Record Number of Senators Could Seek To Escape Washington To Become Governors

A possible sequel to Frank Capra’s “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” could be “Mr. Smith Abandons Washington,” as a growing number of senators seek to run for governor.Senator Murkowski could be the latest to join the list. Speaking to reporters on Monday, the Alaska senator said “sure” when asked if she has considered running for governor of Alaska.She later added, “Would I love to come home? I have to tell you, of course I would love to come home. I am not making any decisions about anything, because my responsibility to Alaskans is my job in the Senate right now.”If Ms. Murkowski decides to run for governor she would be joining at least two other senators who are doing the same in their home states.Senator Tuberville is running in next year’s Alabama governor’s race. Senator Bennet is looking to become Colorado’s next governor.Senator Blackburn announced Wednesday that she’s decided to run in next year’s Tennessee governor’s race.Four senators have not run for governor in the same election cycle in decades, according to Ballotpedia. The most that have run at the same time since 1986 is three.Thirty-six states are holding gubernatorial elections in 2026 and 16 incumbent governors are term-limited. That is opening up the door for senators to look to lead in their own capitals.“Being a senator is not seen as productive,” an associate editor of political commentator at Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball newsletter, J. Miles Coleman, says. Mr. Coleman notes that 2022 was the first election in several years where no governors made the jump to the Senate.“The idea of being able to get more done at home probably has at least some appeal to these members,” Mr. Coleman adds.Ballotpedia says senators running for governor have a higher success rate than governors running for Senate. About 78 percent of sitting senators who have run have won races to become governor.But it’s not just senators looking to escape Washington for jobs at home.Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill is the Democratic nominee for November’s New Jersey gubernatorial election.On Monday, a three-term congresswoman, Nancy Mace, jumped into next year’s race to become South Carolina’s next governor.Other House members are already running for governor next year, including Congressman Byron Donalds in Florida and Congressman Andy Biggs in Arizona.Congressman John Rose of Tennessee has already decided not to run for re-election and run for governor of Tennessee, where he will likely square off against Ms. Blackburn in the Republican primary.Mr. Coleman says some of the appeal could be running a state where their party is in control, making it easier for them to carry out their own agenda instead of following their party leadership’s wishes in Congress.“They have presidential ambitions so that weighs on their thinking, as well,” Mr. Coleman says.

Record Number of Senators Could Seek To Escape Washington To Become Governors

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