On the basis of the models worked out in political science in the West: the problemic (issue) voting model and the indeterminacy model, the author (1) investigates factors shaping the program rhetoric of runners for governor in five Russian regions, (2) tests the level of significance, for electoral success in the regions in question, of the choice of positions on problems (issues), made by the candidates, (3) establishes importance of the “incumbent — opponent” rhetorical positioning in the elections analyzed. To reveal the candidates’ problemic positions, the method of content analysis is applied.