicans Dominate in Governors’ Races

TIME Magazine; 11/9/2016

Despite an aggressive financial push from Democrats, Republicans cemented their dominance of the nation’s governors’ mansions in elections Tuesday, ending the night with their highest number of governorships since 1922.

The GOP flipped control of state executives in Missouri, Vermont and New Hampshire as of early Wednesday. That means the party will hold the governors’ offices in at least 33 states, up from 31. In a stunning night for Democrats on the national stage, these additional losses pushed the party further into the political wilderness in the states, where they have been struggling to compete for years.

Defending eight of the 12 governorships on the ballot Tuesday, Democratic candidates and the political groups backing them narrowly outspent Republicans on TV ads by about $2.5 million, according to a Center for Public Integrity analysis of data from media tracker Kantar Media/CMAG. That’s a reversal from 2012, when Republican candidates and committees outspent Democrats by more than $20 million.

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