Iza Wojciechowska, writing in Inside Higher Ed, does a comprehensive review of state governor races and the potential impact on public institutions of challenges like the continuing financial impact of the recession and campaigning on illegal immigration:

Four years ago, higher education was one of the top issues in several gubernatorial races. But the economy crashed 13 months after the election, and the recession descended across most of the country, forcing governors to slash funding -- much of it from higher education. According to the most recent State Higher Education Finance report, state funding for higher education fell $2.8 billion in the 2009 fiscal year as a result of the recession. Federal stimulus funds worth $2.3 billion partially offset the costs, but state funding fell another $2.7 billion in 2010 and is likely to continue to fall.

The pressing need to deal with these fiscal problems is likely to force many of the new governors to continue reining in higher education spending. At the same time, however, their states will be feeling pressure to improve college completion, which President Obama has emphasized and which the National Governors Association is championing as its priority this year. The federal government has poured tens of billions of dollars into Pell Grants to do its part, but most of the heavy lifting in the college completion agenda will be left to the states, since the vast majority of American students attend public two- and four-year colleges.