Whatever state you live in, you might be wondering if your governor is gearing up for a run at the White House—or maybe it hasn’t occurred to you to ponder the possibility. In any case, The Texas Tribune has deviseda handy flow chart to help you determine your governor’s political aspirations. I plugged the names of some High Plains governors into the chart, and here’s what I came up with. These results, of course, will depend on which party captures the White House in November:
Greg Abbott (Texas): Abbott pretty much blazed through the chart. With the news that Texas Abbott’s bookBroken But Unbowed: The Fight to Fix a Broken Americawill be released next month, the governor isn’t attempting to veil his ambition. And despite the weakness of the governorship in Texas relative to other states, Texas execs have a long history of running for the highest office in the land. Abbott would be the third Texas governor in a row to run, succeeding Perry and Bush.
John Hickenlooper (Colorado): Hickenlooper certainly has plenty to crow about. The marijuana legalization has resulted in a booming economy. The state’s unemployment rate is below the national average, and uninsured rates are low as well. Add to that, he’s a popular Democratic governor in a swing state with deeply conservative pockets. There’s been much talk of Hickenlooper getting a potential VP nod this year. Plus, he’s got a book coming out next month:The Opposite of Woe: My Life in Beer and Politics.Watch for Hickenlooper’s name on a national ticket soon.
Sam Brownback (Kansas): Brownback has become a favorite punching bag of the American left after the failure of his supply-side tax policies left Kansas trailing the nation economically, with schools struggling and hospitals closing. Brownback wrote a book nine years ago, From Power to Purpose: A Remarkable Journey of Faith and Compassion, but he hasn’t had much to brag about lately. Last November Brownback’s approval rating was shown to be a dismal 26 percent, and it probably hasn’t improved much. Barring a miraculous economic turnaround in the Sunflower State, chances of running are not good.
Mary Fallin (Oklahoma): Fallin has been on the defensive since her decision to support oil and gas companies in the face of mounting evidence that the rash of earthquakes across her state were caused by wastewater disposal, related to fracking. She reversed her position, but it was probably too late to save her political fortunes. She hasn’t written a book, and doesn’t discuss world affairs much. And Oklahoma’s public school teachers are openly in revolt against her education policies. And then there’s that little matter of her state’s $1.3 billion budget deficit. Don’t look for Fallin in any presidential debates four years from now.
