Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Meet America\u2019s new class of governors \u2014 a diverse group of political newcomers and seasoned politicians who flipped party control, broke centuries-old barriers and helped deliver a record 12 female state executives nationwide.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re historic firsts in their states and in the nation. They flipped governor\u2019s offices blue in Arizona, Maryland and Massachusetts. And in Nevada, Republican Joe Lombardo\u2019s upset win over Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak will reshape the balance of power in a key battleground state where Democrats run the statehouse.<\/p>\n
The nine newcomers will join a group of governors who are seeing their power and prominence expand on public health, jobs, abortion and gun rights as the economy teeters on the brink of a recession.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s the lineup of new governors taking office next year:<\/p>\n
Nebraska hog farmer and university regent Jim Pillen didn\u2019t debate his rivals during his bid to move into the governor\u2019s mansion in Lincoln. He also didn\u2019t win an endorsement from the Omaha World-Herald<\/a>\u2019s historically conservative editorial board \u2014 or former President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n But the Republican and Cornhusker football hall-of-famer still won nearly 60 percent<\/a> of the vote in an agricultural stronghold where voters outside the state\u2019s two largest cities heavily backed Trump in 2020.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m the first governor in the state of Nebraska that made his living exclusively from agriculture in 100 years,\u201d Pillen said in an interview. \u201cToday, more than ever, food security and energy independence through ethanol and renewable fuels is a big, big deal. As I like to say: We in Nebraska agriculture feed the world and we save the planet doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n Pillen will be tested on both politics and policy. Populist Republicans gained control of the party\u2019s apparatus this summer<\/a>, though conservatives may fall short<\/a> in their attempts to grab a filibuster-proof majority in the state\u2019s unicameral legislature. Pillen\u2019s campaign rhetoric has suggested he backs stricter state limits on abortion. He also plans to overhaul the state\u2019s education funding formula after he unsuccessfully sought to persuade the University of Nebraska\u2019s Board of Regents last year to oppose critical race theory, an academic concept that explores how race and racism have become ingrained in American institutions.<\/p>\n And Pillen has one agenda item with significant implications for Capitol Hill: He must appoint a replacement for retiring Republican Sen. Ben Sasse, who said he will leave the chamber in early January<\/a> to serve as the University of Florida\u2019s president. The one clear-cut candidate<\/a> to replace him is Pete Ricketts. The term-limited Republican governor was one of Pillen\u2019s most prominent \u2014 and deep-pocketed \u2014 supporters and said he would allow his successor<\/a> to appoint Sasse\u2019s replacement weeks before Pillen won office.<\/p>\n \u201cI’m not a believer in placeholders,\u201d Pillen said of the forthcoming appointment. \u201cI’m a believer that we need to get the best person possible, and I’m a believer that whoever that person is has to be able to win reelection. Being in a seat, wherever it is, for two years just does not make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Juan Perez Jr.<\/p>\n Katie Hobbs delivered a massive win for Democrats when she was projected the winner of Arizona\u2019s gubernatorial race, defeating a Trump acolyte in a closely watched battleground-state race and breaking the state government trifecta Republicans have held since 2009.<\/p>\n \u201cDemocracy is worth the wait,\u201d the governor-elect wrote on Twitter after the race was called in her favor on Monday following six days of ballot-counting. She\u2019ll succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Doug Ducey, making her one of three Democrats to flip a governor\u2019s seat this cycle.<\/p>\n Hobbs, who as secretary of state stood steadfast against Trump and his allies\u2019 claims that the 2020 election was stolen, defeated one of the GOP\u2019s most prominent election deniers in former local TV news anchor Kari Lake. Hobbs had drawn criticism and concern from some in her own party for declining to debate Lake, saying she didn\u2019t want to give her rival more of a platform in a race she described as \u201csanity versus chaos.