Tru dat, but there’s (a) the fact that most governors come up for re-election in non-Presidential years, when the electorate tilts older and whiter (hence more Republican), and (b) 2010 specifically.
Quite true. But I also think that voters reward good governance, which is why a normally blue city like New York hasn’t elected a Democrat in a good long while, and why Chris Christie looks like a lock for reelection in Jersey. And if Christie has a successful 2nd term, the GOP candidate that succeeds him will start with a leg up. It’s also why Arkansas and North Dakota vote Democrat more often in statewide races than in national races. The party has a good local brand.
Similar with MO - a run of good Democratic governors and shitty GOP ones and you get a state that votes against its national trend pretty consistently for the Governor spot (and other state-wide offices, actually).
Missouri Republicans suck. Lots of good Democrats though.
Florida, my own state, has a strong Republican Party, much stronger than it should be given Florida’s swing state status. We’ve had a Republican governor since 1998(although that’s likely to change in 2014, albeit with a former Republican governor beating Scott), and Republicans have controlled the legislature for geez, I don’t know, most of my adult life.