Republicans captured governorships that had been held by Democrats in Michigan, Tennessee, Kansas, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Ohio, Iowa, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. In other big races, Nikki Haley won in South Carolina, Jan Brewer won in Arizona, and Harry Reid's son lost in Nevada. GOP highlights below; see Democratic highlights here:
- Ohio: Former Rep. John Kasich defeated Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, giving the GOP control of the battleground state considered crucial to the 2012 presidential election.
- South Carolina: Tea-party backed Haley became the state's first female governor and the nation's second Indian-American governor, replacing term-limited Gov. Mark Sanford.
- Michigan: Rick Snyder, the businessman who promoted himself as a political outsider able to ease the state's economic woes, beat Democrat Virg Bernero.
- Arizona: Brewer, riding a wave of support for the state's controversial illegal immigration law, defeated Democratic challenger Terry Goddard.