Factbox: Republicans win key governors' races

(Reuters) - Republicans rode a wave of victories among 36 races for governor on Tuesday, holding on to big states after bruising battles and ousting Democrats in strongholds such as Illinois, Massachusetts and Maryland. The Republicans went into the election holding 29 of the nation's 50 state governorships and were likely to raise that number by at least three. Here is a look at some of the key races before final results were tallied: ALASKA Republican incumbent Sean Parnell trailed independent challenger Bill Walker by 47 percent to 48 percent with all precincts reporting and just over 3,100 votes separating the two. But the division of elections still has 21,000 returned absentee and early voting ballots to tally, plus another 13,000 unreturned absentee ballots. In a twist that reflects Alaska's free-spirited political culture, the Democratic and independent candidates for governor combined forces on a single ticket in a bid to unseat Parnell. Walker, who dropped his Republican affiliation, sat atop the ticket, followed by his Democratic running mate, Byron Mallott, who was seeking the lieutenant governor spot. ARIZONA Republican state treasurer and former ice cream executive Doug Ducey defeated Democrat Fred DuVal, a former Clinton administration official, by 54 percent to 41 percent in the race to replace outgoing Republican Governor Jan Brewer. Arizona is known as a Republican stronghold, but voters elected Democrat Janet Napolitano to the position in 2002 and the state has a large number of voters registered as independents. COLORADO Colorado's Democratic incumbent John Hickenlooper declared victory on Wednesday in a tight race against his Republican challenger, former U.S. Representative Bob Beauprez. But Beauprez, who had led narrowly against the former Denver mayor in early results, refused to concede on the grounds some 120,000 votes still had to be counted, the Denver Post reported. Hickenlooper's first term was hit by controversies over gun laws, fracking and taxes, leading to a close race for the former Denver mayor. Beauprez has suggested voters consider repealing legal recreational marijuana, which they approved two years ago. CONNECTICUT Democratic incumbent Dannel Malloy defeated Republican businessman and former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Tom Foley in a close race that was a bitter rematch of a 2010 election contest which focused heavily on the state's economy and gun control. Foley had accused the governor of overtaxing residents and businesses and attacked him for signing one of the nation's toughest gun laws following the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre. Malloy has defended his handling of economic issues and has said the gun laws made Connecticut safer. FLORIDA Republican Governor Rick Scott narrowly won re-election, defeating Democrat Charlie Crist after an expensive contest in which turnout was low in Crist's south Florida stronghold. Months of mudslinging by Scott and Crist, including a dispute over a podium fan during a debate, marred a close gubernatorial race in the nation's largest swing state. Job creation and education were key issues in the campaigns. Over $81 million was spent on television ads in the race, more than in any other governor's contest this year, according to the Center for Public Integrity. GEORGIA Republican Governor Nathan Deal won a second term by defeating Democratic state Senator Jason Carter, the grandson of former President Jimmy Carter. Carter had accused the governor of underfunding public education and noted Georgia now had the highest unemployment rate in the country. Deal countered that he had increased education spending, while helping create nearly 300,000 jobs. ILLINOIS Republican Bruce Rauner, a millionaire businessman with no prior political experience, narrowly ousted Democratic Governor Pat Quinn, Reuters/IPSOS projected, in a vote for change in the state with the country's worst public pension crisis and lowest credit rating. Quinn said he would not concede on Tuesday night, telling supporters there were thousands of mail-in votes and other ballots yet uncounted. Rauner had linked Quinn to what he called failed and corrupt politics, while Quinn had sought to portray Rauner as callous and out of touch. The ugly campaign, which saw attack ads from both sides, was among the most expensive in the nation, the Center for Public Integrity said, with about $63 million spent on television ads. KANSAS Republican Governor Sam Brownback won re-election against Democratic challenger Paul Davis despite a bruising campaign that focused on the