The University of Virginia political scientist and pundit has taken another run at the 2012 races for governor, a list he terms something of a letdown after the 37 governorships up for grabs last November.

And Larry Sabato has kept Washington in the toss-up category because he thinks, as do many others, that Gov. Chris Gregoire will not seek a third term.

Take a look at his entire post here.

But I’ll ruin the surprise a bit by saying he has U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee alone on the Democratic side but three candidates on the GOP side – one a surprise name to me. Sabato says Republicans could pick among state Attorney General Rob McKenna, U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert and Seattle Port Commissioner Bill Bryant.

Guess which name is the surprise.

Sabato says this about the overall odds for the GOP:

“The last Republican to serve as governor in this state was John Spellman, a one-termer elected in 1980. This is the longest gubernatorial dry spell for the GOP in the nation – but sooner or later, dry spells end. Will 2012 be the year?”