Republicans hang on to high-profile governorships

HACKENSACK, N.J., Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Republicans are hanging onto governor's seats in some high-profile races around the country.

Republicans are projected to win the governor's office in Texas decisively. Attorney General Greg Abbott will take over from incumbent Republican Rick Perry, who is widely considered to be a possible candidate for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. Abbott beat Democratic U.S. Sen. Wendy Davis.

Davis captured national attention in 2013 when she held a filibuster on an abortion bill. Her 13-hour effort was streamed live on the Internet by The Texas Tribune, vaulting Davis into the national conversation as media outlets across the country picked up on the issue.

In a hard-fought governor's race in Florida, The New York Times is projecting GOP incumbent Rick Scott will defeat challenger Charlie Crist. Crist previously served as governor in Florida as a Republican. He switched parties for this race.

In Wisconsin, Republican Gov. Scott Walker won a second term, beating challenger Mary Burke, a former Trek bicycle executive, CBS News projected. Walker beat a recall effort in 2012 after he moved to take collective bargaining rights from the state's public workers.

Democrats scored a big win in Pennsylvania, with Tom Wolf ousting first-term GOP incumbent Tom Corbett.

Corbett is the first incumbent to lose the office in Pennsylvania since 1968, when the law was changed to allow a sitting governor to win a consecutive term.

The governors across the country are thought to be key to paving a path to the White House in 2016, as they build their state's on-the-ground campaign efforts.