GOP Governors Concerned About Long Primary Race

Democrat governors are bullish on President Barack Obama’s re-election prospects, citing the improving economy and a Republican nominating contest that has exposed deep divisions in the party’s base.

Republican governors insist Obama is vulnerable, but they say they are concerned the prolonged primary race has alienated independent voters and may have badly damaged the eventual nominee.

Governor Christie appears on CBS’ Face The Nation today.

Democratic enthusiasm and Republican apprehension were both on display at the winter meeting of the National Governor’s Association. The annual four-day conference gathers the states’ top executives to discuss policy and trade ideas on best practices but where politics are always close to the surface.

In interviews, many Democratic governors seemed almost giddy about Obama’s chances of winning a second term.

Meanwhile, virtually no Republican governors were willing to predict their party’s nominee would prevail in November.

Many lamented the drawn-out nature of the nominating process.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved)