Candidate Rob Blagojevich is poised to break a nearly three-decade GOP hold on the Governor office in Illinois.

It’s last call for sitting governors in some of the country’s most populous states where voters have a golden opportunity to bring relief to families battered by recession, unemployment, political indifference and corruption.

On the surface, term limits are kicking in and preventing many governors elected in 1994 from seeking a third term. But the underlying story is how a faltering economy sliced into jobs and slashed state tax revenues.

“Essential services at the state level are the first place politicians look to cut when deficits hit home,” said International President Tom Buffenbarger. “A governor decides which programs are eliminated and which ones are saved: unemployment insurance; health care for children and the elderly; public spending and job training programs. Clearly, union voters have a huge interest in who makes such decisions.”

In the populous states of Michigan, Illinois and California, gubernatorial races will swing on the slightest difference in voter turnout. The historic lack of participation in off-year, non-presidential elections makes labor’s turnout more important than ever.

The potential for union  voters to decide the outcome  of these races is indisputable.

In Michigan, where Democratic state Attorney General Jennifer Granholm is leading Republican Lt. Gov. Dick Posthumous, there are 273,347 registered union voters. A modest increase in union voter turnout could mean victory for the first woman governor in Michigan’s history.

Illinois voters will choose between three-term Democratic Rep. Rod Blagojevich and Republican Attorney General Jim Ryan. Blagojevich’s campaign gained early traction with strong union support in a state that suffered from eight years  of mismanagement and scandal under the previous Republican administration.

In California, current Governor Gray Davis moved from long-shot status to better than even odds in a race against millionaire conservative Republican Bill Simon. Despite big budget woes and a statewide energy crisis, Davis’ problems pale in comparison to Simon’s, whose family business was recently fined $80 million by federal regulators.