Leaders from nearly every state and U.S. territory were expected to attend, although a few high-profile governors sent their regrets. Bill Richardson, the New Mexico Democrat, is facing a federal "pay to play" probe, and Alaska's Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, is busy with her state's legislative session.
While the National Governors Association meeting is billed as a nonpartisan event, politics were expected to play a prominent role.
Among Democrats, all eyes were likely to be on Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who has emerged as a leading contender to head the Health and Human Services Department. President Barack Obama's initial nominee, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, withdrew his name after admitting he had not paid all his taxes since leaving Congress.
On the Republican side, several governors - many with an eye on the 2012 presidential contest
- were expected to be in the spotlight after taking prominent and sometimes opposing views of the $787 billion stimulus plan Obama signed into law earlier this week.
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford has been among the most outspoken critics of the plan, which would provide billions to states for transit projects, education, Medicaid and tax relief. Sanford has said the plan will only deepen the nation's debt without stimulating the economy the way Obama has promised.
Several other GOP governors have expressed similar misgivings, including Palin and Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, who announced Friday he would reject part of the stimulus plan aimed at expanding state unemployment insurance coverage. Both Jindal and Palin are viewed as likely 2012 contenders, as is Sanford.
No other governor has rejected stimulus funding.
Other high-profile GOP governors - California's Arnold Schwarzenegger and Florida's Charlie Crist, another likely 2012 candidate
- have thrown their support behind the plan.
Seizing on the GOP divide, the Democratic Governors Association on Friday called on Republicans to embrace the stimulus plan or reject the money completely.
"A governor's job is to deliver for people - to create good jobs, to keep criminals in prison, to educate our children, to make sure we have decent roads. This recovery package does that," DGA chairman Brian Schweitzer of Montana said in a statement. "It's a little late for Republican governors to get high-minded about accepting federal dollars since this recovery legislation is only a small portion of all the federal money states receive."
