GOVERNORS

ALASKA

One of the more unusual races is in Alaska, where independent Gov. Bill Walker ended his campaign last month and threw his support to the Democrat in the race, Mark Begich, a former senator and mayor of Anchorage. Walker is the only independent governor in the country, and unseating him has been Republicans’ top priority. But even with Walker’s move, the Republican, former state Sen. Mike Dunleavy, is still leading the race.

GEORGIA

Republican Brian Kemp, the current secretary of state, and Democrat Stacey Abrams, a former state legislator, are in the home stretch of a closely watched race to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Nathan Deal. Polls have consistently shown the rivals running neck and neck.

ILLINOIS

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner is the most vulnerable governor this cycle. Despite having endless millions to spend on his race, he was always going to have a tough path to re-election in a Democratic state. It was the entrance of a third-party conservative candidate that appeared to seal his fate by making Rauner a governor without a natural constituency. Democrat J.B. Pritzker, another billionaire, looks as if he’ll cruise to victory.

IOWA

Both sides say this is a real race. Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds was elevated to the job last year after Terry Branstad was appointed ambassador to China, so she doesn’t quite have the power of incumbency. But while Democrats hope to pick up support from farmers opposed to Trump’s tariffs, this is a state that the president carried by nearly 10 points. A recent poll showed Reynolds with a small lead over her opponent, Democrat Fred Hubbell, a wealthy businessman.

MICHIGAN

In the race to succeed outgoing GOP Gov. Rick Snyder, Democrat Gretchen Whitmer, the former party leader in the state Senate, has earned support with a simple “Fix the Damn Roads” slogan. She’s buoyed by Democratic activists who are frustrated that their state went for Trump in 2016. She is facing Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette.

NEVADA

Nevada Democrats are trying to keep their up- and down-ballot success in 2016 going by taking the governor’s mansion from term-limited Republican Brian Sandoval, who is leaving office with some 60 percent of the state feeling that Nevada is on the right track. It helps Democrats that Sandoval hasn’t endorsed the Republican nominee, Attorney General Adam Laxalt. Meanwhile Democratic nominee Steve Sisolak, a commissioner of the county that includes Las Vegas, is running ads tying himself to Sandoval’s education policy. Recent polls show the race as a dead heat.

OHIO

With Republican Gov. John Kasich leaving because of term limits, Democrats are trying to win the seat in a state that Trump won by 10 points in 2016. They’ve nominated former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau chief Richard Cordray. GOP candidate Mike DeWine, a former U.S. senator and the state’s current attorney general, has strong name identification.

WISCONSIN

One of the hardest things to do in politics is knock off a sitting governor, especially one as wellestablished as Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who is going for a third term. But recent public and private polling show his Democratic challenger, Tony Evers, has a good chance.