Roy Cooper was elected Governor of North Carolina in 2016. After sixteen years as attorney general. A Morehouse Scholar at the University of North Carolina. His election as Governor reflected his strengths and a changing North Carolina.
Andy Beshear is running against Matt Bevin, the most unpopular governor in the country, the governor he has been suing. Bevin will not be a pushover this November. No matter how unpopular, Bevin will attack relentlessly.
John Bel Edwards is Louisiana’s Democratic Governor. He is running for reelection. ohn Bel Edwards’ father was a sheriff. His grandfather, too. His great grandfather as well. One more thing. So is his brother. The Edwards family is in a Louisiana political Hall of Fame for this accomplishment.
Jim Hood is about as Mississippi as you can get. He has been the Mississippi Attorney General since 2003, the Democratic Attorney General. He is running for Governor in the November, 2019 election.
This Political Note is a summary of the political situation for selected gubernatorial candidates shortly before the 2018 election.
Eighteen years as Executive Director of the Kansas Recreation and Parks Association, lobbying the legislature on behalf of parks. she was elected to the state Senate in 2004. She experienced the disaster of the Brownback experiment, has the support of moderate Republicans as well as Kansas's Democrats, and could be elected governor.
Andrew Gillum was President of the student body of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) -- an Historically Black University. He was elected to a one year term as a City Commissioner, then to a regular four year term after that. He was elected to two more four year terms after the first one. As a Commissioner, he focused on kids. He brought technology to youth and to the schools, opened a teen center, created a focus on restorative justice for youth, and supported the creation of a downtown park. He was elected Mayor with 76% of the vote.
Ned Lamont is the grandson of Thomas Lamont -- former chairman of the JP Morgan Company. He is the grandnephew of former American Civil Liberties Union Director Corliss Lamont. Ned's father worked for FDR on the Marshall Plan and for Nixon at Housing and Urban Development. In 2006, Ned Lamont beat Joe Lieberman in the Democratic Primary for the Senate -- opposing him because of his support for the Iraq War. Lieberman then ran as an independent and won the general election. Mostly, Ned Lamont went away. He ran for Governor in 2010, but Dan Malloy beat him in the primary. Ned Lamont went away again. To make money. Now he’s back.
In another country, he would be Sir Fred. He might be the Earl of Terrace Hill. Terrace Hill is the Iowa Governor's Mansion. Formerly a Hubbell home, it was donated (not by Fred) to the state of Iowa to become a museum and the home for the Governor. Fred Hubbell has been a central civic figure in Des Moines and philathropist. As Acting Director of Iowa's Department of Economic Development, he identified $160 million of ineffective tax credits and incentives and targeted them for elimination. He served as Board Chair of the Iowa Power Fund which was authorized to invest $100 million in wind and solar energy. In this land of ethanol production, wind now provides nearly 40% of Iowa's electricity generation. Coal's share has dropped from about 75% to 45%.
Tony Evers has had a string of victories. A former teacher, principal, and school superintedent, he has a more than respectable record of getting elected and of accomplishments. Since 2009, Evers has been elected and reelected three times, the same number of times as Walker, and by larger margins than Walker's margins. Evers education focus has been on children's safety and achievement.