In races for governor, Democrats see a silver lining

As they have for five years, since the first statewide elections following President Trump’s election, Democrats are counting less on their own contenders and more on voter backlash: a strong liberal turnout coupled with the revulsion of moderates toward Mr. Trump and his inflammatory style of politics. That formula has been bolstered by the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, a decision particularly significant in races at the state level, where abortion rights will now be determined.

“Never have the rights of Americans depended more on who’s running their states,” said Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina, the head of the Democratic Governors Association…

At a time when Democrats are hungry for next-generation leaders, three states — Massachusetts, Maryland and Pennsylvania, a state the party is now favored in — could deliver the party a fresh-faced trio of governors that reflects their coalition. Maura Healey, a lesbian former college basketball player, is their likely standard-bearer in Massachusetts; Wes Moore, a young Black author with a compelling (if exaggerated) life story, is the nominee in Maryland; and in Pennsylvania, some believe that Josh Shapiro, the state attorney general and nominee for governor, has hopes of becoming the first Jewish president.