Democratic governors in several presidential battleground states narrowly defended their seats in Tuesday's U.S. midterm elections, defeating Republican challengers who had embraced former President Donald Trump's false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Though gubernatorial races typically get less attention than the battle for control of Congress, they carried high stakes this year for issues such as abortion access, transgender rights, guns and future elections in those states.
Here are results from the most consequential gubernatorial races, as forecast by data provider Edison Research:
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly held off Republican challenger Derek Schmidt, winning the only governorship that Democrats were defending in a state won by Trump in 2020.
Kelly ran on funding education and transportation infrastructure. Schmidt, the state's attorney general, tried to link Kelly to Biden on issues such as inflation and transgender rights.
Kelly, seen as perhaps the most vulnerable Democratic governor seeking re-election this year, may have been helped by independent candidate Dennis Pyle, who had been expected to capture some of the conservative vote.
Democratic Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer won a second term as expected, fending off Trump-backed conservative commentator Tudor Dixon in a race dominated by debate over abortion access in Michigan.
Whitmer promised to defend women's access to abortion in the state after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion. Dixon, a Republican, supported a near-total ban on abortion, including for child victims of rape and incest.
Democratic Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers narrowly won re-election, defending his seat against Republican construction magnate Tim Michels, who had falsely claimed that Trump won the 2020 election.
Michels had promised, if elected, to enforce a 19th-century abortion ban that Evers is challenging in court.
Democratic incumbent Michelle Lujan Grisham won re-election, surviving a challenge from Republican Mark Ronchetti, a former television weatherman, in New Mexico's gubernatorial contest.
Lujan Grisham's campaign emphasized abortion rights as she directed $10 million in state money to build an abortion clinic near the Texas border, while Ronchetti supported banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Democratic Maine Governor Janet Mills won a second term by defeating Republican Paul LePage, who served as governor of the state from 2011 to 2019. Mills ran on a platform that emphasized healthcare, especially her support for abortion rights in the wake of the June U.S. Supreme Court decision that ended the recognition of a constitutional right to the procedure.
LePage faced criticism during his time in office for making racist and violent comments that led some state lawmakers to question his fitness to serve.
Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul secured her seat, winning a race that tightened in recent weeks against Republican challenger Lee Zeldin, a U.S. congressman from Long Island.
Hochul, the state's former lieutenant governor who took office last year after Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned over sexual harassment accusations, became the first woman elected governor in the state. She focused on defending the gun laws she had passed and promoting heavier police presence in the New York City subway.
Hochul's campaign also attacked Zeldin's ties to Trump and warned that Zeldin would roll back abortion rights in New York if elected.
Republican Governor Brian Kemp fended off Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams in a rematch of Georgia's close 2018 gubernatorial election, winning by a wider margin with the benefit of incumbency.
Abrams was seeking to become the first Black woman to serve as a governor in the United States. Her voter registration efforts were credited with helping President Joe Biden win Georgia in 2020 and two Democrats capture the state's U.S. Senate seats in 2021.
Polls consistently showed Kemp ahead this year, even after he irked Trump and his supporters by refusing the former president's entreaties to falsely declare Trump the winner in the state in 2020.
Pennsylvania Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro won the state's gubernatorial election against Republican state Senator Doug Mastriano, who had echoed Trump's false claims of voter fraud and was present at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 - the day of a deadly riot - to protest the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
Shapiro will choose the battleground state's top elections official, with the 2024 presidential election looming. He also will have the power to block or advance efforts by the Republican-led state legislature to severely restrict abortions.
Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott easily won a third term, defeating his Democratic challenger, former U.S. Representative Beto O'Rourke.
Abbott, who was endorsed by Trump, backed increasingly conservative policies in his second term, including opposing COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates. He also signed the most restrictive abortion ban of any U.S. state and has bused thousands of migrants to Democratic-controlled parts of the United States since April.
