GOP governors pay a price for blocking the ACA
Scott Walker, the Governor of Wisconsin, is in electoral jeopardy. This may come as a surprise, because for most of 2014 he was considered an odds-on favorite for reëlection against his Democratic challenger, Mary Burke. Recent surveys show that his median lead over Burke has narrowed from seven points, at its peak, to just half a point. The Princeton Election Consortium model (of which I’m a founder)* estimates that Walker’s probability for reëlection is fifty-five per cent, which is barely better than even odds.
Walker achieved prominence in both Republican and Democratic circles when he took away collective-bargaining power from government-employee unions. This was met with angry backlash, leading to massive protests and a recall election, in 2011, which Walker survived, making him a hero to Republicans and leading some to tout him as a potential Presidential candidate. This year, Burke, the C.E.O. of Trek Bicycle Corporation, has run a campaign focussed almost entirely on being the Democratic alternative to Walker, as well as on job growth, which has been anemic in Wisconsin. The strategy—part “I’m not Scott,” part bread-and-butter policy—seems to be working.
Walker isn’t the only incumbent governor who could lose his seat. There are thirty-six gubernatorial races being held this year. This chart, from RealClearPolitics, shows elections that are competitive or likely to result in a switch.
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/swing-states-is-obamacare-asset
= new reply since forum marked as read
