GOP falters in elections for governor

NPR has a nice rundown of the outlook for all of this year's races for governor in their various states. The Democrats are looking awfully good in those.

Of the 36 contests for governor this year, Republicans are clearly at a disadvantage. For one thing, the GOP has more statehouses at stake (22) than do the Democrats (14). And in the 10 races where no incumbent is running --usually the best opportunity for a change in party -- Republicans currently hold nine of them.

Control of the top spot in the statehouse is gaining in importance, with the last few years seeing many big-time state initiatives making headlines. Or, sometimes, it's the Guv's themselves. Just look at Ahnold.

While the fight for Congress will probably be the biggest story in this election, as it should be, it's a good idea to keep an eye on the races for governor. The big Dem leads in most of them could be an indicator of what happens in D.C.