Report Cards Are In: Grading Your Governor

You want to read Cato’s 14th biennial Fiscal Report Card on America’s Governors, produced by Chris Edwards—director of tax policy studies and editor of www.downsizingGovernment.org. There’s no hiding from the teacher in the school of fiscal responsibility.

The report grades 43 governors, excluding governors of Alabama, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, New Jersey, and Virginia because of their short time in office. And it excludes Alaska’s governor because of the peculiarities of that state’s budget, explains Edwards.

You can guess how poorly the Democrats scored. But, changing gears for a moment, two of the five Republicans with A’s will be gone come November because of term limits. Susan Martinez of New Mexico and Paul LePage of Maine are out. And current polls are leaning Democrat. It’s tough to be both a reformer and to be popular.