The high stakes have brought increased money and attention to the state-level races, which typically get overshadowed in midterm elections by the fight for control of Congress.
Republican victories in presidential battleground states including Arizona could have implications for the 2024 White House election. The party's nominees in several such states have embraced Trump's false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. In Texas, Republican Governor Greg Abbott is expected to win a third term despite a lively campaign by his Democratic opponent, former U.S. congressman Beto O'Rourke. Georgia's Republican governor, Brian Kemp, also looks likely to prevail against Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams in a rematch of their 2018 race.
Democrat Tina Kotek and Republican Christine Drazan are locked in a close battle for the open seat, and independent candidate Betsy Johnson, a former Democrat, could potentially siphon votes from Kotek. Her Republican opponent, Trump-backed conservative commentator Tudor Dixon, supports a near-total ban on abortion but says the topic is not an issue in the governor's race because of the ballot question.
Shapiro, the state's attorney general who is leading in opinion polls for the open seat, has cast Mastriano as too extreme for Pennsylvania.