This 100 to Watch feature focuses on state and local elected officials below the level of governor. But there's no question that the gubernatorial class of 2002 is a star-studded group that will help replenish the intellectual and political wellsprings of the New Democrat movement for many years to come.

They arrived at a critical time. An era of Republican statehouse domination in much of the country had left state budgets unbalanced, and a variety of policy challenges unmet.

Fortunately for them and their states, the New Democrat Class of 2002 is a tough and talented group.

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is one of the most experienced public servants in America. A former U.S. congressman, U.N. ambassador, and secretary of energy, Richardson won the governorship by a large margin, and is aggressively meeting his state's budget challenge while insisting on key public investments that will boost New Mexico's economy and living standards.

Next door, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano built a campaign based on her record as attorney general, where she fought both street and corporate crime while championing the rights of crime victims. Like Richardson, Napolitano has taken a "cut and invest" approach to balancing her state's budget that respects key services like education that will be critical to Arizona's future.

In Kansas, Insurance Commissioner Kathleen Sebelius won a solid victory in a state tired of ideological squabbling among the dominant Republican Party. She is now focused on redeeming her campaign pledge to create a "smarter and leaner" state government.

In Michigan, Attorney General Jennifer Granholm ended 12 years of Republican rule in Lansing in a bruising campaign, but is receiving high marks from the public for her bipartisan work with the legislature to deal with a $1.7 billion budget shortfall. Like other New Democrat governors, she is seeking to introduce major efficiencies in state government while protecting key investments in education and economic development.

Pennsylvania's Ed Rendell parlayed an impressive urban reform record as mayor of Philadelphia and a solid economic development platform into a big win, attracting an unusual number of Independents and Republicans. His immediate focus is on modernizing Pennsylvania's economy and streamlining state government.

And in Wisconsin, Attorney General Jim Doyle became the first Democratic governor of his state since 1986. He has produced a balanced budget proposal that avoids tax increases, breaks a long series of spending increases by his Republican predecessors, and still protects education investments and other key elements of his economic development strategy.

The Class of 2002 joins two very distinguished New Democrat governors who were also elected since we last published the 100 to Watch, governors who won the only two off-year elections of 2001.

Virginia's Mark Warner won the governorship of a state that Republicans thought they had "locked up" in the last few elections. He put together a coalition of urban, suburban and rural voters who were tired of intra-Republican squabbling, and who shared a strong interest in Warner's commitment to reinvent the state's economy and improve its public schools. He's now battling a Republican legislature to reconcile spending and revenues while protecting his signature economic development, technology and education initiatives.

In New Jersey, long-time New Democrat Jim McGreevey also won in 2001 based on strong appeal to swing voters, especially in the Garden State's pivotal suburbs. Along with meeting the fiscal challenges he shares with virtually every other governor, McGreevey has made protecting the state's environment and quality of life a major emphasis.

Governors have been at the forefront of the New Democrat movement from the very beginning, with state executives like Bill Clinton of Arkansas, Dick Riley of South Carolina, and Bruce Babbitt of Arizona helping to found the DLC. They have always been a key source of New Democrat governing ideas and a key base of support for New Democrat political strategies.

The latest batch of governors is the most promising sign yet that the best days of this movement still lie ahead.