Top 15 Governor's races most likely to change parties

[DeepModem Mom]

WP political blog, "The Fix," by Chris Cillizza
In Governors Races, Dems Hold Edge in Final Stretch

Less than three weeks away from the 2006 midterm elections, Democrats appear well positioned to add to their collection of governors' mansions across the country....

(NOTE: The #1 race is the race most likely to change party.)

***

4. Massachusetts: Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey (R) is bringing out the heavy artillery in her underdog race against former Assistant U.S. Attorney General Deval Patrick (D). In a new ad that began running yesterday, a woman is shown walking alone in a parking garage. The camera follows the perspective of a potential assailant while a narrator intones: "Have you ever heard a woman compliment a rapist?" The ad goes on to quote Patrick calling a man convicted of rape "thoughtful" and "eloquent." Patrick's comments were part of a public campaign that forced a DNA test to determine the man's guilt; the test later confirmed the conviction. The ad, as vicious as we've seen this cycle, is the equivalent of a Hail Mary pass. (Previous ranking: 4)

3. Colorado: Rep. Bob Beauprez, long considered a rising star with the Republican Party, has run a surprisingly poor campaign against former Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter (D). The latest misstep involves an investigation by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation into whether Beauprez's campaign illegally tapped into an FBA database to obtain information used in an attack ad against Ritter. Beauprez has said he obtained the information legally but won't reveal his source. Not exactly the public debate the Republicans wants to be having three weeks before the election. (Previous ranking: 3)

2. Ohio: The collapse of Sen. Mike DeWine's (R) numbers in his race against Rep. Sherrod Brown (D) is simply the latest evidence that a day of reckoning is coming for Ohio Republicans on Nov. 7. Secretary of State Ken Blackwell (R) continues to lag farther and farther behind Rep. Ted Strickland (D) in the governor's race; a CBS/New York Times poll put the margin at 54 percent to 29 percent. Even more troubling for Blackwell is that just 16 percent of respondents viewed him favorably while 38 percent saw him in an unfavorable light. O-V-E-R. (Previous ranking: 2)

1. New York: The fat lady has sung, showered and is currently sitting on her sofa watching "Desperate Housewives." State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer (D) will be New York's next governor. (Previous ranking: 1)

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2006/10/the_line_democrats.html#more

[swag]

1. Certainly is bad news in Oregon. Ron Saxton is the last thing this

state needs.

[rurallib]

2. Hope they are right on Iowa

Jim the Nuss-hole is a family-values spouting adulterous son of a bitch who was Bush's budget man in the House.
Culver is a very good man.