In 2008, it was all about Obama taking the White House, Democrats taking control of the Senate with a substantial margin and the party increasing its majority in the House. Mission accomplished. This next set of elections is going to be all about the governors - because they will play a major role in reapportionment and that could decide the fate of the House of Representatives for the next decade.

John Fortier on Politico.com has written a thoughtful piece on why 2010 is so important for governor races. With elections in key states like Texas, New York and California, the complexion of Congress could change one more time if we don't work hard to elect Democratic governors. For example, Fortier points out that Texas could gain four House additional seats with the new census! If we can win back the governorship in California we have a chance to increase our margin of House seats because we control the legislature there. We know we are in trouble in Illinois because of recently impeached Governor Rod Blagojevich which makes taking the governorship of Georgia even more important. New York could face a bitter Democratic primary and the possibility of a strong Republican contender in, believe it or not, former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani.

Now is the time to recruit strong candidates, develop party unity in key states and avoid ugly primaries. Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia in his new role has head of the Democratic National Party has his work cut out for him.