Republican Governor Ron DeSantis won a second term in Florida by defeating Democratic challenger Charlie Crist in what was widely seen as a precursor to a DeSantis 2024 presidential run.
DeSantis has been at the forefront of a number of the country's partisan fights, bucking COVID-19 restrictions while backing a law limiting discussion of LGBTQ issues in schools.
Crist is a former Republican governor who switched parties and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat. He tried to appeal to moderate Republicans in a onetime political swing state that has tilted further to the right in recent years.
Widely seen as one of the closest gubernatorial races in the country, the contest for Arizona's open governorship pits Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, against former news anchor Kari Lake, a Republican.
Hobbs rose to national prominence in 2020 when she defended Arizona's election results against Trump's false claims of voting fraud. Lake, who received the former president's endorsement, has embraced those claims and vowed to ban mail-in voting if she wins.
Incumbent Steve Sisolak, a Democrat, has emphasized the protection of legal abortion in his campaign for a second term, in addition to issues such as education, expanding child care and affordable housing.
Polls show him in a close race with Republican Joe Lombardo, the Clark County sheriff and a former U.S. Army soldier who has run on supporting law enforcement and cutting public spending.
Although Trump endorsed him, Lombardo has sought to distance himself from the former president, accepting the 2020 elections results as legitimate. When asked in a debate whether Trump was a great president, Lombardo responded, "I wouldn't use that adjective."
A close three-way race could see Oregon's governorship go to a Republican for the first time since 1982. Democrat Tina Kotek is squaring off against Republican Christine Drazan and a strong independent candidate, Betsy Johnson.
Kotek has run hard on gun violence prevention, while Johnson has emphasized supporting police and gun rights. Drazan has campaigned on public safety and order in a state that experienced sometimes-violent protests over racial equality and police brutality in 2020 and 2021, saying either of her opponents would represent a third term for Democratic Governor Kate Brown, who could not run again because of term limits.
Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Will Dunham, Aurora Ellis, Daniel Wallis and Jonathan Oatis
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The death toll from Hurricane Helene inched up to 227 on Saturday as the grim task of recovering bodies continued more than a week after the monster storm ravaged the Southeast and killed people in six states.
A driver suffered only minor injuries after going airborne in a residential neighbourhood in Maple Ridge, B.C., on Friday, the car eventually landing on its roof in someone’s backyard.
Donald Trump returned on Saturday to the Pennsylvania fairgrounds where he was nearly assassinated in July, holding a sprawling rally with thousands of supporters in a critical swing state Trump hopes to return to his column in November's election.
Canadians who are eligible for a GST/HST tax credit can expect their final payment of the year on Friday.
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Police released the identities of the mother and daughter who were killed after a fire tore through a 160-year-old building in Old Montreal on Friday.
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The sentencing of the man who pleaded guilty in the deadly hit-and-run in Kitsilano two years ago began on Friday.
A driver suffered only minor injuries after going airborne in a residential neighbourhood in Maple Ridge, B.C., on Friday, the car eventually landing on its roof in someone’s backyard.
Demonstrators converged on downtown Ottawa Saturday afternoon as part of a global day of action to protest Israel's military actions in the Middle East.
An organization who has assisted in locating 40 missing people since 2018, has its sights set on the Thames River near Cavendish Park in London, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police have laid stunt charges against a driver caught speeding 75 km/h over the speed limit on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end.
Police released the identities of the mother and daughter who were killed after a fire tore through a 160-year-old building in Old Montreal on Friday.
The sentencing of the man who pleaded guilty in the deadly hit-and-run in Kitsilano two years ago began on Friday.
Powerful new explosions rocked Beirut's southern suburbs late Saturday as Israel expanded its bombardment in Lebanon, striking a Palestinian refugee camp deep in the north for the first time as it targeted both Hezbollah and Hamas fighters.
Donald Trump returned on Saturday to the Pennsylvania fairgrounds where he was nearly assassinated in July, holding a sprawling rally with thousands of supporters in a critical swing state Trump hopes to return to his column in November's election.
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A French judge in the trial of dozens of men accused of raping an unconscious woman whose now former husband had repeatedly drugged her so that he and others could assault her decided on Friday to allow the public to see some of the video recordings of the alleged rapes.
French authorities said four migrants, including a two-year-old child, died Saturday in two separate incidents as they attempted to cross the English Channel toward Britain.
A rural Colorado county courthouse beefed up security Friday after threats were made against staff and a judge who sentenced former county clerk Tina Peters to nearly nine years behind bars for her role in a data breach scheme catalyzed by the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau repeatedly reiterated calls for a ceasefire in the Middle East on Saturday as he blamed Hamas, Hezbollah and Israel for a staggering number of civilian deaths.
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New data raises questions about the drinks people consume and the potential risks associated with them, according to researchers at Galway University in Ireland, in partnership with Hamilton’s McMaster University.
Convenience store firms that operate thousands of outlets across Canada are taking the federal government to court to overturn regulations that restrict the sale of nicotine pouches to pharmacies.
Scientists announced on Thursday a milestone in neurobiological research with the mapping of the entire brain of an adult fruit fly, a feat that may provide insight into brains across the animal kingdom, including people.
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Hollywood star Keanu Reeves made his professional auto racing debut on Saturday in an event in which 'The Matrix' star spun out at famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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Leo Campana's stoppage-time goal gave Inter Miami a 1-0 win and left Toronto FC's playoff hopes hanging by a thread Saturday.
A Toronto police officer has been arrested after allegedly stealing three bottles of alcohol from a store.
Emergency crews are on scene of a multi-vehicle collision along northbound Deerfoot Trail near 17 Avenue Southeast.
The first anniversary of the October Seventh Hamas attack on Israel is Monday and that prompted several hundred people to attend a pro-Palestinian rally Saturday afternoon at city hall.
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Demonstrators converged on downtown Ottawa Saturday afternoon as part of a global day of action to protest Israel's military actions in the Middle East.
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Police released the identities of the mother and daughter who were killed after a fire tore through a 160-year-old building in Old Montreal on Friday.
Montreal police say they are increasing their presence across the city ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 start of the Israel-Hamas war.
Montreal police say a business in the city's Pointe-Saint-Charles neighbourhood was hit with Molotov cocktails two nights in a row.
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The Huron Ontario Provincial Police said they responded to a “downed airplane” just after 11 a.m. Saturday.
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Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago. The former Hedley frontman had pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.
Police released the identities of the mother and daughter who were killed after a fire tore through a 160-year-old building in Old Montreal on Friday.
Fire crews in Greater Sudbury battled a large garage fire on Friday.
An organization who has assisted in locating 40 missing people since 2018, has its sights set on the Thames River near Cavendish Park in London, Ont.
Huron OPP say they were on the scene of a plane crash this morning, with a pilot finding themselves unable to halt before the end of a runway in Brussels.
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OPP are seeking assistance in their search for a 30-year-old man last seen in Orillia.
Provincial police are investigating a collision along Highway 400 in Tay Township Friday afternoon.
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Nearly two years after a man was stabbed to death in downtown Kelowna, RCMP have made an arrest in the case.
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Lethbridge police executed dozens of warrants and laid numerous charges in another targeted enforcement project in the downtown area.
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The Ontario College of Family Physicians has presented awards to 750 doctors based on comments from patients, including eight physicians who are part of the Group Health Centre in Sault Ste. Marie.
Two teens, ages 14 and 19, have been charged with arson in connection with a July 14 fire in Cat Lake First Nation that destroyed $500,000 in construction materials.
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A mother in a community where the cost of living is one of the highest in the country says grocery prices are 'inhumane' and retailers are putting profits ahead of people’s basic human right to food.
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