Government and Politics

3 Pages 698 Words

There are many aspects of government and politics. One of these aspects, that tends to most often be overlooked, but is extremely important is the Governorship. Governors play a major role in shaping many facets of government. The office of governor is one of high-pressure, and it is demanding not only emotionally, but physically as well.
There seems to be a trend among current and past governors. Today, the younger the candidate, the better educated and the better prepared they are. The average age has declined by about 5 years recently. Two thirds of them have law degrees and the majority of them have previously served as elected state officials, or have law enforcement backgrounds (Bowman and Kearney). Governors stand by “partisan peace making to reach common policy ground with their own legislatures” (Bowman and Kearney). Being governors give them the power and opportunity to make a difference in their state, where they are greatly affected by them.
Campaigning to be governor is a long and expensive process. Therefore, it does not hurt to be wealthy to begin with. Although, that does not by any means imply that being wealthy is the only way to win. On their way to becoming governor, they implore sums of money from donors. This money goes towards a variety of things: “political consultants, opinion polls, air travel, advertisement in print and broadcast media, telephone banks, direct mailings, websites, etc. (Bowman and Kearney). Running for
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governor can become an extremely costly process. The most expensive governor’s race was an election in 1998 in California. Gray Davis defeated Dan Lundgren and $64.5 million was spent by the two of them. Another $55.3 million was spent by the opposing candidates (Bowman and Kearney). Usually, elections will cost more when it is more of a close race.
As governor, there are many responsibilities and duties that must be carried out. The ...