Democrat Earl Ray Tomblin holds West Virginia governorship

Democrat Earl Ray Tomblin narrowly held on to the governorship in West Virginia on Tuesday, despite a late effort by Republicans to tie him to President Obama’s healthcare law.

Tomblin, who succeeded Joe Manchin in November 2010 after his election to the U.S. Senate, led businessman Bill Maloney by nearly 8,600 votes with 86% of precincts reporting in the special election. The Associated Press declared Tomblin the winner just after 9 p.m. ET.

Internal polling form both campaigns showed Tomblin leading for much of the summer, but Maloney was quickly closing the gap in the final week.

Both national parties invested in the race; the Republican Governors Assn. outspent its Democratic counterpart by nearly $1 million. That spending included a television ad launched just days out urging voters to “stop Tomblin from implementing Obamacare.”

Though Democrats have long fared well in West Virginia at the local level, Republicans have carried the state in the last three presidential elections. Obama’s approval ratings in the state are among his worst in any state.

A win by Maloney would have been seen as another repudiation of Obama’s leadership, three weeks after Republicans snared a special congressional election in a Democratic-leaning seat.

Tomblin, who had been serving as acting governor, will now complete the final 15 months of the term Manchin was elected to in 2008. Republicans are likely to make another run at the seat next November, when Obama is likely leading the Democratic ticket.

Three more governorships are at stake in 2011, in Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi.