Governors and Good Governance | RealClearPolitics

Americans who are understandably jaded by the state of American politics can take some heart in this year’s 36 gubernatorial races, where voters still put a premium on thoughtful leadership and problem-solving. While most political observers focus on the congressional midterms or the 2028 presidential contest, the gubernatorial races are the ones worth watching. Those 36 races will produce at least 18 new governors, the most since 2010. A combination of congressional dysfunction, federal cuts, and the local nature of challenges like housing, public safety, and education funding and reform means the decisions voters will make on their governors are enormously consequential.  

As a group, governors constitute a quintessential American institution. They come from the ranks of CEOs, lawyers, educators, state attorneys general, and members of Congress. Eleven current governors were prepared for the job by serving as lieutenant governor. They each represent the unique character of their state, and they’re the embodiment of America’s system of federalism, where each state mostly retains authority to govern itself and experiment with different policy ideas. Governors aren’t shy about stealing good ideas from each other, regardless of party. They rightly consider themselves in perpetual competition for people, businesses, and rankings on everything from education to the best skiing, but they generally don’t express personal animosity toward each other. That’s probably in part because they gather as a group several times a year and develop good relationships across party lines. 

The role of governor is also unique in the accountability it demands.  Unlike in Congress, there’s no escaping responsibility by blaming leadership or treating the role like a think tank. Residents expect their governor to work with the legislature to pass budgets, hire and manage competent cabinet members, improve or veto bad bills, nominate serious jurists, and lead effectively in a crisis. As one governor observed recently, “It doesn’t matter what else you do right if you don’t respond well in a disaster. Nobody cares about tax policy the day after a tornado.” 

Aside from the policy and managerial roles, governors have a powerful ability to set the tone of political discourse. A recent study by Stanford University and the National Governors Association found that viewers who watched a series of bipartisan ads by governors emphasizing the value of respectful disagreement “were more likely to engage in bipartisan behaviors and reported greater openness to conversations with political opponents.” 

There’s evidence Americans broadly like to see this behavior in governors. Polling consistently shows that Americans trust state government more than Congress or the presidency, a pattern that has held for decades. 

Governors themselves appear to be molded by the public’s higher expectations. Scholar Yuval Levin argues that America’s political institutions, including Congress and the presidency, have lost the public’s trust as they’ve mutated from being formative – teaching members their role and helping them live up to it – to performative, serving merely as a “platform for political performance art.” The institution of governorship might be an exception to this trend. During an era dominated by performative posturing, we should be encouraged to see some public offices that still demand their occupants focus on the basic, unglamorous, but essential work of serving the citizens.

None of this is to say that governors, as a group, are political moderates. They clearly represent the different policies and priorities of their parties, as they should. Nor are all governors models of statesmanship. They each make mistakes that deserve criticism and accountability at the ballot box, but their behavior is often constrained by the norms of the office.  

Some of next year’s races already have a strong favorite. Many will be decided in party primaries rather than the general election. Regardless, voters in those 36 states have an important opportunity to signal the continued importance of pragmatic and sensible leadership. Let’s hope that those voters consider carefully, focus on the local issues that most impact the lives of Americans, and extend the great tradition of governors who model good governance.