They may not know when a special election will be held, but would-be successors to Texas Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison continue to raise campaign funds with the expectation that she'll soon vacate her seat to concentrate on her 2010 campaign for governor.

The candidates want to be ready for a speedy balloting that is expected to take place in May, though the Texas election statutes also give Republican Gov. Rick Perry some discretion in setting a date.

Hutchison, who is challenging Perry for the GOP nomination in a March primary election, said in July that she would resign in October or November. But that plan appears to have fallen by the wayside: she said last week that she is "going to leave" but wasn't sure exactly when.

Though Republicans have dominated recent statewide elections in Texas, GOP officials acknowledge that an atypical special election could be very competitive. And at the moment, the best-funded candidate for Hutchison's seat is a Democrat, Houston Mayor Bill White, who took in more than $1.5 million in this year's third quarter and $6 million for his campaign to date. More than $400,000 of White's third-quarter receipts and $1.4 million of his overall receipts came from the his own pocket.

Jerry Brown, California's Democratic Attorney General, edged closer Tuesday to an official 2010 bid for governor -- an office he previously held from 1975 to 1983.

Brown launched an exploratory campaign committee, a move that will allow him "to essentially quadruple the amount of campaign cash he can raise," the Sacramento Bee reported. California state law, according to the paper, "caps individual donations to gubernatorial candidates at $25,900 per election vs. $6,500 for candidates to other statewide offices," such as Brown's current post as Attorney General.

While Brown has not confirmed he will ultimately run, his candidacy is widely assumed to be a certainty. He is seeking an open seat, as the state's term-limit law bars Republican incumbent Arnold Schwarzenegger from running again.

Brown currently looks like the more promising of the Democrats' likely candidates, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted Sept. 24.

Brown led each of the three top Republicans vying for the seat: former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, and former Rep. Tom Campbell. Whitman came the closet to Brown, trailing by 44 percent to 35 percent.

Republican campaign strategists will have to scramble to find a new challenger to Nevada Democratic Rep. Dina Titus, after highly touted recruit John Guedry abruptly ended his campaign to unseat the 3rd District freshman.

The Las Vegas Sun reported late Friday that Guedry, a banker, issued a statement that read in part:

"I entered this race to help make our state and nation a better place for my family and future generations of Nevadans. Recent events have compelled me as a father and husband to end my campaign for public office and focus my attention on important issues closer to home."

Guedry, who formally launched his campaign just last month, did not elaborate on the "recent events" that precipitated his withdrawal from the contest in Nevada's 3rd, a partisan swing district that takes in a part of Las Vegas and much of the city's suburban population.

Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat, can expect a tough 2010 challenge from Republican John Kasich, according to a Rasmussen Reports survey conducted Sept. 23.

The poll of 500 likely voters gives Kasich, a former House member (1983-2001) from central Ohio, 46 percent of the vote and Strickland 45 percent, making this likely November 2010 pairing a dead heat. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

Strickland and President Obama have nearly identically mediocre approval ratings, with 50 percent of voters saying they somewhat disapprove or strongly disapprove of their job performances.

Democratic Rep. Ron Kind will not run for governor of Wisconsin in 2010, deciding instead to seek an eighth term in his 3rd District seat.

Kind, who would have been a top contender in the governor's race, released a statement Thursday afternoon in which he cited efforts to pass a health care overhaul as the top priority keeping him in Congress.

"My first responsibility must be to get affordable and accessible health care reform passed this year for all Wisconsin families," Kind said. "That is why I cannot run for governor. I have a responsibility and duty to the people of Wisconsin to continue work on the health care reform agenda ahead of us."

Democratic Gov. James E. Doyle announced in August that he would not seek a third term, breaking the 2010 race wide open. Kind promptly declared that he was considering a bid for governor, raising expectations that he would run.

New York Rep. Gregory W. Meeks denied Tuesday that he told David A. Paterson -- his home state's embattled Democratic governor -- that the Obama White House does not want him to run when his seat is up in 2010.

But Meeks, a House veteran from the New York City borough of Queens, was vague on the specifics of the conversations he did have with Paterson.

Meeks commented on the situation while making the New York media rounds in the wake of a story published Sunday by the New York Times. That article said President Obama and his political team wanted Paterson to step aside, and asked Meeks, who is close to both men, to deliver the message.

