Topline: Topline: Republicans currently hold 33 of the 50 governorships, compared to 16 for Democrats and one independent Governor in Alaska. This is the most gubernatorial seats that Republicans have had in their column since 1928. There are 36 gubernatorial contests in 2018. Republicans will defend 26 seats to just nine seats for Democrats. Independent Gov. Bill Walker of Alaska is also up for re-election. At this point, there are 16 open seats, 12 currently held by Republicans and four by Democrats. While every election cycle is important in its own way, this is a critical cycle for both parties since, in most cases, this class of Governors will be in office and have some authority over the redistricting process that will take place in their respective states in 2021 after the 2020 Census is completed. As such, both parties have been focused on this cycle since early in 2015, and will commit a record amount of financial resources to competitive races. By virtue of the number of seats they must defend and a political environment that is tilting toward Democrats, there is little doubt that Republicans will lose seats. Their task is to keep those losses to a minimum. Democrats, on the other hand, are working to expand the map to maximize the potential of big gains. There are a number of races featuring crowded primaries on both sides. For now, it appears that both sides are going to stay out of primaries. While it’s a decision that keeps them on the right side of their respective bases and conserves resources, it also means that many of the 2018 races won’t take shape until the middle of the year. These primaries also make it difficult to come up with a definitive range of gains or losses for each party. Suffice it to say that Democrats would be disappointed if they only score a net gain of four or five seats, while picking up eight to 10 seats would be considered a great success.