Around U.S., races for governor going down to the wire

From Maine to Alaska, nearly a dozen races for governor remain too close to call as the midterm election moves into its final days, an unusually large number that indicates the problems faced by incumbents in both parties at a time of voter discontent.

On Wednesday, the race in Maine, which has been one of the tightest, took a sudden twist as U.S. Sen. Angus King, a political independent who is popular in the state, announced he was dropping his support for the independent candidate in the race, Eliot Cutler, and endorsing the Democrat, Mike Michaud.

King, calling himself a “realist,” said in a statement that “it is clear that the voters of Maine are not prepared to elect Eliot in 2014” and that “circumstances require that those of us who have supported Eliot look realistically at the options.”

Polls have shown Cutler lagging badly, but drawing enough votes away from Michaud to split the opposition to incumbent Gov. Paul LePage, a Republican elected in 2010 with strong tea party support. Democrats believe that as Cutler’s support drops, Michaud will benefit.

Earlier in the day, Cutler said he did not plan to drop out, but that “winning is an extreme long shot” and that his supporters should “vote their consciences.”

In another close race, in Wisconsin, incumbent Republican Gov. Scott Walker got a boost from a new Marquette Law School poll showing him opening a significant lead among likely voters over his Democratic opponent, Mary Burke.

As in previous polls, Walker and Burke were virtually tied among all registered voters, but in the current survey Walker led, 50% to 43%, among those deemed likely to vote.

The main reason for Walker’s lead, according to the poll’s director, Charles Franklin: 93% of Republicans, but only 82% of Democrats, said they were certain to vote.

President Obama traveled to Milwaukee on Tuesday to campaign for Burke in a heavily black part of the city, part of an effort by Democrats to spur turnout in the state. Burke has proved an attractive candidate among more affluent, college-educated liberals, but has run into difficulty generating excitement among blue-collar voters, including those who are minorities.

Walker and LePage are among seven GOP governors at risk of losing a reelection bid this year. The incumbents in Georgia, Florida, Michigan, Kansas and Alaska round out the list of the most endangered. An eighth Republican, Pennsylvania’s Gov. Tom Corbett, is almost certain to lose. Their races test the staying power of conservatives elected during the Republican surge in 2010.

In at least three states, Illinois, Massachusetts and Connecticut, Democrats are in danger of losing governorships they hold. A fourth Democrat, Gov. Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii, lost a primary but seems all but certain to be replaced by another Democrat.

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