Democratic governors gather in L.A.

Posted by CNN Political Editor Paul Steinhauser
(CNN) – The nation’s Democratic governors gather in Los Angeles Monday, as the Democratic Governors Association kicks off two days of annual meetings.
At the conference, the governors will elect their new leadership. And the man who’s led the DGA the past two years as chairman is expected to keep a leadership position with the group that works to recruit and support Democratic candidates for governor, as well as assist Democratic incumbents up for re-election.
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley “is likely to retain a leadership post, most likely finance chairman,” a Democratic source tells CNN.
DGA finance chairman is a position O’Malley held before becoming vice chairman and then chairman. The position will keep O’Malley, who may be considering a possible bid for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, in contact with key Democratic donors.
“He is very popular with his peers. They look to him for strong leadership,” Colm O’Comartun, executive director of the Democratic Governors Association, told CNN.
“It’s a natural fit for him to stay.”
Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, who was just re-elected last month to another two-year term, is expected to get the nod by his fellow governors to succeed O’Malley as DGA chairman.
While Republicans lost the race for the White House and lost seats in the Senate and House of Representatives, they did increase by one, to 30, the number of governorships they control. But with Democrats defending eight of the 11 states holding gubernatorial contests, the loses to the GOP could have been higher. North Carolina flipped to Republican control, but the Democrats won three other toss up states: New Hampshire, Montana and Washington state.
New Jersey and Virginia, both currently controlled by the GOP, hold gubernatorial contests in 2013, with 37 states up for grabs in 2014.
 
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