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1 of 4Photo: Evan Vucci/AP/TT
American states must elect their own “presidents” in the mid-term elections.
In the gubernatorial election, there are several candidates who appear to be warming up for the real presidential election in two years – albeit behind the scenes behind Biden and Trump.
Joe Biden has announced that he wants to run for re-election in 2024. Donald Trump is also reported to be on his way to do so. Before the midterm elections, both have been out on tour to try to tip the scales in several contested states.
In many places, Trump has been able to force the Republican candidates to choose a side: Are they with or against him? Florida Governor Ron DeSantis doesn’t want to choose.
DeSantis won the election four years ago with the then president’s push. This time he ducks all questions about Donald Trump and the recent presidential election. In a divided Republican Party, he has one foot in each camp.
A rivalry simmers between the governor and the ex-president. This weekend, Trump went on the attack with a nickname: “Ron DeSanctimonious” (“sanctimonious” means hypocritical). When the two Republicans spoke separately in Florida, DeSantis did not mention Trump at all.
DeSantis is being touted as a more polished, and at least as conservative, alternative to Trump, and he has already received large donations.
In a televised debate before the gubernatorial election, the opposing candidate, Democrat Charlie Crist, asked if Ron DeSantis could promise that he would remain in office for four years if elected. DeSantis did not respond.
The electoral system in focus
False claims about the US electoral system have permeated the autumn election campaign.
In Georgia, however, it is the Democratic gubernatorial candidate who takes the battle. Stacey Abrams didn’t want to admit defeat when she lost the gubernatorial race four years ago. Abrams has long pushed voting rights issues in a state with very strict election laws.
Top Republicans who do not distance themselves from Donald Trump have accused her of being an election denier.
– My point was that the opportunity to participate in the election was insufficient, and I refuse to accept a system that allows citizens to be denied that opportunity. It is a very different thing from claiming that a result is based on electoral fraud, she said in an interview with the news site The 19th in September.
Abrams has said she will run for president at some point, but not when.
Incumbent Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who is running for re-election, was one of the Republicans who resisted Donald Trump’s attempts to influence the vote count in the last presidential election. Before the gubernatorial election, Trump tried to launch a loyal counter-candidate, but Kemp clearly defeated him.
– Our battle is far from over. “Tonight begins the battle for the soul of our state, where we will make sure that Stacey Abrams does not become our governor, or the next president,” Kemp said after winning the Republican primary.
That woman
In traditionally Republican Texas, Republican Governor Greg Abbott, on the contrary, chose to turn his back on Donald Trump and try to push through a change in the election results. Abbott is running for a third term and has been featured in presidential debates for several years. He himself has been low on the matter.
In Democrat-blue California, Governor Gavin Newsom has been lying low throughout the election campaign. His re-election is all but a given, but that has fueled speculation that his thoughts are elsewhere. In September, Newsom assured that he was not interested in the presidency – “no, no and no” but said he was flattered.
In the swing state of Michigan, Democrat Gretchen Whitmer also looks set to remain in office. Progressive Whitmer, called by Donald Trump “that woman in Michigan”, has been a red flag for many Republicans since she resisted attempts to change the presidential election results in her state.
Within the Democrats, Whitmer has quickly climbed the hierarchy, and The Washington Post recently highlighted her as the party’s fourth most likely presidential candidate for the next election.
More governors and gubernatorial candidates seem to be leaving the door ajar, or raking the arena for 2024. However, many will wait and see how Joe Biden and Donald Trump do.
Facts
The gubernatorial election
The governors are the top executive leaders of the 50 states and five territories of the United States. They have the right to initiate new legislation at state level, but also some veto power (which in most cases can be overridden by state parliaments). They are usually the supreme commander of their state’s national guard and have the right to appoint many senior officials.
The terms extend over four years, except in the states of Vermont and New Hampshire where the governors serve two-year terms.
Ahead of the mid-term elections on November 8, 2022, 28 of the states’ governors are Republicans and 22 are Democrats.
In the mid-term elections, gubernatorial elections are held in 36 states (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming) and in three territories (Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and US Virgin Islands).
20 governorships held by Republicans are up for grabs, as well as 16 held by Democrats.
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