By Leann Ray | Editor-in-chief

Happy Sunday! Here's a roundup of this week's stories in case you missed them.

NEWS

Ed Ryan, founder of Reshore WV, speaks to lawmakers at the West Virginia State Capitol in Charleston, West Virginia on Sept. 14, 2026, about his college course on import substitution and manufacturing. (Photo by Will Price/West Virginia Legislative Photography)

COMMENTARY

Bickle Knob is part of the Monongahela National Forest in Eklins, West Virginia. (Photo courtesy of the Forest Service)

Stories from the States

In November’s midterm elections, Democrats could win a majority of governor’s offices for the first time in 16 years.

President Donald Trump’s influence towers over some tight races. In Wisconsin, the GOP nominee, U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election. In Georgia, Rick Jackson has said he wanted to be “Trump’s favorite governor.” Both Tiffany and Jackson have since tried to distance themselves from the president.

Democratic candidates are taking advantage of Republican tension, and hope to see a “blue wave.” Party leaders in some states, like Michigan, are hoping to capture a trifecta: control of the governor’s office and both chambers of the state legislature.

In Episode 51, States Newsroom reporters Alander Rocha from the Georgia Recorder, Ben Solis from the Michigan Advance and Baylor Spears from the Wisconsin Examiner help break down what is happening in their gubernatorial elections and whether the political makeup of their statehouses might flip.

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