Beshear: More states within ‘margin of error’ for Democratic gubernatorial candidates

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear told CNN on Sunday that the Democratic Party increasingly views multiple Republican-held governor’s mansions as competitive heading into November. Beshear said recent Democratic victories and what he described as fallout from former President Donald Trump’s agenda have expanded the map of close races to include states such as Florida, Texas, Alaska and Nebraska. Beshear pointed to last year’s wins by New Jersey Gov. Mike Sherrill (D) and Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) as providing momentum for Democrats. He also noted that the Cook Political Report has moved several gubernatorial contests toward Democrats in recent months, signaling a shift in analyst assessments of those races. The governor referenced specific contests, including Florida’s matchup in which former GOP Rep. David Jolly, who switched to the Democratic side, is running against Rep. Byron Donalds (R). Decision Desk HQ, which The Hill uses as a polling partner, gave Donalds a 67 percent chance of winning as of Friday, an increase of eight percentage points from the previous day. Beshear also mentioned the Texas contest between state Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D) and Gov. Greg Abbott (R), which recent polls have shown to be more competitive even as DDHQ still favors Abbott with roughly a 70 percent chance of victory. Looking beyond governor’s races, Decision Desk HQ assigns Democrats a 51 percent probability of flipping control of both the House and Senate, which would provide the party with congressional majorities for the final two years of President Trump’s term. Beshear said that if Democrats capitalize on these opportunities, they must move beyond opposing Trump and present concrete governing plans, arguing that many voters feel the economy is not working for them.