While Losing House, Senate, Democrats Appear To Have Edge in Gubernatorial Seats

In what may have been the lone bright spot for Democrats in the mid-term elections, members of the party won gubernatorial races in several "key" states, the New York Times reports. Democrats won the governorship in four industrial "battleground" states -- Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin -- and retained the office in California, which some party leaders said puts them in "good shape" for the 2004 presidential election. Despite the Democratic gains, Republicans retained control of three of the most populous states -- Florida, New York and Texas (Broder, New York Times, 11/7). According to the Washington Post, Republicans will occupy 25 governorships and Democrats will have 24; the race for Alabama governor remains undecided at press time (Washington Post, 11/7). Meanwhile, some governors-elect have already begun outlining their agenda on a range of issues, including health care. Following is a summary of Massachusetts governor-elect Mitt Romney's (R) and Pennsylvania governor-elect Ed Rendell's (D) plans:

• Romney will have to balance his stated opposition to new taxes against a health program he has said he wants to preserve, the Boston Herald reports. The state earlier this year approved a tax for pharmacies on non-Medicaid and non-Medicare prescriptions (see related story). It is estimated to bring the state $36 million, and lawmakers anticipate an additional $36 million in federal matching funds. While Romney has not specifically addressed the tax, the Herald reports that it "could be short-lived as Romney makes his mark on the budget." If Romney does cancel the tax, he would face a "challenge" in preserving MassHealth Basic, the state's Medicaid program for poor adults, which is scheduled to end in April. Romney said during the campaign that he wants to preserve the program, but doing so would cost $32 million. In addition, Romney is expected to "face pressure" from advocates to restore about $1.5 million in cuts to the Children's Medical Security Plan, which covers children in families with income too high to qualify for Medicaid but too low to afford private insurance, the Herald reports (Heldt Powell, Boston Herald, 11/7). Massachusetts faces a $1 billion to $2 billion budget gap for the next fiscal year, but Romney is "confident" that he can balance the budget without new taxes or cutting "core" government spending on health care, the Boston Globe reports (Klein, Boston Globe, 11/7).
  
• Rendell yesterday called for "immediate legislative action" to stop the removal of 26,000 low-income seniors from the state's subsidized prescription drug programs, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Rendell said that the legislature should pass six-month PACE and PACEnet benefits extensions for the seniors slated to lose coverage at the end of the year. By July, Rendell plans to have expanded the Pennsylvania lottery, which pays for prescription drug programs for seniors. The enrollment cuts are scheduled to occur because cost-of-living adjustments to Social Security payments caused some seniors to surpass the income threshold -- $16,000 for one person or $19,200 for a couple -- for PACE and PACEnet benefits (Infield, Philadelphia Inquirer, 11/7). "It's simply a mistake to let these 26,000 people get bumped from this program. It's a life or death decision," Rendell said (Bull, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 11/7). Rendell also said he plans to expand prescription drug assistance for seniors and insurance for children and to address the "crisis" in medical malpractice litigation, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports (Philadelphia Inquirer, 11/7).
  

Other Sources
CNN and NPR on Nov. 6 covered reaction to the gubernatorial races. Speaking on CNN's "Crossfire" yesterday, Rep. Harold Ford (D-Tenn.) said, "[F]or states with so many Democrats and Republicans elected to governors' seats ... with great health care challenges and education problems, we should change the formulas on Medicaid and Medicare for underserved rural and urban areas" (Begala et al., "Crossfire," CNN, 11/6). A transcript of the show is available online. In addition, NPR's "All Things Considered" addressed the elections. On the show, Alan Greenblatt of Governing Magazine said Democrats will have "new faces to push the party's agenda" and "help promote some ideas on ... health care, both at the state level and in D.C." (Jaffe, "All Things Considered," NPR, 11/6). The full segment is available in RealPlayer online.

The election sections of USA Today and the Washington Post offer profiles of the newly elected governors.