Mapp (I), who was first elected in 2014 after two unsuccessful bids for USVI governor, is the 8th governor in USVI history. He ran on a promise to create 1,000 government jobs, reinvigorate economic growth, and reduce the islands’ rising energy costs, which are often several times the average on the mainland. He won his first term in a landslide.

But the closure of an oil refinery (the territory’s largest employer) and the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria severely impacted the territory’s ability to recover economically, and the territory’s public debt soared to nearly $2 billion, with almost a third deriving from the operating cost of the government. In August of 2017, Governor Mapp cut off communications with credit rating agencies, resulting junk rating of Caa3 from Moody’s, a top US rating firm.

“I’m not going to pay you to tell me I ain’t doing so well; I know I ain’t doing so well. Only a doctor you pay to say you ain’t doing well, right? Because you want to get better,” said Governor Mapp, justifying his decision. The governor touts his success in raising the salary of thousands of government employees and raising the minimum wage for his re-election efforts.

Among the candidates is Albert J. Bryan, Jr. the former island labor commissioner, running as a Democrat with the backing of the US Virgin Islands Democratic Party, with fellow senator Tregenza Roach as his running mate. A key plank of the Bryan/Roach campaign involves a plan to promise free college tuition to graduates of USVI high schools, if they maintain a 3.0 GPA. The candidate’s platform claims that the tuition will be paid for by a $3 million cut to the Bureau of Corrections. The plan is similar to the governor’s proposal to fund tuition using funds from an excise tax on rum manufacturers.

Gubernatorial candidate and former island Attorney General Soraya Diase Coffelt (I) running on a platform she calls “business-friendly,” disagrees about the viability of the proposals by Mapp and Bryan.

“The focus should be on generating revenues to pay down existing debts and stop the waste, misuse and abuse of public funds,” writes Coffelt.”Furthermore, immediate attention needs to be given to improving our healthcare system, roads, GERS, and WAPA for example,” she added. “The government does not have the money!”

Also running for governor are teams led by economist and hedge fund manager Warren Mosler (I), who was previously a candidate for US senate in Connecticut in 2010 and lieutenant governor of the US Virgin Islands in 2015, former 7-term senator in the US Virgin Islands legislature Adlah A. “Foncie” Donastorg, healthcare executive Moleto A. Smith, Jr., and territory Senator Janette Millin Young.

No candidates endorsed by the US Virgin Islands Republican party will appear on the ballot.

Also up to the voters of the US Virgin Islands to decide is a petition to restructure representation in the islands’ Senate, approved just before the October deadline. The territory’s legislature is currently unicameral with 7 senators elected from each of two constituencies, with one senator elected from St. John, at-large, for a total of 15 senators. The petition would divide representation in the territory into four districts with 2 senators each, a district of St. John with 1 senator, and 6 at-large senators elected by the entire territory.

Proponents of the petition claim it will lead to better representation for US Virgin Islanders. If approved by voters, the US Virgin Islands code will be immediately amended and will be immune from both a veto from the governor and from repeal by the legislature for a three year period, unless overturned by a two-thirds majority.

The last day for new voter registration in the US Virgin Islands was Sunday, October 7.

Guam

Incumbent two-term governor Eddie Baza Calvo (R) is barred from re-election, as governors are limited to two consecutive terms by the Elective Governor Acts of 1968. Running to replace him is Lieutenant Governor Ray Tenorio (R), a former police officer, and Lourdes Aflague Leon Guerrero (D), a former nurse who is the Chairwoman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President of the Bank of Guam and BankGuam Holding Company.