United States gubernatorial elections, 2018 (A World Without Bridgegate)

United States gubernatorial elections were held on November 6, 2018 in 36 states and three territories. These elections formed part of the 2018 United States elections. Other coinciding elections were the 2018 United States Senate elections and the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections. The last regular gubernatorial elections for all but three of the states took place in 2014. Governors in New Hampshire and Vermont serve two-year terms, meaning that their most recent gubernatorial elections took place in 2016. Meanwhile, Oregon held a special election in 2016 to fill an unexpired term.

Many of the states holding gubernatorial elections have term limits which made some multi-term governors ineligible for re-election. Two Democratic governors were term-limited while six incumbent Democratic governors were eligible for re-election. Among Republican governors, 12 were term-limited while 11 could seek re-election. One independent governor was eligible for re-election.

Elections were held in 26 of the 33 states with Republican governors, nine of the 16 states with Democratic governors, one state (Alaska) with an independent governor, two territories (Guam and Northern Mariana Islands) with Republican governors, one territory (U.S. Virgin Islands) with an independent governor and the District of Columbia with a Democratic mayor. Incumbent state governors running to be reelected included 14 Republicans, five Democrats and one independent. Territorial incumbents running included one Republican and one independent. The incumbent Democratic mayor of Washington, D.C. also ran for re-election.

Republicans were able to pick up a net gain of five governorships nationwide, and six in total: Rhode Island, Alaska, Connecticut, Colorado, Oregon, and California, while Democrats were able to grab Illinois, Michigan, Kansas, and Maine, whose incumbents were deeply unpopular.

Background
The 2016 presidential election saw Chris Christie defeat Hillary Clinton with a sound 376 electoral votes and 55% of the popular vote. Throughout the first two years of Christie's presidency, he was seen as a popular president. 98% of Republicans approved of the job he was doing so far, as well as 56% of independents and 34% of Democrats. His average approval rating from January 20, 2017 to the midterm election day was around 55%, with a high of 76% in the weeks following his inauguration, and a low of 42% following the Parkland massacre.

After the aforementioned school shooting, many thought Christie was vulnerable after signs of his approval ratings dropping began surfacing. However, over the summer, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy retired, leaving a vacancy on the bench. Almost immediately, Democrats mobilized and said they would oppose any nominee President Christie put forward. Christie nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett, his first federal appeals court judge. Democrats assailed her as having not enough judicial experience, while Republicans noted her long law career and reminded them that President Obama appointed a justice (Elena Kagan) who had no prior judicial experience either, and was confirmed with bipartisan support.

The hearings were acrimonious, with multiple protesters interrupting. A notably controversial moment during the hearings was the Democrats' questioning of Barrett's faith, with multiple Senators inferring that her devout Catholic faith (along with her membership in the religious group "People of Praise") would hinder her from judging fairly. Republicans, and even some Democrats, blasted them for this. This line of questioning was seen as the nail in the coffin that ended up confirming Barrett to the Supreme Court by a vote of 59-41, with Democrats Joe Manchin, Jon Tester, Joe Donnelly, Heidi Heitkamp, Tim Kaine, and independent Angus King all voting to confirm her alongside all Republicans.

After the hearings, it was exactly one month before midterms, and President Christie used the hearings as a political weapon against Democrats. His approval ratings shot back up after the hearings, as more and more Republicans became mobilized to vote. As a result, many were unaware of what direction the elections would go in come election day.