I haven’t really covered the gubernatorial races yet, due to my complete ignorance of most of them (as you can tell I know national politics much more than states). This article gives some good info. Dems hold 22 seats, and Republicans 28. Democrats expect to gain 5 or 6 seats, making it 27 – 23 or 28 – 22. This is made possible by the open seats this year:

Republicans must defend 22 of the 36 governors' offices on the ballot in November, including eight states where the incumbent retired or is barred from running again. Democrats defend 14 governorships but only one in which the incumbent is not running.

New York is of course a district that most likely will turn over. Eliot Spitzer, current NY attorney general, will be running as the Democratic challenger. It was recently rumored that Donald Trump would run against him, until he came out and endorsed Spitzer. It seems to be a futile race for Republicans in NY, but I can’t say Pataki was a bad guy. Then again, I can’t say I follow state politics.

The best news with this is it shows the political climate in the country. Democrats in positions of power can fund raise and endorse fellow Democrats running in the future. Also, policies that are going on at the state level can set the agenda for the national level. For example, the transit workers union strike brought labor unions to the forefront of national news for a few days. If Democrats bring forward a liberal agenda embraced by the state, it can transfer to the federal level. Lets hope the wheels keep turning for the Dems. [link]