\u201d Lake has yet to concede.<\/p>\n A former social worker, Hobbs served in the state House and Senate before being narrowly elected secretary of state in 2018.<\/p>\n She campaigned for governor on repealing Arizona\u2019s pre-Roe v. Wade ban on most abortions, raising teacher salaries and implementing an annual child tax credit. But the Democrat will face an uphill battle in passing her priorities through a Republican-led Legislature even as she gains veto power over them.<\/p>\n \u2014 Lisa Kashinsky<\/p>\n Sarah Huckabee Sanders, former press secretary for President Donald Trump, will be the state\u2019s first female governor after running a campaign that shattered fundraising records. The Republican earned Trump\u2019s endorsement soon after declaring her candidacy and consistently led in polling by double digits before ultimately receiving nearly two-thirds of the vote.<\/p>\n Sanders, the daughter of longtime former Arkansas governor and political commentator Mike Huckabee, had a combative relationship with the press during the Trump administration, frequently sparring with reporters and canceling press briefings. She carried that attitude toward the media into her gubernatorial run in her home state, rarely speaking to local press, which she was criticized over by her Democratic opponent, Chris Jones.<\/p>\n Throughout the campaign, Sanders promised an early order of business will be eliminating the state income tax. The Republican-controlled Legislature and term-limited Gov. Asa Hutchinson had already begun to lay the groundwork for phasing out income taxes by reducing the amount residents would have to pay earlier this year.<\/p>\n Sanders also said one of her goals will be improving literacy rates among Arkansas schoolchildren. Students\u2019 scores in math and reading consistently fall below national averages and a recent national study shows that the pandemic exacerbated those low figures.<\/p>\n The Legislature is expected to continue to lead on conservative issues in the upcoming legislative session, with Sanders\u2019 support. Arkansas was the first state in 2021 to ban transgender children from receiving gender-affirming medical care, a bill Hutchinson initially vetoed but was overridden by lawmakers. Sanders said she would have signed the measure.<\/p>\n \u2014 Liz Crampton<\/p>\n Maura Healey just became the first woman and first openly gay person elected governor of Massachusetts. Come January, she\u2019ll be one of the first two openly lesbian governors in the country, and part of one of the first two all-female governor and lieutenant governor teams in the nation\u2019s history. She\u2019ll also deliver Democrats trifecta control of state government in this deep-blue state for just the second time in three decades.<\/p>\n That was the easy part.<\/p>\n A two-term state attorney general who burnished her profile by repeatedly suing the Trump administration and taking on pharmaceutical companies over the opioid epidemic, Healey, 51, will soon face a new set of challenges. She\u2019s already been tasked with finding a new leader for the greater Boston area\u2019s beleaguered public transportation system and fixing the safety problems laid bare in a scathing federal review. And the Democrat has pledged to press ahead with changes to the tax code \u2014 likely a mix of credits she\u2019s proposed for children and other dependents and other adjustments put forward by outgoing GOP Gov. Charlie Baker \u2014 on her first day in office.<\/p>\n She\u2019ll also have to navigate the perks and perils of one-party rule. Healey and moderate Democratic legislative leaders will face pressure from progressives to make progress on reducing transit fares and bringing back long-banned local-option rent control, among other goals. Her working relationship with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, a progressive Democrat and rising star in the party, will also be closely watched.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople have given us a mandate, not just to act but to deliver results,\u201d Healey, who trounced her Trump-backed opponent by nearly 30 points, told reporters after a post-victory meeting with Baker. \u201cThis is a really serious endeavor.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Lisa Kashinsky<\/p>\n Wes Moore is being positioned as a star-in-waiting for the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n When he\u2019s sworn in early next year, he\u2019ll be the nation\u2019s only Black governor and just the third ever elected in the 246-year history of the United States. Moore cruised to victory last week in his first time running for public office, vanquishing his Trump-backed opponent by nearly 30 percentage points.