From the Politico:

While much of Washington is obsessed with the effect of health care reform on the midterm elections, a bigger factor in the future makeup of the House may be the three dozen gubernatorial races on the ballot in November.

That’s because the men and women who gain control of the nation’s governors’ mansions this fall will oversee redistricting, the once-a-decade exercise in redrawing House district lines by legislatures in every state.

With such high stakes, both parties are ramping up to play hard in the gubernatorial races, as well as in the state legislative elections that often run under the national radar. After back-to-back winning cycles, the Democrats have the most to lose. And the Republicans have been building a war chest and recruiting a team of insider all-stars to ensure they do.

The Republican Governors Association, led by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, used redistricting as an issue to help raise $30 million in 2009 and opened this year with $25 million in the bank. The Republican State Leadership Committee, which is dedicated to winning legislative seats, is being spearheaded by former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich are also heading organizations aimed at electing state Republicans and influencing the redistricting effort.

Of course, Democrats are not sitting idle. The Democratic Governors Association raised a record $23 million in 2009 and had nearly $18 million in cash in January. Former Bill Clinton adviser Harold Ickes, who has close ties to the party’s big donors, has been tapped to head a new organization called Project Surge — as in stop Republican gerrymandering. And the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, which helps state legislative candidates, is also preparing for battle.

“Our donors know that the effects of redistricting are far greater than [the effects of] a typical congressional cycle — these lines, which Republicans promise to draw to give themselves a partisan advantage, will last for the next decade,” said Nathan Daschle, the DGA’s executive director.

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