fiscal problems that followed his tax cuts. The close race in Kansas focused heavily on education spending. Davis complained that Brownback never made education a priority, while the incumbent denied that and pointed to increases in state funding for schools. MAINE Republican Governor Paul LePage defeated U.S. Representative Mike Michaud and promised supporters he would improve Maine's business climate and fight harder against welfare fraud. The famously combative LePage, who began his tenure as governor in 2011 by ordering a Depression-era mural removed from the state's Department of Labor, criticizing it as "pro-labor," faced a three-way re-election bid. Michaud, a five-term congressman, would have become the first openly gay man to be elected as a U.S. governor. His supporters during the campaign criticized independent candidate Eliot Cutler of siphoning potential votes from Michaud. MARYLAND Republican businessman Larry Hogan beat the Democratic Lieutenant Governor, Anthony Brown, in an upset in a traditionally left-leaning state where the race tightened in recent weeks after Brown was initially tagged as the favorite. Hogan's campaign focused on accusing current Democratic Governor Martin O'Malley of overtaxing residents. O'Malley was ineligible to seek re-election after two terms in office. MASSACHUSETTS Healthcare executive Charlie Baker, a Republican, triumphed over Democratic Attorney General Martha Coakley in Massachusetts, a big win in a famously liberal state. Coakley, who would have been the first woman to be elected as Massachusetts governor, had tried to paint Baker as a threat to the state's social safety net, seizing on his pledge to reform welfare by more aggressively pushing recipients into the workforce. Baker countered that a Republican governor was needed as a counterweight to the Democratic-controlled state Legislature, and he received a rare endorsement for a Republican from the Boston Globe. Baker will succeed incumbent Deval Patrick, a Democrat who decided not to seek a third term. MICHIGAN Republican Governor Rick Snyder won re-election against former U.S. Representative Mark Schauer, a Democratic insider. Snyder says he will continue to clean up Michigan's balance sheet, after state finances improved under his watch and the bankrupt city of Detroit edged closer to getting back on course. Schauer had campaigned on a pledge to restore middle-class tax credits Snyder cut and pump more money into education. PENNSYLVANIA Democrat Tom Wolf, a businessman who poured his personal fortune into his campaign, was declared the winner over Republican Governor Tom Corbett in one of the few notable victories by Democrats. Wolf won decisively, taking about 55 percent of the vote compared to 45 percent for Corbett with nearly all precincts reporting. Corbett, who had trailed badly in polls, took heat for presiding over state cuts in education funding. Critics also said Corbett has failed to push through his political agenda despite Republicans having control of both legislative houses. Corbett became the state's first incumbent governor to fail to win a second term in the modern era. RHODE ISLAND State Treasurer Gina Raimondo, a Democrat, won a close race against Republican Allan Fung to become the state's first female governor. Raimondo's claim to fame is helping to reach a 2011 deal to curtail spending on state pensions, which lost her the support of some union members. Governor Lincoln Chafee, a Democrat, opted not to seek a second term. TEXAS Republican Greg Abbott, currently the state's attorney general, handily defeated his Democratic opponent, state Senator Wendy Davis. Davis, who rose to national prominence when she donned pink tennis shoes and launched a 10-hour filibuster against abortion restrictions, sought to build support with her life story of rising from being a single mother in a trailer park to a Harvard Law School graduate. But Democrats have not won a statewide race in Texas since 1994. WISCONSIN Republican Governor Scott Walker, a Tea Party favorite, won re-election after a tough contest with Democrat Mary Burke. Walker, a possible 2016 White House hopeful, became a champion of conservatives when the state reduced the powers of public-sector unions, a move he said helped eliminate a $3.6 billion state budget deficit. Burke, a former executive at bicycle manufacturer Trek, had attacked Walker for falling short on his promise four years ago to create 250,000 jobs in his first term. Government data shows about 100,000 jobs have been created. (Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis and Daniel Wallis; Editing by Mary Milliken, Ken Wills and Eric Walsh)