State officials to impact national conventions

Pundits are pointing to a handful of critical states that will likely determine the next president, and elected officials in those states and many others will play a large role in the upcoming conventions. 11 Democratic governors (and former Va. Gov. Mark Warner) will speak at next week's Democratic convention in Denver. At next month's Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, eight current governors and four former governors (including former Governor Huckabee) will speak.

With budget shortfalls in 29 states, nowhere will the next president’s leadership matter more to states this year than on the economy. Many economists believe that this is more than just a cyclical downturn in the economy, and setting a tone to help shape economic policy will likely be reflected in many of these speeches from the governors. Here's the list of governors that will address the Democratic convention, courtesy of stateline.org:

Tues. Aug. 26 Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland New York Gov. David Paterson Iowa Gov. Chet Culver Fmr Va. Gov. Mark Warner, keynote

Wed. Aug. 27 New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson