New Democratic Governors In Wis., Kan. And Calif. Could Impact Health Policies

NPR: Democrats Gain In Governors' Races, But Miss Chance At History
Democrats made modest inroads against the GOP's commanding lead in governors' offices around the country after Tuesday's midterm elections. But two of their marquee candidates appear to have fallen short. And Republicans are projected to continue to hold power in the 2020 presidential battlegrounds of Florida and Ohio. (Horsley, 11/7)

The New York Times: Democrats Oust Walker In Wisconsin And Kobach In Kansas But Fall Short In Florida And Ohio
Democrats wrested control of governorships from Republicans in seven states on Tuesday including Wisconsin, where they ousted Scott Walker after eight tumultuous years as the state’s chief executive, and Kansas, a surprise victory in a longtime Republican stronghold. But Republicans fended off strong Democratic challenges to hold on to the governorships of Florida, Ohio and Iowa, maintaining their control of three states likely to be crucial in the 2020 presidential elections. (Nagourney, Ember and Mazzei, 11/6)

CNN: Scott Walker Loses Bid For Third Term In Wisconsin
[Democrat Tony] Evers, the Wisconsin state superintendent of public instruction, hammered [Gov. Scott] Walker throughout the campaign as a career politician who has been around too long with too few results. Evers, like Democrats across the country, ran in clear opposition to the Republican health care plan, but he also seized on the widely held view in the state that education had suffered under Walker. The governor was on defense for much of the campaign, accusing Evers of being a Democrat who wants to raise taxes on all Wisconsinites and arguing that he was wrong about his health care attacks. (Merica, 11/7)

Politico: Democrat Tony Evers Ousts Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker
Evers hammered Walker on state education funding and Medicaid, pledging to expand the low-income public health insurance program if he was elected. He proposed new infrastructure investments and criminal justice reform measures. (Strauss, 11/7)

The Wichita Eagle: Democrat Laura Kelly Defeats Kris Kobach To Become Kansas’ Next Governor
Kelly focused much of her time in the Legislature on the state’s child welfare system, which has been rocked by a series of shortcomings and controversies over the past several years. She has also been critical of how the state’s welfare programs have been run over the past few years as Brownback and Republican lawmakers restricted benefits. ... Kelly also wants to expand and overhaul the state’s Medicaid program, a move that could affect more than 400,000 participants. (Shorman and Woodall, 11/6)

The New York Times: Laura Kelly, A Kansas Democrat, Tops Kobach In Governor’s Race
Ms. Kelly, 68, a longtime legislator from Topeka, focused her campaign on issues like Medicaid expansion, school funding and highway construction, winning endorsements from many prominent Kansas Republicans and votes from across the political spectrum. (Smith, 11/6)

California Healthline: California Dreamin’? With Newsom’s Win, Single-Payer Unlikely To Follow Anytime Soon
Californians on Tuesday elected a governor who campaigned for a complete overhaul of how people get their health coverage — but they shouldn’t hold their breath. Rather, as Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom and the Democratic-controlled legislature take steps to provide more people with health insurance, they’ll likely approach it piecemeal over several years. Newsom himself is already tempering expectations about California’s move to a single-payer system, saying it will take more than the will of one person to realize. (Young, 11/6)

The New York Times: Gavin Newsom Is Elected Governor Of California
Nearly three decades younger than Jerry Brown, the governor he will be replacing, Mr. Newsom, 51, has seemed to relish challenging Mr. Trump on a number of issues that Californians care deeply about, from climate change to immigration to health care. In becoming governor of America’s largest state, Mr. Newsom faces the daunting task of solving the intractable issues he campaigned on: wealth inequality, homelessness, early childhood education and providing health care coverage to all, among others. (Arango and Fuller, 11/7)

Sacramento Bee/The Mercury News: Newsom Will Be California’s Next Governor
Like Brown, Newsom has vowed to aggressively fight efforts by President Donald Trump and his administration to roll back Obamacare, undo the state’s strong environmental laws and loosen protections for undocumented immigrants. In the later weeks of the campaign, he argued that he would also act as “the adult in the room,” as Brown did, to curb legislative excess. Newsom’s expensive policy promises — he has vowed to push for universal health care, a statewide preschool program for all and a massive investment in state infrastructure and job training — will present steep challenges once he assumes office. Brown has warned that the economy could falter. (Hart, 11/6)

And in another statewide election --

Georgia Health News: Beck Elected Georgia Insurance Commissioner
Republican Jim Beck, former general manager of the Georgia Underwriting Association, has been elected Georgia’s next insurance commissioner. ... The commissioner job is an important one, as insurance issues have become major pocketbook issues for many Georgia families. (Miller, 11/7)