Republicans on their heels in several governors' races

Cheer up, Democrats: 2014 could be worse.

For all the dire predictions about Democrats losing their Senate majority and losing ground in the House in November's midterm elections, the party is playing offense in a number of big governors' races across the country.

In Florida, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and elsewhere, Republican incumbents who swept in with the 2010 GOP tidal wave are now fighting for their political lives, according to several recent surveys.

Gov. Tom Corbett, R-Pennsylvania, is considered perhaps the most vulnerable incumbent in the country, a fact underscored in a poll released Thursday by Franklin and Marshall College showing Corbett trailing his Democratic opponent by 18 points, 31 to 49 percent, among registered voters.

Corbett's approval ratings have been among the lowest in the country for years. Voters blame the governor for not doing enough to investigate the Penn State sex abuse scandal during his tenure as the state's attorney general. And an ill-conceived comparison of same-sex marriage and incest last year didn't do much to improve his stock with moderate Pennsylvanians.

Corbett's Democratic opponent, Tom Wolf, is a businessman and former Peace Corps volunteer who easily won his party's nomination in May. And unless the tables turn quickly, he also stands to be elected governor of the country's sixth most populous state in November.

In Florida, Republican Gov. Rick Scott faces a stiff challenge from Charlie Crist, a former Republican governor of the state who's now running for his old job as a Democrat.

Crist was generally well-liked during his tenure as governor, but his relationship with the GOP soured after he lost a 2010 primary bid for the Senate and abandoned Republicans to run as an independent that November. He lost that race, but he eventually endorsed President Obama's reelection in 2012 and registered as a Democrat in preparation for a 2014 run.

That somewhat convoluted gamble seems to have paid off: Crist is within striking distance of Scott in a poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac, earning 42 percent to Scott's 44 percent, with 8 percent going to a Libertarian candidate.

Scott has tagged Crist as a party-switching opportunist and unabashed supporter of President Obama's health care law, but the Democrat has returned fire, accusing Scott of kowtowing to the far right on issues like climate change and abortion.

The candidates have spared no expense in pushing their message, sinking over $50 million into television ads thus far. 71 percent of that money has come from Scott's team, and come November, he'll find out whether his big spending paid off.

In Wisconsin, Republican Gov. Scott Walker has earned quite a bit of buzz as a potential presidential candidate in 2016. But first he needs to win reelection this year, and that's far from a foregone conclusion.

A poll released last week by Marquette Law School found Walker tied with his Democratic opponent, former Trek bicycle executive Mary Burke, at 46 percent apiece among registered voters.

In many ways, Walker's tenure has been colored by his decision to sign a bill outlawing collective bargaining for public employee unions in 2011. The move sparked a recall effort in 2012, but Walker prevailed.

The scuffle with organized labor endeared him to national conservatives, instantly vaulting him into the 2016 conversation, but his reputation at home is a more mixed bag. Voters are split on Scott's record on job creation and an investigation into Walker's fundraising during the recall continues to shadow his reelection bid.

In Georgia, Republican Gov. Nathan Deal is neck and neck with Democrat Jason Carter, the grandson of former President (and Georgia governor) Jimmy Carter, according to several polls.

Georgia typically leans Republican, but Carter's pedigree and Deal's middling approval ratings have kept the election close. A competitive Senate election between Democrat Michelle Nunn and Republican David Perdue is likely to further drive up turnout, promising a photo finish for statewide elections in Georgia this fall.

And reliable public polling is scarce in Alaska, but most analysts believe the race there between Republican Gov. Sean Parnell and independent candidate Bill Walker could tip either way. Alaska leans heavily Republican, but the gubernatorial result could hinge on the state's competitive Senate race between incumbent Democrat Mark Begich and Republican challenger Dan Sullivan.