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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

GOP takes over governor mansions

 Pennsylvania Gov.-elect Tom Corbett celebrates his victory in Pittsburgh on Tuesday.  (Associated Press)
Tom Raum Associated Press

WASHINGTON – Republicans on Tuesday captured from Democrats governorships in at least seven states, including some prime presidential battlegrounds.

The same tide sweeping Republicans into office in Congress was leaving its mark on governor’s mansions as well, especially in the nation’s industrial heartland.

The gubernatorial races were especially important this year. There are a record number of them on the ballot – more than two-thirds of the states. Governors will play important roles in 2012 presidential politics, especially in swing states, and governors next year will participate in redistricting of congressional and legislative seat to reflect the 2010 census.

Lost in the GOP onslaught: governorships now held by Democrats in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Kansas, Oklahoma and Wyoming.

Even so, there were a few bright spots for Democrats in the face of an anti-incumbent groundswell sweeping the nation, including key gubernatorial victories in California, New York, Massachusetts and Maryland.

California voters returned Democrat Jerry Brown to the governor’s office 28 years after he left it. Brown’s victory will return the governor’s office in the nation’s most populous state to Democratic control. Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger leaves in January after more than seven years in office.

New York Democrat Andrew Cuomo surged past tea party Republican Carl Paladino to win the governor’s seat, the same post his father, Mario, had held two decades ago.

But most of the news for Democrats was gloomy, as the same wave that engulfed congressional Democrats took its toll on governor’s mansions.

As Democratic gubernatorial and congressional casualties were piling up, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, head of the Republican Governors Association and a possible 2012 presidential contender, compared the GOP victories to 1994, when Republicans seized control of both House and Senate.

“The stakes in this election were so much higher,” Barbour told a gathering of Republicans.

In Democratic-leaning Pennsylvania, Republican Tom Corbett defeated Democrat Dan Onorato to replace Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell.

In Michigan, Republican businessman Rick Snyder, who vowed to turn around the state’s devastated economy, defeated Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero, a Democrat.

In a high-profile race into which both parties spent millions, Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry, who has already served 10 years, defeated Democrat Bill White, a former mayor of Houston. Perry, who earlier survived a spirited GOP primary challenge from Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, had aligned himself with the Sarah Palin wing of the Republican Party.