Paterson has suffered from a sharp decline in his approval ratings since March 2008, when he moved up from lieutenant governor to succeed resigned Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer, and many Democrats worry that his determination to seek a full term in his own right next year could cost his party the seat.

The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) on Friday declared the Nevada race for governor as one of its top-tier contests for 2010 -- a move that was expected, given Republican incumbent Jim Gibbons' vulnerable position heading into the election year.

The DGA previously hesitated to officially target the Nevada race while the possibility of a competitive Democratic primary still loomed.

But that prospect was eliminated last week when state Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley announced she would not run. That has cleared the way for Rory Reid -- an officeholder in the Las Vegas region and son of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid -- to stake his claim on the Democratic nomination.

"With no primary on the Democratic side, we will have a straight path to victory in Nevada," Nathan Daschle, the DGA's executive director, said in a release. "The DGA will fully engage politically with Commissioner Reid, helping him to build and execute a winning strategy. We believe that Nevada is ripe for Democratic leadership."

Despite basement-level approval ratings and calls for him to step aside in 2010, New York Gov. David A. Paterson is moving forward with his election campaign.

Paterson, the former lieutenant governor who ascended to the top post after Eliot Spitzer resigned in 2008, named a campaign manager for his 2010 race on Thursday. Richard Fife, president of RJF Communications Inc. and a senior New York adviser to Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, will take the helm of the listing Paterson ship.

Fife also managed New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney's aborted Senate run against Kirsten Gillibrand, whom Paterson appointed earlier this year to succeed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Paterson also has a campaign spokeswoman, Tracy Sefl.

South Carolina Democrat Jim Rex, the state Superintendent of Education, is now an official candidate for the 2010 election to succeed term-limited Republican Mark Sanford as governor.

Rex's bid, which he had earlier signaled, adds a statewide elected official to the crowded June Democratic primary field. His party is trying to overcome South Carolina's usual Republican leanings -- and take advantage of the turmoil surrounding Sanford, who has declined demands even from many fellow Republicans that he resign following his confession of an extramarital affair and allegations that he improperly used state-funded travel.

Rex didn't reference Sanford directly as he launched his campaign with an op-ed piece in The State newspaper in Columbia and in a statement on his campaign Web site. But a reference to the incumbent appeared clear in Rex's lament about the "seemingly endless distractions" that "have crippled our state government."

Massachusetts Treasurer Tim Cahill announced Wednesday that he will challenge Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick in 2010 as an independent, creating a three-way race that appears likely to be a battle.

Cahill signaled his intention to enter the governor's race when he recently switched his voter registration status from Democratic to "unenrolled" with a party.

Though his candidacy shakes up the race in ways that will have lasting consequences, he had to share the political spotlight in Massachusetts Wednesday with Christy Mihos, a Republican candidate for governor. Mihos' campaign shot down speculation that he might switch to the upcoming U.S. Senate special election for the seat vacated by the Aug. 25 death of Democrat Edward M. Kennedy.

Cahill told supporters at his campaign launch in downtown Boston that as an independent, he would be free of party leadership that "encourages you to feel a certain way in a position or act a certain way or to say a certain thing."

Democrat Ethan Berkowitz is now officially running for governor of Alaska in 2010 -- a race in which he hopes to expand upon the statewide base he built with his competitive 2008 challenge to veteran Republican Rep. Don Young, the state's only U.S. House member.

Berkowitz, who faces primary competition, is seeking to challenge interim Republican Gov. Sean Parnell. Parnell moved up from lieutenant governor on July 26 after incumbent Sarah Palin -- the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee -- resigned the office.

A Parnell-Berkowitz matchup would be a rematch of sorts, as both were lieutenant governor nominees, but they ran on gubernatorial tickets, Parnell with Palin and Berkowitz with Tony Knowles, a former governor who unsuccessfully sought a comeback in that race.

Kirk Jowers, a prominent Utah political scientist, will not seek the Republican nomination in next year's special election for governor. His decision provides a clearer path for newly installed GOP Gov. Gary R. Herbert, who took office after his predecessor, Republican Jon Huntsman Jr., received U.S. Senate confirmation as the nation's new ambassador to China last week.

Jowers is familiar to many Utah voters as the oft-quoted director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah, which might have made him a formidable contender. But he opted not to join the special election contest, which is required under state law because Huntsman -- who won a second term in 2008 -- resigned within the first year after winning re-election.

Jowers, who made his intentions public in Utah on Monday, told CQ Politics that he reached his decision last week and informed Herbert. Though he said he had lined up support from some state legislators and was confident he could have raised the big money (between $6 million and $8 million, he estimated) to seriously compete, Jowers said he stepped aside because of the demands a campaign would have placed on his family and his satisfaction with how Herbert has handled the gubernatorial transition.

Texas Republicans have been bracing themselves for a brutal 2010 primary battle between incumbent Gov. Rick Perry and his big-time challenger, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Few should have been surprised, then, that verbal sparring broke out immediately on Monday, as Hutchison officially kicked off her long-anticipated bid for governor.

Hutchison's campaign announcement speech, which she delivered Monday morning at a high school near Houston, criticized Perry on a wide array of issues, including taxes, education and health care.

Hutchison also reiterated one of the themes of her nascent campaign: that it is time for a fresh face and new ideas in the governor's office. Perry -- who moved up from lieutenant governor in late 2000 after then-incumbent Gov. George W. Bush won for president -- was elected in 2002 and 2006, and his challenger contends that a third full term would be too much.

"Ten years is enough," said Hutchison. "We can do better."

Texas Democrat Kirk Watson, who was considering a run for governor in 2010, has decided instead to seek re-election to the state Senate.

In a statement Friday, he said he enjoys representing the Austin area in the state legislature and wants to spend time with his youngest son, who is about to start high school.

"Despite those reasons, this has been a very tough decision," Watson said. "It's hard, in part, because I believe I would win the race for Governor. I'm excited and honored by the significant encouragement I've received to run."

Minnesota House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher is joining the race for governor in what looks likely to be the most crowded political contest of the 2010 cycle.

Kelliher, a Democrat, announced on a new campaign Web site Thursday that she had filed the paperwork for a campaign. In a message to supporters, she said she had the experience, commitment and coalition-building skills to lead the state out of its economic struggles. A formal campaign announcement will come in "a few weeks," she said.

Kelliher has one of the highest profiles among a number of Democrats already in the race. The field includes former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton and former state House Minority Leader Matt Entenza; state Sens. John Marty and Tom Bakk; state Reps. Paul Thissen and Tom Rukavina; and Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner.

There now are two official candidates for the Republican nomination in New Mexico's 2010 race for governor -- and that field appears likely to grow over the next few weeks.

The latest entry is state Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones, who had been exploring the race for months. Arnold-Jones on July 26 sent a letter to supporters launching her run for the seat of term-limited Democratic incumbent Bill Richardson.

An official announcement is scheduled to come sometime later in August, according to local political blogger Heath Haussamen.

Texas Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison confirmed Wednesday that she will resign her U.S. Senate seat this fall to concentrate on her March 2010 primary challenge to Republican Gov. Rick Perry.

Kay Bailey Hutchison (CQ/Scott J. Ferrell)

Hutchison told Texas radio interviewer Mark Davis that she will leave the Senate in October or November, vacating a seat she has held since she won a 1993 special election. She subsequently won re-election three times.

She plans to make a formal announcement next month that she is making her long-expected bid for governor in a contest that will pit her against Perry, who was elected to full terms in 2002 and 2006 after moving up from lieutenant governor in 2000 to fill the vacancy caused by incumbent Republican Gov. George W. Bush's election to his first term as president.

Democrat Scott Heidepriem, the state Senate minority leader in South Dakota, has made his 2010 candidacy for governor official, after telling CQ Politics last week that he was committed to the contest.

Scott Heidepriem

Heidepriem's decision to run brought relief to Democratic officials, who had recruiting worries after popular at-large U.S. Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin decided to pursue another term in the House rather than run for governor. Herseth Sandlin, who has easily won her recent races for a House seat that amounts to a statewide office, had been regarded as the party's strongest potential candidate for governor.

John Cherry's two terms as lieutenant governor of Michigan make him a solid early favorite to win the nomination for the contest to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm. But it has long been clear that he will face opponents for the August 2010 primary, with the main question being, "How many?"

George Perles, a former head football coach at Michigan State University and now an elected trustee of that school, has not officially launched a candidacy but has publicly stated he plans to run. And two experienced officeholders, Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano and state House Speaker Andy Dillon, are thinking about entering the Democratic race.

Rick Snyder, a technology industry veteran from Ann Arbor, officially kicked off a dark-horse bid in the crowded 2010 Republican primary for governor, and set off on a four-day announcement tour across the state.

Rick Snyder

A former president and chief operating officer of computer company Gateway Inc., Snyder contends his business and high-tech background makes him the candidate who is best able to re-energize the recession-plagued state's economy and repair the low opinion most Michigan voters currently have of their state government in Lansing.

Snyder sought to link himself to the legacy of inventor Thomas A. Edison during his announcement speech at Greenfield Village, part of the Henry Ford Museum in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn. His event was held at Edison's Menlo Park, N.J., laboratory, relocated to the museum, which "embodies the inventive spirit we need to embrace," Snyder said in a statement.

State Rep. Paul Thissen, a Democrat, will officially announce his 2010 run for governor of Minnesota Thursday, his campaign committee revealed in a press release.

Paul Thissen

A Harvard University graduate, Thissen boasts experience in both the private and public sectors as an attorney, four-term state legislator and current chairman of the state House Health and Human Services Committee.

But he is joining a Democratic lineup that already contains declared candidates with higher profiles in statewide politics, including Mark Dayton, who represented Minnesota in the U.S. Senate from 2001 to 2007, and former state House Minority Leader Matt Entenza. And the field could grow crowded with others, as the parties prepare for a competitive contest to succeed retiring two-term Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Susan Martinez

Not Republican Susana Martinez, the district attorney in New Mexico's Doña Ana County. She launched her campaign in her state's 2010 open-seat race for governor on Friday without going through an in-between stage.

"I'm ready to get to work," she said Friday.

Martinez has a tough road ahead in the contest to succeed two-term Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson, who cannot seek re-election under the state's term-limit law.

Jim Gerlach

Gerlach's announcement on Tuesday gives the Republican primary field a battle-tested political pro -- but also leaves open his seat in the 6th Congressional District, a partisan battleground that almost certainly will prompt one of next year's strongest takeover attempts by the House Democratic majority.

The 54-year-old Gerlach is running to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Edward G. Rendell. He is entering a 2010 Republican primary, to be held next May, that probably will include state Attorney General Tom Corbett and former U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan. The Democratic primary probably will include state Auditor General Jack Wagner; Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato, whose home base includes Pittsburgh; and Philadelphia businessman Tom Knox.

Kay Bailey Hutchison (Getty Images/Joshua Roberts)

Hutchison also announced Monday, at a news conference in her hometown of Dallas, that she raised $6.7 million for her campaign in the first six months of this year, ending what her campaign said was "the first phase" of her bid for governor. Hutchison earlier had transferred $8 million from her Senate campaign treasury to her account for the governor's race, which now reports more than $12 million in cash on hand.

"While phase one of the campaign was designed to ensure we have the resources to deliver Kay's conservative message to voters across our state, it is now time to begin delivering that message," wrote Rick Wiley, Hutchison's campaign manager, in a memorandum.

Democrat Elizabeth Roberts, the lieutenant governor of Rhode Island, has decided to forgo the 2010 bid for governor that she had been mulling. Roberts will instead seek re-election to her current post.

"I want to thank all of my supporters and let them know that I will continue to work to turn the pages of politics as usual in Rhode Island," said Roberts in a statement released Wednesday afternoon. "I will continue to fight for quality health care for all; a stronger, more diverse Rhode Island economy; and honest, open and effective government."

Roberts, by choosing to pass up the race to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Donald L. Carcieri, thins a primary field that looked crowded with prominent Democratic officeholders. Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch and state Treasurer Frank Caprio are both expected to launch campaigns for the open seat.

John Hoeven

Hoeven, though, has been reticent about the possibility of a Senate bid, so even a hint that he is thinking about opposing Dorgan is bound to get attention. That happened Monday, when, according to the Associated Press, Hoeven said he might make a decision by Labor Day about whether to run for the Senate.

"I don't have any specific timeline, but that's probably a reasonable range," Hoeven told the AP while discussing the state Republican Party's efforts to recruit a challenger to Dorgan.

But when CQ Politics inquired about the remark later in the day, Hoeven's office suggested we don't read too much into it.

Bill Johnson

Johnson is a former Birmingham city councilman and was director of the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs until Friday, when he stepped down to prepare his bid for governor .

He is the sixth Republican candidate overall, the fourth state official and the second Riley appointee to enter the race.

Bradley Byrne, a former state senator, was chancellor of the state's two-year college system before he resigned in May to run. His candidacy announcement came between those of state Rep. Robert Bentley and state Treasurer Kay Ivey, both elected officials. The current field is rounded out by Greenville businessman Tim James, a son of former Gov. Fob James, and former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore, who now heads a religious conservative advocacy group.

State Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith confirmed Friday that, as expected, she is joining the crowded 2010 race for governor of Michigan. She previously staged a short-lived bid for the same office in 2002.

Smith, whose state House district includes the eastern Michigan city of Ypsilanti, is the third Democrat to enter the race to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm. She joins Lt. Gov. John Cherry and George Perles, a former head football coach at Michigan State University and now an elected trustee of that school who has publicly stated he plans to run.

Cherry is considered the early favorite for the Democratic nomination, having served alongside Granholm for both her two terms.

Steve Pearce

But the GOP will have to wait a bit longer than Pearce initially indicated. After earlier saying he would reveal a decision by the end of June, Pearce told CQ Politics Friday that he is still weighing his 2010 plans and will withhold his announcement until sometime between July 20 and July 27.

Pearce in 2008 edged then-Rep. Heather A. Wilson for the Republican nomination for the Senate seat opened up by the retirement of six-term GOP incumbent Pete V. Domenici. But Democrat Tom Udall, then the state's other U.S. House member, trounced Pearce in the general election by 61 percent to 39 percent.

Terri Lynn Land

The unexpected move by Land -- who was widely assumed to be a candidate in the open-seat race -- came with another surprise, as she endorsed one of the declared Republican contenders: Michael J. Bouchard, the sheriff of populous Oakland County in suburban Detroit and a former state senator, who was the GOP's unsuccessful challenger to Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow in 2006.

Bouchard on June 3 officially launched his campaign for the 2010 contest to choose the successor to two-term Democratic incumbent Jennifer M. Granholm, who is barred from running again under Michigan's term-limit law.

Paul Kohls

Kohls, who is in his fourth state House term and sits on the chamber's finance and tax committees, announced his candidacy on Thursday. He said in a statement that his campaign will focus "on issues of fiscal responsibility and limited government."

"We need to do a much better job setting priorities," said the resident of Victoria, located in the western exurbs of Minnesota's Twin Cities.

Sam Brownback (Getty)

The development also solidifies Brownback's status as the front-runner in the race for the seat -- currently held by interim Democratic Gov. Mark Parkinson -- as he will be spared a primary contest with a well-known and longtime statewide officeholder. Thornburgh has been secretary of state since he was first elected in 1994.

Nonetheless, Thornburgh would have needed a major come-from-behind push to overcome Brownback, who first won his Senate seat in a 1996 special election, won landslide re-election victories in 1998 and 2004, and ran a short-lived campaign for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. A recent poll conducted by SurveyUSA showed Brownback trouncing Thornburgh by a margin of 47 percentage points.

Mike Huckabee (Getty)

• Next year's potentially crowded primary for governor, in which Republican voters will pick a challenger to incumbent Democrat Gov. Chet Culver.

• The maneuverings by Republicans considering the possibility of running for president in 2012, who one by one have been paying visits -- that look anything but coincidental -- to Iowa, the host of the traditional first-in-the-nation presidential election year caucuses.

Huckabee, who sought the 2008 Republican presidential nomination, has eschewed placing national implications on his appearance on behalf of Bob Vander Plaats -- a businessman who ran unsuccessfully for the 2002 Republican nomination for governor and again in 2006 as the Republicans' nominee for lieutenant governor.

Jim Barnett

But Barnett is unlikely to be the least in the Republican field. In fact, the high profile he achieved as the 2006 GOP nominee for governor could certainly boost him into the top tier of candidates competing in the 1st, one of the nation's leading Republican Party strongholds.

Barnett lost that governor's race pretty badly, by 58 percent to 41 percent, to incumbent Kathleen Sebelius, a rare popular Democrat in statewide politics who recently resigned to become secretary of Health and Human Services under President Obama. But Barnett did better on the strongly Republican turf of the 1st, finishing first in roughly half of the 69 counties that are all or part in the district.

Former Chief Justice Roy Moore speaks to parishioners in 2003 after his Ten Commandments monument was removed. (Getty)

Moore, who heads a religion-oriented conservative foundation, was ousted as chief justice of the state Supreme Court by a state judicial panel in 2003. This occurred after he defied a federal court ruling ordering the removal of a monument to the biblical Ten Commandments that he had installed in the court building. The dispute brought Moore national attention and a base of like-minded supporters, but lost his 2006 primary challenge to Republican Gov. Bob Riley by a ratio of 2-to-1.

