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Governors

The title Governor refers to the chief executive of each state or insular territory, not directly subordinate to the federal authorities, but the political and ceremonial head of the state. The governor heads the executive branch in each state or territory and, depending on the individual jurisdiction, may have considerable control over government budgeting, the power of appointment of many officials (including many judges), and a considerable role in legislation. The governor may also have additional roles, such as that of commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard (when not federalized). All U.S. governors are directly elected and serve four-year terms except those in New Hampshire and Vermont, who serve two-year terms.

There are 37 states that will elect governors in next November’s general election, currently with a nearly even partisan split: The Democrats are defending their hold on 19 of those seats, while Republicans are the defending 18 states. Utah will be having a special election (Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate as the United States Ambassador to China. Lt. Governor Gary Herbert became governor on August 11, 2009. Utah law requires that a special election be held in 2010 to fill the remainder of the term, which expires in January 2013.).

In some States there are also good people running for other positions than Governor. If we know about those races, we'll inform you at the "State-page." Information will include the position and the candidates running. You can help by providing information - please send by e-mail, and include the source of the information (like a website, newsletter, government site, etc.). Thank You!

Please click on the state for more information about the election and the candidates of the particular state.

State	Party	Incumbent	Comment
AK	Republican	Sean Parnell
AL	Republican	Bob Riley	Term limited
AR	Democrat	Mike Beebe
AZ	Republican	Jan Brewer
CA	Republican	Arnold Schwarzenegger	Term Limited in 2010
CO	Democrat	Bill Ritter Jr.	update Jan. 6, 2010: Bill Ritter announced to retire
CT	Republican	M. Jodi Rell	retiring
FL	Republican	Charlie Crist	retiring as Governor - runs for US Senate
GA	Republican	Sonny Perdue	Term Limited in 2010
HI	Republican	Linda Lingle	Term limited in 2010
IA	Democrat	Chet Culver
ID	Republican	C. L. "Butch" Otter
IL	Democrat	Pat Quinn
KS	Democrat	Mark Parkinson	retiring as Governor
MA	Democrat	Deval Patrick
MD	Democrat	Martin O'Malley
ME	Democrat	John Baldacci	Term limited in 2010
MI	Democrat	Jennifer M. Granholm	Term limited in 2010
MN	Republican	Tim Pawlenty	retiring
NE	Republican	Dave Heineman
NH	Democrat	John Lynch
NM	Democrat	Bill Richardson	Term limited in 2010
NV	Republican	Jim Gibbons
NY	Democrat	David A. Paterson
OH	Democrat	Ted Strickland
OK	Democrat	Brad Henry	Term Limited in 2010
OR	Democrat	Theodore R. Kulongoski	Term-Limited in 2010
PA	Democrat	Edward G. Rendell	Term limited in 2010
RI	Republican	Donald L. Carcieri	Term limited in 2010
SC	Republican	Mark Sanford	Term-Limited in 2010
SD	Republican	Michael Rounds	Not seeking re-election in 2010
TN	Democrat	Phil Bredesen	Term Limited in 2010
TX	Republican	Rick Perry
UT	Republican	Gary Herbert
VT	Republican	Jim Douglas	retiring
WI	Democrat	James E. Doyle	retiring
WY	Democrat	Dave Freudenthal

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