The deciding factor may well be voter turnout. Polls show two-thirds of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction.

The following races will factor heavily in the November outcome.

■ Former Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles (D) will be back on the ballot Nov. 7 as a gubernatorial candidate. He is the Alaska Public Employees Association’s pick over Republican candidate Sarah Palin, who defeated incumbent Gov. Frank Murkowski in the Republican primary in August. Knowles previously served two terms in the state’s top post, 1994-2002.

■ The Colorado Federation of Public Employees is backing former Denver district attorney Bill Ritter (D) in his bid for governor. Ritter’s opponent is Bob Beauprez, a congressman from the Denver suburbs.

Beauprez opposed passage of a referendum last year to suspend the state’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights, despite the financial havoc the constitutional amendment was wreaking on public services. Voters passed the referendum. CFPE is working, however, to make sure they don’t pass Beauprez.

■ Incumbent Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) is leading her challenger, Republican Jim Barnett, a state senator from Emporia. Gov. Sebelius counts the Kansas Association of Public Employees among her supporters.

■ AFT-Maryland is backing Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley, who is challenging incumbent GOP Gov. Robert Ehrlich for the state’s top post. Gov. Ehrlich has a strong anti-union record. For all intents and purposes, he has refused to negotiate with the Maryland Professional Employees Council, a local of AFT Public Employees that represents professionals in state government.

■ Many eyes will be on Montana. The election will determine whether Democrats will keep control of the state Senate and will likely tip the scales in the House, which is currently split evenly between Democrats and Republicans.

An initiative to raise the state’s minimum wage, which is supported by MEA-MFT, and one to limit the state’s taxing and spending authorities, which is opposed by MEA-MFT, also will be on the ballot. (See related story on page 7.)

Additionally, Democrat Jon Tester, president of the state Senate, is proving to be a formidable challenger to GOP Sen. Conrad Burns, who is linked to the lobbyist Jack Abramoff corruption scandal. Polls show Tester even or slightly ahead.

■ AFT members across New York are mobilized around the gubernatorial bid of Eliot Spitzer. Polls show he holds a substantial lead over GOP challenger John Faso, a former state legislator.

■ A gubernatorial race and a challenge to incumbent U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine (R) are front and center in Ohio. In the governor’s race, Rep. Ted Strickland is favored to defeat Kenneth Blackwell, secretary of state.

U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown (D) is poised to unseat Sen. DeWine. The flight of high-paying jobs abroad is a major concern in Ohio—a state that has lost more than 200,000 manufacturing jobs in recent years. Rep. Brown has campaigned hard on such issues as fair trade policies and affordable health insurance.

■ In the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race, GOP incumbent Rick Santorum faces a tough challenge from Democrat Bob Casey, the state treasurer. Casey is focusing on such key issues as job creation, easing healthcare costs, strengthening homeland security and protecting Social Security.

Other states where AFT Public Employees members reside and work that have gubernatorial races include: Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.Altogether, 36 governorships will be decided in November.