North Dakota Governor Race

Race of the Day

North Dakota Governor

August 28, 2012
70 Days Until Election Day

Status: Republican Incumbent
2008 Presidential Result: Red State (Midwest)

Outlook: Safe Republican

In 2010, the overwhelmingly popular GOP Governor of North Dakota John Hoeven was elected to the U.S. Senate, and his Lt. Governor Jack Dalrymple, took over as Governor and had the advantage of incumbency for the 2012 election. For his number two, Dalrymple had selected Drew Wrigley, and now the Governor and Lt. Governor team, face their Democrat opponents, State Senate Minority Leader Ryan Taylor, and his running-mate, former state university system official Ellen Chaffee. There does not seem to have been any sort of contention for either of these tickets receiving their respective nominations.

North Dakota will have one of the most anticipated Senate races of the country this year, and maybe a competitive House race as well, but there is little drama over the Gubernatorial election. The state is overwhelmingly Republican at the state government level  and seems completely content with keeping a Republican as Governor according to the polls. No Democrat has won the office since 1988 and in what appears to be the only survey of the race this summer, Dalrymple leads Taylor 61-26.

Dalrymple campaign link:

http://www.dalrympleforgovernor.com/

2012 Gubernatorial races predicted thus far: 2 D, 5 R
Predicted Gubernatorial totals thus far: 14 D, 1 I, 31 R