Texas Governor George W. Bush takes his completed ballot from a voting booth at the Travis County Courthouse in Austin, Texas. (AP)

By Darlene Superville
Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, November 4, 1998; 9:28 a.m. EST

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Defying expectations, Democrats padded a victory in California by upsetting Republican governors in Alabama and South Carolina and ending a 30-year absence in Iowa. But Republicans easily maintained their dominance in governorships, with the Bush brothers winning in Texas and Florida and the GOP scoring in Colorado.

In one of the election's big surprises, Minnesotans chose as their governor Jesse "The Body" Ventura, the Reform Party candidate and a former professional wrestler who used to stomp around the ring in a feather boa.

"We shocked the world," Ventura barked after beating two respected political veterans. "I think we proved the American dream still exists."

Voter anxiety over public education appeared to be the issue that most benefited Democrats in the four states where the party gained governor's seats, according to exit polls.

Republicans, meanwhile, took comfort in the easy re-elections of more than a dozen incumbent governors, in many cases by margins wide enough to trigger speculation about their prospects in the 2000 presidential and vice presidential contests.

Of the 36 governor's seats up for grabs Tuesday, Republicans won 23, Democrats, 11, and independents, 2. The GOP suffered a net loss of one while the Democrats held steady. After swearing-in ceremonies next year, there will be 31 Republican governors, 17 Democrats and two independents.

Democrats scored the biggest victory in California, where Lt. Gov. Gray Davis bested GOP state Attorney General Dan Lungren to become the first Democratic governor in 16 years. The win is significant because it gives Democrats a hand in redrawing California's congressional districts, which could influence the balance of power in Congress well into the next century.

"This great victory tonight is more than just electing a candidate for governor," Davis said. "It is a clear affirmation that Californians want to take a moderate path to the future. That is who I am. That is how I ran. And that is how I will govern."

Only 11 percent of voters in exit polls said crime -- Lungren's main issue -- was their main concern. Twice as many picked education as their No. 1 issue and three in four of those voters backed Davis.

Concern about education also boosted Democrats to victory on GOP turf in South Carolina and Alabama, where Govs. David Beasley and Fob James, respectively, had opposed their Democratic challengers' plans to create lotteries to pay for education. In Iowa, the issue helped put Democrats in the governor's chair for the first time since 1969.

James lost his bid for a second term to Democratic Lt. Gov. Don Siegelman after joining religious groups to campaign against the lottery and education proposal.

Beasley, chairman of the Republican Governors Association, lost a second term to Democrat Jim Hodges, minority leader of the state House. Video poker operators angered by Beasley's efforts to ban their $2 billion-a-year industry backed Hodges.

Beasley flip-flopped on the education lottery, opposing it but also saying he would not stand in the way of a referendum. "He's as wishy-washy as a washing machine," said John Willie Summer, 66, of Little Mountain, who voted for him anyway.

In Iowa, Democratic state Sen. Tom Vilsack came from behind to defeat GOP Rep. Jim Lightfoot, who had placed a 25 percent cut in income taxes at the center of his campaign. First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Vice President Dan Quayle were among the national party headliners who came to the state to help their candidates.

For Republicans, Gov. George W. Bush, a son of former President Bush, easily became the first Texas governor to be elected to a second four-year term.

His brother, Jeb, won the Florida governorship on his second try. His win marks the first time this century that Republicans will control the state's legislative and executive branches.

"He's a good guy and he's got a great heart," George W. Bush said of Jeb. "And I'd love to have him come to the governors' meetings, so I can tell him what to do."

Republicans also filled open Democratic seats in Nebraska, Nevada and Colorado with victories by Lincoln Mayor Mike Johanns, businessman Kenny Guinn and Colorado state treasurer Bill Owens respectively. Owens will be the first Republican governor in Colorado in 24 years.

In Minnesota, Ventura, a former Navy SEAL and former mayor of the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Park, came out of nowhere to defeat Democrat Hubert Humphrey III, the state attorney general and son of the former vice president, and Republican Norm Coleman, the mayor of St. Paul.

"I don't make my living with my body anymore," said Ventura, who played the bad guy in the ring. "I make it with my mind."

On NBC's "Today" show, he played down his comments during the campaign that the state should consider legalizing prostitution and marijuana and perhaps should end subsidies for child care. "Those aren't priorities," he said. "My main agenda is going to be to lower taxes."

Elsewhere, Democrats cruised to re-election in Alaska, New Hampshire, Oregon and Vermont, while incumbent Govs. Ben Cayetano of Hawaii and Parris Glendening of Maryland beat back strong Republican challengers to win second terms.

The Democratic Party also maintained its 126-year lock on the Georgia governor's mansion with the election of Roy Barnes, a state lawmaker, over Republican Guy Millner, a millionaire businessman who lost his third straight bid for statewide office.

Voters re-elected Republican incumbents in Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Maine's independent Gov. Angus King also was re-elected.