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♪ >> there are currently 26 republicans in the united states. 11 of those states head to the polls for gubernatorial races. here to talk about them is jessica taylor with the cook political report. what are some overarching the yion the democratic side especially in the tossup races we have, democrats are making abortion access and rights an issue which we sow play a major role in the races after the overturn of roe v. wade. we are still looking at that as a major issue. we only rate three of these races as competitive.

there are no democratic incumbents on the baltlot this cycle. we will have several new governors across the country with term limits. amy: what does thisgiven who is up and which party? jessica: i cover the senate as well. voters look at governors and senators differently. this is the one place where candidates matter. and it is because no party gets a prize because you have the most governors. last cycle in the off year, andy beshear's in kentucky was reelected. in vermont, there is a republican governor that will beily favored to win another two-year term. there are some oddities on the way. kentucky would never set when we look at some of these senate races and we see former

governors trying to run for a senate it becomes a lot harder. larry hogan has an uphill climb. they are out -- they are on an island. you can make this race about the candidate more that is why i think candidate quality will matter a lot. amy: are there some similarities in what voters expect from their chief executive when they vote for them? jessica: during covid and after covid we solve voters pay more attention to the governors. they were setting goals. talking about mask mandates or vaccinations. morning hussle does a good track of the gover most of these governors are popular. you don't have to take divisive sides on issues. you will not take aview on foreign

policy. a lot of these are domestic issues. overwhelming -- it is hard to be a governor. in 2022 only one income bit governor lost incumbent governor lost an election. these governors are very popular . all of them that are running for reelection -- only those in a more competitive column are --. amy: how do you go about your ratings? jessica: we look at it qualitatively and quantitatively. we look at polls. we get access to a lot of polls that a lot of viewers do not have. we are talking to committees.

there is the democratic governors association and the republican governors association. re devoted to trying to win the races at the state level. meet with candidates and with governors when they are in town. we are talking to sources that work in this day and know the races and know them locally. sometimes local officials state officials and people on theground that work the grassroots in these campaigns. it is a lot of phone calling source work and sometimes we go to the states. north carolina is probably the biggest governor raise this cycle and my best friend lives in raleigh. amy: let's start with delaware. you rate this a solid democrat. jessica: you have an open seat there. it will come down i think to the democratic primary there. you have a lieutenant governor.

and i think that primary will primarily be between the lieutenant governor and matt meyer. there are republicans running but races like this are decided in the primary. the executive plays a bigwall you might look at the lieutenant governor and say they would normally have an advantage, i think this is going to be a competitive primary. we are so early. several months. voters have not tuned in so we haven't seen a lot of polling. is is in our solid democrat column. because of the number of democrats in the state? republicans are not contesting this one. amy: moving onto washington

state. likely democrat. jessica: you have the governor who is retirinunlike some other states washington doesn't have term limits. í% in washington, they have an party primary system. all the candidates will be on the august ballot and the top two candidates regardless of party will advance. the lieutenant governor -- the attorney general is a democratic front runner. there is a more moderatenning. but we expec the attorney general to place first. when the rays came open i wrote that no republican had the opportunity. they got an interesting candidate in the case, a former congressman who retired several years ago by the is also really well known there.

he was the sheriff that caught the green river killer in washington state. he has a law enforcement background. i was watching forensic f day and it comes on about him. he is well-known because of thishe has more of a moderate profile and has the type of crossover roads but he was defeated for the republican endorsement at the convention. that is not uncommon. in utah the incumbent governor lost the endorsement. it doesn't necessarily reflect what is going on at some of these primaries. i expected to be between ferguson and reichert. some interesting quirks -- some conservative activists tried to get other candidates on the ballot also named ferguson. there were two other ferguson's

that were going to be on the ballot. but it was illegal so they have been kicked off or withdrawn from the ballot. there will not be a trio. amy: you had initially rated this solid democrat but because reichert got into the race you are saying likely democrat. jessica: we have seen some close i would watch our ratings in the coming weeks. looking at theth what happened at the convention -- republicans in states like thisand get swing voters. i does what reichert has there. -- that is what reichert has there. in oregon -- there is a hangover if you have the same party in office for a while.

amy: in washington state, what are the demographics like? jessica: it is still overwhelmingly democratic and registration is but the way the primary can allow a more moderate candidate like reichert -- it is overwhelmingly democratic. but these are places where we can still see them splitting votes. i think there will be some widen reichert voters but will there be -- biden reichert voters but will there be enough. amy: [indiscernible] jessica: despite north carolina moving toward republicans at the federal level, they hold both

senate seats. former president trump has carried the state twice. at the gubernatorial level, in the last -- years they've only had three republican governors. the outgoing governor, roy cooper and he has won in 2016 and 2020 you see that ticket there. democrats hav io governor pipeline. we saw it in 2022 with josh shapiro in pennsylvania. they like these candidates that have law-enforcement background. josh was the attorney general. and then you have the republican nominee who is the lieutenant governor, mark robinson.

