At least five gubernatorial races are too close to call with the November election being just two weeks away.
The Washington Examiner noted that “while some governors are all but confirmed to win reelection next month,” several surprise victories could be in the offing. A brief profile of several close races follows:
Gov. Laura Kelly of Kansas
Democrat Laura Kelly has a slight edge in Kansas’ gubernatorial election. FiveThirtyEight noted that Kelly has a 1.7% edge in the polls — and in simulated elections over the summer was projected to win the election 61% of the time.
Schmidt led in polling before August, but in the last few months Kelly has pulled ahead. According to Newsweek, the race is too close to call.
Gov. Tony Evers of Wisconsin
Gov. Tony Evers (D-WI) has a slim lead over Tim Michels (R) in the polls. FiveThirtyEight reported that in polling over the summer, Evers won “simulated races” 54% of the time.
However, the Washington Examiner reports that Evers’ lead has been slipping away as Michels’ momentum builds. The latest polling shows Evers has a 0.06% lead over Michels.
Gov. Steve Sisolak of Nevada
Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak is in a tough and close race with Republican challenger Joe Lombardo. The race has been neck-and-neck for the last few weeks. As of Tuesday morning, FiveThirtyEight polling shows Lombardo with a 0.08% lead over Sisolak.
Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York
Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York has been the projected winner in 97% of simulated elections in recent months. However, her challenger, Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) has been gaining in the polls in recent weeks.
A recent Quinnipiac University poll showed Hochul having a smaller-than-expected 4% lead over Zeldin. Having moved ahead more than nine percentage points in less than a month, pundits note a surprise come-from-behind victory for Zeldin is a possibility.
Much is riding on next Tuesday’s debate between the two gubernatorial candidates.
