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Brown's bid for governor came after serving eight years in the Maryland General Assembly and two terms as O'Malley's lieutenant governor. In the June primary election, Brown cruised to victory by a 27-point margin, having earned the endorsement of nearly every major Democratic official in the state. In both the primary and general, he came under fire for Maryland's botched health insurance website, a centerpiece of health care reform that Brown oversaw as lieutenant governor. Brown said he, like everyone else involved, bore responsibility for its failure. (Cox and Dresser, 11/5)

Mr. Hogan defeated Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, the Democratic nominee, in a landslide. Final results showed Maryland voters went for the Republican 54 percent to 45 percent. ... One of many Democrats to face defeat late Tuesday, Mr. Brown was weighed down in part by criticism over Maryland’s rollout of Obamacare. Mr. Brown was the O’Malley administration’s point-man on the reforms, so he took the fall when Maryland’s insurance exchange failed upon launch last fall. The portal had to be overhauled with new technology ahead of the second round of enrollment, which starts in less than two weeks. (Howell Jr., 11/5)

Hammering Brown over O’Malley’s tax increases, Hogan unleashed a roiling undercurrent of voter discontent that flared not only in Maryland, but also against Obama and Democratic incumbents across the country. ... In the current campaign cycle, [public policy professor Donald] Norris said, “it’s a Republican year, nationwide,” with GOP candidates benefitting from voter anxiety and dissatisfaction with Obama over immigration and the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, among other issues. (Schwartzman, 11/5)

After hesitating to take a stance on Gov. Jan Brewer's Medicaid expansion, [Doug] Ducey took a hard line against it. He has said he will make sure the federal government lives up to its funding promises over the next several years but has not said what he would do if federal financial support for the program declined. (Sanchez, 11/5)

Wrapping up Gov. Tom Corbett's first year in office, the administration dropped tens of thousands of people, the majority children, from Medicaid rolls. And as he headed into his second budget, the governor advocated rollbacks in programs for the poor and disabled, including eliminating a Depression-era General Assistance cash benefit for poor single adults. His administration also imposed a controversial asset test for food stamps. These and other moves shocked some of the GOP's more moderate members, and were not popular. Perhaps the electorate was not as conservative as it seemed in 2010, and the governor had misread it. (Fitzgerald and Couloumbis, 11/5)

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal handily won reelection on Tuesday, avoiding a possible runoff against Democrat Jason Carter. ... Deal said “Cartercare” Medicaid expansion would mean a tax hike. But for Carter, the push to expand Medicaid to 650,000 Georgians was a central part of his appeal to the state’s black voters. (Wheaton, 11/5)

Republican Gov. Scott Walker defeated Democrat Mary Burke Tuesday, ensuring himself a second term in Madison and raising the prospect of a political future at the national level. ... Walker turned down federal tax dollars for building an $810 million train line between Milwaukee and Madison and for expanding the state's BadgerCare health programs for the needy, saying that taking the help now could lead to more state spending in future years. The BadgerCare decision meant forgoing more than $100 million in federal funds in the current two-year budget to expand health care for the needy under Medicaid. But Walker said that he doesn't trust the federal government to continue the payments in the future and that could leave state taxpayers holding the bag. (Stein, 11/5)

Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott came out victorious in a nasty and expensive campaign against Democrat and former Gov. Charlie Crist. (Rafferty, 11/4)

The fortunes of each Republican incumbent in a left-leaning state will be parsed in the days ahead as part of the party’s internal debate over whether it does better by appealing to moderates, or by hewing to conservative fundamentals. Mr. Snyder carved out a moderate profile by expanding Medicaid in Michigan and aiding Detroit. Mr. Walker refused the Medicaid expansion, an option under the federal health care law, and argued that what independent voters crave is leadership. In Maine, Mr. LePage, one of the most conservative governors, vetoed the Legislature’s expansion of Medicaid five times while becoming a lightning rod over his incendiary statements. Although the spotlight was trained mainly on the battle for Senate control, because of how it will affect the president’s final two years, the outcomes of governors’ races in many ways matter more to people’s lives. State governments raise or lower taxes, fund or defund classroom teachers, strengthen or weaken environmental regulations, and embrace or resist the Affordable Care Act. (Gabriel, 11/4)

Mr. LePage’s first term in office was both consequential and controversial. His welfare-reform changes made it more difficult for people to collect food stamps, cash assistance, and Medicaid, a move that he argued would force more people to find jobs and contribute to the economy. He cut spending, erased the state’s debt to hospitals, and blocked a move by the state legislature, controlled by Democrats, to expand Medicaid, the federal-state health care program for the poor. (Paletta, 11/5)

With more than 78 percent of the vote in, [Mark] Dayton had defeated his Republican challenger, Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson. ... Johnson offered voters the prospect of spending cuts, but he did not say what he would cut. He also called for making changes to MNsure, the state's online health insurance exchange. But his solution -- asking the federal government to allow the state to opt out of the Affordable Care Act -- seemed unlikely to succeed. (Scheck, 11/4)

In ads and stump speeches, [Greg Abbott] vowed to strengthen border security, invest in roads and work to improve public education. But his biggest applause line was always an attack on the unpopular policies of President Barack Obama: He had sued Obama 30 times as attorney general, he would say, and as governor he would carry on the battle against “federal overreach” on issues such as the environment and health care. (Hoppe, 11/5)

California voters decisively elected Gov. Jerry Brown to a historic fourth term Tuesday, a rare bright spot for Democrats on a night when Republicans celebrated huge victories in the rest of the nation. ... But they rejected Proposition 45, which would have given the state insurance commissioner oversight over some health insurance rate increases. Proposition 46, which would have increased the cap on medical malpractice awards, was also defeated. (Mehta, 11/5)

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has won a second term, AP reports. The Sacramento Democrat ran well ahead of Republican challenger Ted Gaines, a state senator from Rocklin. The commissioner is the state's top elected consumer regulator, overseeing the $123-billion-a-year insurance industry that includes automobile, homeowner and dozens of other types of coverage. (Lifsher, 11/5)