<\/p>\n \u201cThe results are still rolling in tonight,\u201d Moore said during his victory speech election night, when the only unanswered question was about how large his margin of victory would be. \u201cBut it’s clear we have a mandate for our vision of a healthier, wealthier Maryland.\u201d<\/p>\n Moore, best-selling author and combat veteran of the Afghanistan War whose campaign slogan was \u201cLeave No One Behind,\u201d amassed a who’s who of endorsements from Democratic luminaries. This includes President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey \u2014 all of whom stumped with or cut ads for the first-time candidate already being discussed as a potential White House contender.<\/p>\n With Moore, a political moderate, Democrats will enjoy a governing trifecta, controlling both the governor\u2019s mansion and both chambers of the state legislature. The governor-elect also inherits a $2 billion budget surplus<\/a> from term-limited Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican who he met with last week.<\/p>\n Moore has said his plans for job retraining programs, improving educational outcomes for high schoolers and other methods for making Maryland more equitable will rely on making more strategic choices.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s not about raising taxes,\u201d Moore said in an appearance on Fox News Sunday, adding \u201cthe capital is out there. We need to be smarter about how we’re applying it.\u201d<\/p>\n Among the immediate challenges the Moore administration will have to tackle is filling a large number of vacancies across several key government agencies and managing the implementation of the state\u2019s recreational marijana program next year.<\/p>\n \u2014 Brakkton Brooker<\/p>\n The 2022 election cycle was a fairly disappointing one for Republican governors. While no incumbent governor lost, Republicans largely failed to make any inroads either, with most Democratic incumbents winning and the party holding their open seats.<\/p>\n The lone exception to that rule: Nevada\u2019s Joe Lombardo.<\/p>\n Lombardo, the sheriff of the state\u2019s most populous county, defeated incumbent Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak, becoming the only Republican gubernatorial hopeful to flip a seat this cycle. Lombardo was a prized recruit for national Republicans, in part because of his previous electoral success: He is the soon-to-be-former sheriff of Clark County, which typically leans heavily Democratic and is central to any statewide elections there.<\/p>\n It is a return to form for the Silver State \u2014 Sisolak\u2019s one-term administration marked the only time a Democrat served as the state\u2019s chief executive this millennium. But, to get things done, Lombardo will have to work with Democrats, who retained control of both chambers<\/a> of the state legislature but did not win a veto-proof supermajority.<\/p>\n Lombardo centered his campaign around his law enforcement background, along with education and rebuilding a state\u2019s economy, which was hit particularly hard by a one-two punch of the pandemic and inflation. In his victory speech on Monday, he pledged to expand school choice in the state, reform the state\u2019s government agencies and eliminate \u201csoft on crime laws.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow that the election is over, we must set aside our differences and come together as Nevadans, to work toward a common goal of building a strong economy and a healthier and safer Nevada,\u201d he said on Monday, pledging to work with Sisolak to ensure a smooth transition.<\/p>\n \u2014 Zach Montellaro<\/p>\n Portland progressive Tina Kotek is known for her hard-nosed negotiating style after nine years as speaker of the Oregon House. And she\u2019ll be one of the country\u2019s first two openly gay women serving as governor when she and Healey in Massachusetts are sworn into office this winter.<\/p>\n Kotek was also the nation\u2019s first out statehouse speaker, a milestone she notched after six years in the Legislature. Her campaign website<\/a> boasts that, in graduate school at the University of Washington, she secured domestic partnership rights for students and faculty.<\/p>\n Her resume before politics includes work for the Oregon Food Bank and for the nonprofit advocacy group Children First for Oregon. She has been especially vocal on homelessness policy, which polling shows is the most important issue to Oregonians.