Of the 36 gubernatorial elections being decided on Tuesday, three have special resonance for people in higher education.
In each case, a Republican governor took a hard line on higher-ed spending; in each case, that governor now finds himself in electoral peril.
Two high-profile incumbents, Gov. Rick Scott of Florida and Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, are fighting for re-election in races that are considered tossups. And then there’s one race that is not close: In Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Corbett is considered a likely loser on Election Day.
Those three were among the wave of new Republican state lawmakers and executives who swept into office in the 2010 elections, giving the GOP control of a majority of the nation's governors' mansions and legislative chambers. Their election followed the recession, as state governments struggled with shrinking tax revenues.
Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin drew fierce criticism from unionized faculty members for his effort to strip collective-bargaining rights from state workers.
The three governors ripped pages from the same playbook: deep cuts for higher education at a time when enrollments were increasing.
But their attempts at higher-education reform have not gone all that smoothly. Now, at the end of their first terms in office, all three find themselves largely at odds with their college constituents.
Read more at The Chronicle of Higher Education: http://chronicle.com/article/Outcome-of-Governors-Races/149823