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Democrats Gain Governor's Seat

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The Associated Press

Published: November 5, 2008

Democrats picked up a governor's seat Tuesday as voters in Missouri elected Attorney General Jay Nixon in an open race.

In Indiana, voters re-elected Gov. Mitch Daniels as the Republican easily turned back a Democratic challenger hoping to benefit from an expected strong turnout for Barack Obama.

The win in Missouri gave Democrats a momentary 29-21 edge in state capitals nationwide.

Among other incumbents, Democrats in Montana, West Virginia and New Hampshire won re-election by a wide margin, as did Republican governors in North Dakota and Utah. In Delaware, Democrat Jack Markell easily won the open seat.

Voters in 11 states were choosing governors, deciding close contests in North Carolina and Washington as Republicans tried to chip away at the Democrats' slim majority of gubernatorial seats.

In Washington state, Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire and GOP challenger Dino Rossi, a former state senator, restaged their 2004 contest that Gregoire won by 133 votes after two recounts and a lawsuit.

Results may not be clear until later in the week because of mail-in votes that could be postmarked as late as midnight on Election Day.

The outcome could be delayed even longer in Vermont. The Republican incumbent, Gov. Jim Douglas, was leading in the polls but had less than 50 percent of the vote in the most recent surveys of his three-way race with Democratic House Speaker Gaye Symington and independent Anthony Pollina.

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