Moore -- who this time will be running in the 2010 open-seat race to succeed the term-limited Riley -- kicked off his campaign by unveiling a high-tech Web site that includes feeds to popular social networking sites such as Twitter.

Tim Pawlenty

Pawlenty discussed this timeline -- and the pros and cons factoring into his candidacy decision -- during an interview with Minnesota Public Radio host Cathy Wurzer Thursday. "I've got a lot of energy and ideas left for leadership and service, but that has to be weighed against making sure you don't overstay your welcome," Pawlenty said on the network's Morning Edition program.

Pawlenty said "family considerations and career considerations and a bunch of other factors" will ultimately determine whether he runs for governor or pursues another career path.

Alabama Treasurer Kay Ivey, a Republican, on Thursday became the latest candidate to join the fast-growing field for the state's open-seat race for governor in 2010. She is the second Republican this week, and the third in two weeks, to state publicly that they are running to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Bob Riley.

Ivey's decision to run was first reported by the al.com Web site and was confirmed to CQ Politics by her office.

Ivey, a former banker and a 1967 graduate of Alabama's Auburn University, was elected state treasurer in 2002 and was re-elected in 2006. She has focused her efforts in office on revamping Alabama's unclaimed property program and two of the state's college savings plans.

Donald L. Carcieri

Now the Democrats' field for the September 2010 primary -- which had been developing quite slowly -- is starting to come into focus. State Attorney General Patrick Lynch and Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts both have moved in recent weeks toward launching their expected candidacies to succeed Carcieri.

Roberts has begun to assemble a team of campaign consultants. The roster includes Joe Slade White, a media consultant whose clients have included Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and oilman T. Boone Pickens, who has launched a campaign advocating alternative energy; and Seth Klaiman, former finance director to Sen. Jack Reed, another Rhode Island Democrat. She has also launched a new Web site, Elizabeth Roberts for Rhode Island.

Ethan Berkowitz

"My sights are now on the governor's race," Ethan Berkowitz, a former leader of the Democratic minority in the state House, said in a phone interview on Wednesday.

In 2008, Republican Young defeated Berkowitz by a 5 percentage-point margin -- a difference of 16,379 votes -- after easily topping his 2006 Democratic opponent by nearly 17 points and nearly 40,000 votes, and winning a landslide victory as recently as 2004 by nearly 50 points and 150,000 votes.

Two years before his 2008 House race, Berkowitz ran for lieutenant governor; the Republican ticket of Palin for governor and Sean Parnell for lieutenant governor defeated the Democratic ticket of former Gov. Tony Knowles and Berkowitz, 48.3 percent to 41 percent.

Bradley Byrne

The 54-year-old Byrne resigned from his post as chancellor earlier this month, signaling his intention to run. In his candidacy announcement, he said he would make education, ethics and economic development priorities if he were to win the race to succeed term-limited Alabama Republican Gov. Bob Riley.

"We have made great strides in cleaning out the corruption of the two-year college system," Byrne proclaimed in his prepared remarks. "And now, I will take our fight for reform to the next level."

Mike Cox

"As a Marine, prosecutor, and Attorney General, I have spent my life fighting for the people of Michigan," Cox said in a release. "I will be a governor who is willing to make the tough decisions to help grow Michigan's economy."

The economy clearly will be the top issue in next year's race to succeed term-limited Democrat Jennifer M. Granholm, who was elected in 2002 and 2006. Staggered especially by the sharp downturn in its crucial automobile industry, Michigan led all states with a 12.7 percent unemployment rate in April.

Cox joins a crowded field of Republican hopefuls looking to reclaim the seat after eight years of Democratic control under Granholm, who was preceded in the seat by Republican John Engler.

Chris Kennedy

This candidacy would make him the latest in the famed family's "second generation" to enter the political fray.

It also would lengthen the list of Democrats who are either certain to run or are thinking about running in the February primary for the seat held by interim Democratic Sen. Roland W. Burris, whose appointment to the seat Barack Obama vacated to become president has remained controversial and unpopular.

The Chicago Sun-Times has reported that Kennedy could announce his plans this week.

David Vaught

Vaudt's decision was first reported Monday by Iowa media outlets. He told the Des Moines Register that his experience as auditor is paramount given the fiscal difficulties facing the state. "This is a very critical time for Iowa, and we need a strong voice and an experienced voice to keep Iowans in tune with what's really taking place with our finances," Vaudt said.