<\/p>\n The University of Oregon graduate brings an exacting leadership style and little fear of agitating Democratic colleagues to the office. And while her allies revere her leadership and penchant for pushing through compromises, tensions have at times boiled over: A member of Kotek\u2019s caucus reportedly emerged from talks over a bill curtailing public pensions in tears<\/a>.<\/p>\n Kotek’s toughness, touted in her own campaign ads, may have helped her survive the most formidable challenge<\/a> to Oregon Democrats’ gubernatorial win streak in a generation. Former Oregon House Minority Leader Mike McLane, a Republican who is reportedly in the same prayer group as Kotek, described her character another way to a Portland alt weekly.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019re in her way,\u201d McLane told the Wilamette Week<\/a>, \u201cyou are going to be roadkill.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Blake Jones<\/p>\n Pennsylvania is supposed to be a swing state. But Democratic state Attorney General Josh Shapiro won by a commanding margin anyway.<\/p>\n The 49-year-old attorney general beat his Republican opponent, state Sen. Doug Mastriano, last week, setting himself up to succeed the term-limited Gov. Tom Wolf and holding the open seat for Democrats.<\/p>\n Shapiro won by over 14 points, the biggest margin of victory for a statewide Democrat in the Keystone State this year. It is the third cycle that Shapio has won the most votes out of anyone on the ballot there: 2016, 2020 and 2022.<\/p>\n Shapiro centered his Jewish faith<\/a> in his campaign to defeat Mastriano, a Christian nationalist with ties to antisemites who was one of the leading election deniers in the country.<\/p>\n \u201cIt made me more determined to beat this guy, but not for the reasons that I think you think,\u201d Shapiro said in an interview with POLITICO in September. \u201cI didn\u2019t look at it as an American Jew and feel offended personally. I looked at it as an attorney general who wants to be governor, thinking, \u2018This guy can\u2019t lead our commonwealth if he thinks certain people shouldn\u2019t exist here, if he thinks certain people don\u2019t deserve representation.\u2019 So it pissed me off on behalf of the people that I\u2019m trying to represent.\u201d<\/p>\n Shapiro\u2019s victory continues years of divided government in Pennsylvania, where Republicans have held the Legislature. The battle for the state House remains too close to call, while Republicans retained control of the state Senate. His win also means he will appoint the commonwealth\u2019s chief election official for the 2024 election \u2014 a major priority for his vanquished opponent, an ally of Trump who regularly spread lies about the security of the election.<\/p>\n \u2014 Zach Montellaro<\/p>\n Lt. Gov. Josh Green, a Democrat, swept the governor\u2019s race with two-thirds of the vote, reinforcing the tight grip his party holds over statewide politics. Before becoming term-limited Gov. David Ige\u2019s No. 2, Green served in the state Legislature. He\u2019s an emergency room doctor who has worked in rural areas and continued practicing medicine part-time while in office.<\/p>\n Green, 52, made housing affordability and homelessness central to his campaign, two issues he worked on as lieutenant governor. Median home prices skyrocketed during the pandemic, further squeezing residents in a state already dealing with the nation\u2019s highest cost-of- living<\/a>.<\/p>\n Green has championed \u201ctiny home villages\u201d \u2014 permanent housing communities for people who are chronically homeless. Financed in partnership with builders and donors, the first of the developments went up in 2019 to house military veterans and was created by transferring unused land to the state housing authority. He\u2019s promised to expand that program, as well as \u201cOhana zones\u201d \u2014 converted properties that provide shelter and services like medical care.<\/p>\n Green also supports a contentious tourism proposal that\u2019s been kicking around Hawaii politics for a long time: impose a $50 fee on every out-of-state visitor over age 12. That charge, which Green has dubbed a \u201cclimate impact fee,\u201d would supposedly generate more than $350 million for reducing environmental damage caused by tourism, such as the degradation of native wildlife. But Green faces a tough showdown with the state legislature.<\/p>\n \u2014 Liz Crampton<\/p>\nKatie Hobbs<\/h4>\n
Sarah Huckabee Sanders<\/h4>\n
Maura Healey<\/h4>\n
Wes Moore<\/h4>\n
Joe Lombardo<\/h4>\n
Tina Kotek<\/h4>\n
Josh Shapiro<\/h4>\n
Josh Green<\/h4>\n