a very attractive candidate. he came out of nowhere to win over or seasoned politicians. -- over more seasoned politicians. he rose up through the grassroots. he is african-american. he speaks to a lot of churches and has the cadence of a pastor but he also has a history of saying a lot of controversia9g things. we saw in 2022 that -- in governors races candidates matter more. i think we see what president biden's numbers are in the state and donald trump is leading comfortably. robinson is running a strong

campaign. he is raising money. not republicans are behind him. he has a long history of saying things about abortion anti-semitic remarks and things about lgbtq people. north carolina has become more competitive over the years because you have a lot of college graduates particularly women moving into the research triangle. is this something that could turn off the voters? think if you had a more mainstream republican winning, a republican could be a favorite but i think robinson is still a very volatile candidate. i look at where the president's numbers are and that is why we have moved this. amy: we did see the president visit the state touting his record. jessica: this is a place that the biden campaign would like to

make more competitive. he is struggling already in sun belt states like georgia and arizona and about a. i think he is going to have to focus on rustbelt states like michigan, wisconsin and pennsylvania. i still think north carolina -- they might ultimately look at this as a reach. that might help josh. amy: it is possible. jessica: they have a tradition. he has a lotvideo clips against robinson. this will be a close race. republicans have good infrastructure. amy: new hampshire. jessica: both new hampshire and vermont are the only states in

the country that electgovernors for two-year terms. chris sununu whose father was a governor has been popular. he has been able to win reelection. in 2022 we had this race rated solidly republican on the republic you have two candidates. kelly ayotte lost reelection. and you have the former -- chuck morris. he is running. you see a lot of the establishment behind kelly ayotte.

ohon the democratic side, i think probably manchester mayor joyce cragg has the edge but cindy is also running. another late primary in september. if either of those races turn negative they could hurt those parties. there is not a lot of time to turn around before this general election. new hampshire -- their motto is live free or die. abortion rights have been a central focus in this race. you are already seeing democrat hit kelly ayotte for her past support.

gorsuch was a key m supreme court that led to the dobbs decision. amy: let's move on to some solid republican races and there are quite a few starting with indiana. >> this one i think is pretty well decided with the current there was a crowded primary with a lot of people spending money. he was a front runner from the get go. he has the most name id and no other candidates were outspending him. another race where i think was decided in the primary. democrats have a republican, a former secretary duof e but i think in indiana that is going to be tough. amy: in west virginia -- jessica: you have a term limited

governor running for senate. we just finished the primary in may there. another spirited primary. a little like a family reunion. you had the current attorney general who ended up winning the primary and got a lot of support from -- and went after his two opponents. the opponents were the sons of a current senator and a current congresswoman. chrisiller is the son of carol miller from west virginia and yo mark who is the son of shelley. his grandfather was governor there as well. their family is well known. he beat -- he was able to divide the vote. you have a lot of people dividing their vote regionally. he ran strong in the rural areas

and the panhandle. huntington was for miller. let's talk about on the democratic side. jessica: the -- the retiring senator joe manchin who was a former governor and very popular. there are some rumors going around that he is being urged to step in and take williams' place. williams has denied this. if you have manchin coming back that would make what is a e more interesting. he ran against mention and loss in the 2018 senate race. he is a polarizing figure within the republican community especially for the business aligned republicans in the

state. manchin might be getting encouragement from more moderate republicans. i feel like there is always a rumor that joe manchin is going to do something. i think joe manchin makes a lot of headlines. amy: that is wonder watch. let's move on to the current governor, mike parson is a republican and term limited. the secretary of state, jay ashcroft and mike kehoe. jessica: i thi ashcroft has most of support. and he has the name recognition. this is the son of former attorney general john auch kroft. the ashcroft family -- we see this a lot in families. talking virginia but also the current governor of kentucky, andy beshear, his father was governor and i mentioned chris sununu. you got these political dynasties in a stage.

you have lieutenant governor mike up -- who isashcroft benefits from the name id. amy: solid republican. the leading democratic candidate, chris mcquade. does she have a chance? jessica: there could be an abortion measure on the ballot and i think that makes them hopeful. but i find it really hard. amy: north dakota, the primary is june 11. the current governor is retiring and considered a potential vice presidential pick for former president donald trump. who is running? solidly republican. what do you think happens? jessica: the at large congressman kelly armstrong is at leading candidate. you have a lieutenant governor also running spending a lot of her own money. sources we have talked to say

armstrong is the one to lose two. burgum spent a lot of his own money and that is appealing. i think armstrong is probably the favorite. amy: and then thein?z