Races to Watch


Politics 7 Key


BY JOHN GIZZI


the laboratories of democracy” is how Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis referred to the states in a 1932 opinion.


Since then, his words have grown increas- ingly accurate.


National issues ranging from healthcare and welfare to collective bargaining for public employees all began at the state level, and soon were debated in the national scene.


Most recently, states have begun the near-unprecedented practice of redrawing U.S. House and legislative districts four years after the last Census and six before the next one.


The outcome is likely to determine who rules the almost evenly


divided House for the remainder of the 2020s. This is one reason that the 36 races for governorships next year are so critical. Here are seven key races to watch:


CALIFORNIA Gavin Aſtermath


• After two terms as governor, Gavin Newsom is termed out and, by all accounts, running for the Democrat presidential nomination in ’28. Under the Golden State’s unique “jungle primary,”


all candidates to replace Newsom compete on the same ballot, and then the top two vote-getters regardless of party meet in a November runoff. So far, seven heavyweight Democrats are in


the race, including former Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra; Tony Thurmond, superintendent of public instruction; former Rep. Katie Porter, who lost a 2024 Senate bid; and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. All are cut from the same liberal cloth as Newsom. The most talked-about


Governor


As congressional districts are redrawn, control of statehouses is more important than ever.


FLORIDA Donalds Aſter


DeSantis? • When I saw Rep. Byron Donalds, a Florida gubernatorial candidate, at the White House earlier this year, I asked whether he was nervous about the state’s first lady, Casey DeSantis, getting into the race against him. “No,” he shot back. “I’ll just have


to defeat her. That’s all.” Donalds is an unabashed Trump


supporter who has the president’s “complete and total endorsement” and, at this point, has wrapped up the GOP nomination to succeed lame-duck Gov. Ron DeSantis, although he could still face a challenge from Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, with Casey DeSantis as a possible running mate.


If he wins the nomination,


Donalds will face a strong opponent in former Rep. David Jolly, a Republican-turned- Democrat who has become a fixture on cable news shows. But given the Sunshine State’s propensity toward Republicans, Donalds is the betting favorite to become the first Black Republican governor anywhere since Reconstruction.


JOLLY ILLINOIS Pritzker Eyes BECERRA


White House • It is one of the worst-kept secrets in Illinois that once JB Pritzker secures a third term next year, he will immediately begin running for president in ’28. The billionaire governor


Republican hopeful is Steve Hilton, former Fox TV host and onetime top adviser to former British Prime Minister David Cameron.


PORTER 42 NEWSMAX | NOVEMBER 2025


can fund a reelection and a presidential bid without breaking a sweat. But Pritzker is a particular target for conservatives in and outside the Prairie State for pushing the envelope against ICE agents seeking


PRITZKER DONALDS


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