Vaudt also told Radio Iowa that he had considered the governor's race but that he is "very concerned about Iowa's long-term finances."

Charles bronson (Getty)

The state's Agriculture commissioner, tough-guy namesake Charles Bronson, is none too pleased that leading state party officials -- including Chairman Jim Greer -- tried to anoint McCollum, the state's attorney general, as the GOP's nominee as soon as he announced his candidacy on Monday morning.

"I am very concerned about the whole idea of closing down primaries," Bronson said in a telephone interview with CQPolitics on Monday afternoon. "This idea that one person seems to have the only answer to the situation, I just don't believe that."

Bronson said he will make a decison on whether to run "hopefully by the end of the week."

"His ideas and mine might be a lot the same and it could be there are some different issues out there, but you won't know that unless there's a race," he said.

Roger Bedford (Getty)

State Sen. Roger Bedford, who had said he was seriously thinking about a run for the open seat, told the Political Parlor blog in his home state that he would defer. He said in the interview that he "didn't think that was what the Lord had" in store for him.

Had he entered the contest to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Bob Riley, Bedford would have competed with two other experienced Democratic officeholders who already have announced their candidacies: Rep. Artur Davis, who if elected would become the first black governor of the Deep South state, and Ron Sparks, the state commissioner of agriculture and industries.

Sue Bell Cobb, chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, is still deciding on whether to enter the Democratic primary for governor.

Bill McCollum does breakfast with Rudy Giuliani during last year's Florida primary. (Getty)

McCollum touched on several major issues during his announcement speech in Orlando, including health care, transportation and education.

"Florida faces challenges today unlike any other time in our state's history," McCollum said, according to his written statement. "With your help, I will be elected Florida's next governor and together our state will grow, prosper, and continue to be one of the most wonderful places on earth to live, work, and raise a family."

Veteran Rep. Nathan Deal announced May 1, just five days ago, that he is running for governor of Georgia. And fellow Republicans who want to succeed him are rushing to get a jump on the open-seat race in Georgia's 9th District -- the most heavily Republican among the state's 13 districts.

Former state Sen. Bill Stephens said Wednesday he is preparing to enter the 9th District race. He said six generations of his family have roots in the district, which shares a border with Tennessee in the northernmost part of Georgia.

"I feel like my DNA matches the district," Stephens said, adding, "And I think this is a crucial time not only in Georgia, but in the country, and I want to be a part of that."

It looks like the 2010 governor's race in Ohio will pit two former U.S. House members against each other.

Republican John Kasich, a former chairman of the House Budget Committee, on Friday filed paperwork to begin raising money for an all-but-announced campaign against Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland, who's seeking a second term that followed his own lengthy House tenure.

Kasich signed a "Designation of Treasurer" document from the Ohio Secretary of State's office that establishes the campaign committee "Kasich for Ohio."

Republican Rep. Steve King has has indicated that he is considering a challenge to Democratic incumbent Chet Culver in next year's race for governor of Iowa. And while King told CQ Politics Thursday morning that the matter isn't on his mind when he goes to sleep at night, he left the door open to the possibility.

"No decision has been made," King said in an interview at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

The adjournment of the state legislature's annual session -- which will start the run-up to the state's 2010 election season in earnest -- just occured on Sunday, and King said he's going to "let the dust settle."

Mullins McLeod

"Unfortunately, some of our statewide Democratic candidates in the past have not run at the Republicans," McLeod told the Charleston Post and Courier "They've tried to imitate the Republicans, and I think that's why we lost. I'm going to run a modern, 21st century campaign that focuses on the issues that matter."

McLeod sent a letter Wednesday to delegates to the South Carolina Democratic party convention, which takes place this weekend, confirming his candidacy.

Gavin Newsom (Getty)

Newsom, who had been operating an exploratory campaign for the open seat race, used multiple communication formats to declare his intention to run.

"I'm running for Governor because California needs a new direction," Newsom said in a statement. He also reached out to supporters through Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

Randy Brogdon

"I'm Randy Brogdon. I'm a conservative and I'm running for governor," Brogdon announced April 18 at the state party GOP convention in Oklahoma City.

Fallin, also a conservative, was re-elected in November to a second term representing the Oklahoma City-area 5th District. Fallin retains a statewide profile stemming from her service as Oklahoma's lieutenant governor from 1995 to 2007.

