If happy days are here again for Republicans, you couldn’t exactly tell from the GOP governors gathering this week in Boca Raton, Florida, where many of the key voices are warning against postelection hubris and imploring action.
“The voters’ message was, ’We like these Republicans leading our states — but not so much at the federal level,’” Texas Gov. Rick Perry told The Washington Times. “’We dislike this president and his policies, but we are not blindly in love with you Republicans.’”
Mr. Perry is stepping down after 14 years from his governorship in January, when his party will control 31 governor’s mansions, up from 29 going into the elections earlier this month. Republicans also will have a lock on 67 state legislative chambers, up from the 59 the GOP had going into the Nov. 4 elections.
But he and many of his other GOP colleagues understand that totally controlling the governorship and statehouses in 24 states, and the majority of state legislative chambers nationwide, comes with a hefty responsibility to act.
And most are talking like the newfound GOP majorities — including in Congress — are really on probation, with the opportunity to grow or contract power in the 2016 election.
“The governors are the ones in the business of solving problems, and the success of our governors over the next two years will make a real difference in the attitude of voters as they think about leadership, government and the GOP,” Arkansas Gov.-elect Asa Hutchinson told The Times.
“Governors play a critical role in convincing voters that elections matter and that our nation can turn things around,” he added.
Intent on making their states laboratories for Republican policies that could eventually reach Washington, these governors are offering a lengthy list of action items centered heavily on economic growth, tax reform, energy and education.
New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, fresh off a re-election win, rattled off several key agenda items, including growing exports to Mexico and using tax reform to attract new technology businesses.
“This begins with having a tax code that helps small businesses, particularly those in their early stages,” she told The Times.
Mrs. Martinez also promised to continue to press her reforms in education, aimed at increasing performance and accountability.
“That starts with ending the practice of promoting children from one grade to the next when they have not mastered the basics, including reading, which unfairly sets them up for difficulties and frustration in the classroom and leading to increased dropout rates and unemployment,” she said.
Mr. Hutchinson, who will take control in January of the governor’s mansion once held by Bill Clinton, wants to fight to give states more flexibility from federal mandates.
“While Washington is likely to remain in a traffic snarl for the next two years, governors are ready to find solutions if Washington gives more flexibility to the states in managing some of our nation’s toughest challenges,” he told The Times, citing such issues as Medicaid reform and training a skilled workforce.
Mr. Perry agreed there is plenty of opportunity for his colleagues to seize issues that matter to voters and create solutions that will resonate all the way to Washington.
“Voters gave us the message: You come up with innovative ways to deliverer education policy at the state level,” he said. “The same can be said about health. There are ways to reduce spending and give the states more flexibility in, say, Medicaid.
“A substantial number of Republican governors — as high as 85 percent — would gladly accept fewer federal dollars in exchange for more flexibility in delivering these programs.”
No fewer than a half dozen 2016 hopefuls among the GOP governors are on hand for the Florida event, including Mr. Perry, Wisconsin’s Scott Walker, Indiana’s Mike Pence, Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal, New Jersey’s Chris Christie and Ohio’s John Kasich.
So naturally, the subject on Wednesday turned to some of the issues in Washington. Mr. Perry, who ran for president in 2012, said “foreign policy will be every bit as important as domestic policy” in the next election.
The Islamic State “and their supporters are going to be troublesome for our allies in the region,” he warned. “How we deal with them is the bigger question.”
He argued for military intervention in troubled countries that was more “pinpoint surgery” than large deployments.
“Having the big footprint in those countries I don’t think has had great utility,” he said. “It’s been more of a problem than a solution.”
Several governors, including Mr. Walker, suggested that states might sue to block President Obama’s evolving plan to unilaterally grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants. But he cautioned his colleagues not to get distracted from issues that voters are much more concerned about, such as the economy, taxes, energy and education.
“Come out with me on the road, and I’ll tell you there aren’t a whole lot of people talking about immigration reform,” the Wisconsin governor told the gathering.
• The Associated Press contributed to this report.
• Ralph Z. Hallow can be reached at rhallow@gmail.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.