Lessons for 2016 in Governor’s Races

The New York Times looks at eight Republican governors facing re-election “who swept into office in 2010 in states that President Obama won two years earlier, driven by the Tea Party at the height of its influence.”

“But perhaps the most closely watched races will be in four Northern industrial states whose white working-class voters were once solidly Democratic but are now up for grabs. Besides Mr. Walker, the Rustbelt Four are Govs. Rick Snyder of Michigan, John R. Kasich of Ohio and Tom Corbett of Pennsylvania… How the governors fare will say a lot about whether their conservative policies provide a template for their party’s ability to appeal to independents and wavering Democrats in 2016, or whether those voters can be coaxed back to the Democrats.”