The April 15 deadline to file campaign finance reports also applied to the four major candidates for the Virginia governorship this year. The three Democrats and one Republican combined to raise $8 million in the first three months of the year.

A majority of those funds was raised by Terry McAuliffe ($4.2 million), who whetted his fundraising skills as the chairman for the Democratic National Committee and as a longtime strategist for Bill and Hillary Clinton.

Benefiting from Virginia's lack of limits on political contributions, McAuliffe reported 20 contributions of at least $50,000 that cumulatively totaled $1.85 million -- or close to half of his total take for the reporting period. He received $251,000 from Haim Saban, the president of an eponymous entertainment company, and $250,000 from producer Steve Bing. Both men also gave generously to the Democratic Party during McAuliffe's DNC years.

Kinky Friedman on the campaign trail in 2006. (Getty)

In a letter on his Web site that was addressed to "fellow Texans," Friedman said he could stitch together a winning coalition of Democratic and independent voters to wrest from Republican control an office that a Democrat last won in 1990.

"I intend to run a serious campaign, one that grows the party," Friedman said. "I intend to visit and listen to the voices of neglected communities, small towns, suburbs, and rural areas, often where Democrats have lately feared to tread."

State Sen. and former gubernatorial candidate John Marty is making another run for Minnesota's governor's mansion, he confirmed on Monday. The Democrat -- who lost in 1994 general election for governor -- launched his official campaign in front of supporters at a rally in St. Paul, saying his decision "grows from my great love for our great state."

Marty, a 22-year veteran of the Minnesota Senate, promised "ethical, long-term far-sighted leadership," and said he would bring his legislative commitments to universal health care, stronger ethics regulations and social justice to the executive branch.

He is one of what is likely to be a growing field of Democrats jockeying for the post. Six other Democrats have also opened exploratory fundraising committees, including former U.S. Sen.Mark Dayton, state Sen. Tom Bakk, former state Sen. Steve Kelley, state Rep. Paul Thissen, former state Rep. Matt Entenza, and Ramsey County Attorney General Susan Gaertner.

Terry McAuliffe (Getty)

McAuliffe's campaign released general figures one week ahead of an April 15 deadline, applicable to all candidates for governor, to release detailed information about their campaign donations and spending. McAuliffe's campaign said that he has raised about $5.2 million for the duration of his campaign from 3,440 donors, which comes out to an average contribution of about $1,500. McAuliffe had about $2.5 million left to spend as April began.

McAuliffe, who has raised campaign cash for the DNC and for Bill and Hillary Clinton, among other Democratic organizations and individuals, is expected to collect more campaign contributions than any other candidate in the Virginia governor's race. McAuliffe is running in a June 9 primary election along with former state Rep. Brian Moran and state Sen. Creigh Deeds; the Democratic winner will face Bob McDonnell, a former state Attorney General who is unopposed for the Republican nomination, in the Nov. 3 general election.

Thurbert Baker

DiSantis, former Democratic state party executive director, described Baker as a moderate. "He has good relationships all across the political spectrum," DiSantis said, adding that the National Rifle Association endorsed Baker's three elections since his 1997 appointment to the position.

Baker joins David Poythress, former state Adjutant General (commander of the Georgia Army and Air National Guard) in the Democratic race for the seat currently held by term-limited Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue.

Michigan Lt. Gov. John Cherry hasn't officially declared his candidacy for governor in 2010, but he sure looks like he's headed in that direction.

Cherry, who is second-in-command under term-limited current Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm, launched a new Web site Thursday, titled "A Whole Lot of People Supporting John Cherry." Beneath his name it reads, "Democrat for Governor."

Cherry is considered to be the leading contender for the post on the Democratic side, though it's unlikely he'll have the race to himself. He, Macomb County Sheriff Mark Hackel and state Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith have all formed exploratory committees that allow them to fundraise for a potential run.

Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday that he will not be a candidate in 2010, according to the Sacramento Bee, quashing speculation he will challenge Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer.

"I am not running for anything, so no one could threaten me, because I'm not running for Senate, I'm not running for Congress, I'm not running for another term as governor," Schwarzenegger said in reference to his freedom to make policy decisions during a Cal Expo news conference, according to the newspaper.

Schwarzenegger is term-limited in January 2011 and many Republicans hold out hope he will run for Senate.