Democrats are leading or tied in seven battleground governor's races, new New York Times/Siena University polls found. These results show a favorable political environment for Democrats in states like Kansas and Texas. Many voters feel frustrated with the economy and war, which helped Democrats gain an edge in these contests.
Strong performances underscore how a favorable political environment may be lifting up Democrats, new New York Times/Siena University polls found.
The governor's races in deep-red Kansas and Texas are effectively tied, while Democrats have an edge in Ohio and are ahead in Iowa, Alaska, Maine and Michigan, according to the final New York Times/Siena University polls before Tuesday's midterm elections.
Amid deep frustration over the economy and an unpopular war in Iran, the results of the governor's races are a signal of the political mood in the country.
In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott, in his bid for a fourth term, narrowly trails his Democratic challenger, Gina Hinojosa, 47 percent to 48 percent. If elected, Ms. Hinojosa would be the first Hispanic woman to serve as governor of the state.
The Democratic candidate also has a narrow edge in Kansas, a state that Mr. Trump won by 16 percentage points in 2024. Cindy Holscher, a state representative and the Democratic nominee, is up by 48 percent to 47 percent over Ty Masterson, the president of the State Senate.
And in Ohio, where the governor's race has turned deeply negative, Amy Acton, the state's former health director, has a four-percentage-point edge over Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican nominee, who has spent the last few weeks of the campaign running an explosive ad featuring Ms. Acton's estranged mother.
Taken together, the polls underscore how a favorable political environment may be lifting up Democrats deep into Trump country -- the polls also show advantages for Democrats in the Senate races, where they lead in six of the seven polled states and are only slightly behind in Iowa.