Authored by Arjun Singh via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
The United States will have many elections held on Nov. 3, 2026—for all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, one-third of seats in the U.S. Senate, and elections to dozens of state legislatures and local offices. Some of the biggest races will be for various states’ governor’s offices, which have attracted the candidacies of famous politicians in politically significant states.
In every state of the union, the governor is the chief executive and vested with executive authority, although his or her exact powers vary and depend upon state constitutions. Usually, the governor directs state agencies, vetoes bills, and is the state’s leading political figure. Historically, many governors have used their public esteem to get elected to other high offices, such as the U.S. Senate or the presidency.
In 2026, 39 governor’s offices—36 in states and three in territories—will be up for statutory elections, with some incumbent officeholders being term-limited from running again. Given the prestige of serving as governor, several high-ranking political figures have announced their candidacies for these posts.
Here are the biggest gubernatorial races to watch in 2026.
Arizona
In the Grand Canyon State, Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-Ariz.) is running for re-election and is likely to win the Democratic primary. Two potential rivals, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes—both Democrats—are running for re-election to their current offices.
However, the state is not heavily Democratic and, in the most recent statewide elections for the presidency and U.S. Senate in 2024, it voted for the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump, and Democratic nominee Ruben Gallego, respectively. Most political observers consider the race a “toss-up.”
In the Republican primary, the two declared candidates are Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson, who ran for governor in 2022 but lost the Republican primary contest to Kari Lake. Biggs is a former chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, a right-wing faction of the House Republican Conference that regularly attracts notoriety. He also previously served as president of the Arizona Senate.
In Republican nomination contests, the endorsement of Trump is often the decisive factor, as many GOP voters have been following his directions on how to vote. In this case, the president has endorsed both Biggs and Robson for the nomination.
Statewide elections in Arizona are always closely watched, as the state is competitive during presidential elections and the results may indicate how voters there will vote for the next president. The primary will be held on Aug. 4, 2026.
California
The Golden State has the largest economy and population of any in the country, with nearly 40 million people. As a result, the governor of California is always a nationally recognized political figure. Because of the state’s heavy Democratic lean, the governor is often considered a potential candidate for the Democratic nomination for the presidency. This is the case with incumbent Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, who is term-limited from running again.
Because the office is high-profile, many leading Democrats have joined the governor’s race, making it the most competitive across all 2026 gubernatorial elections. California uses a “jungle primary” system, in which all candidates of all parties run on the same ballot and the top two candidates (regardless of party) run in the general election.
The impressive roster of Democratic candidates includes Toni Atkins, former speaker of the California State Assembly and former president pro tempore of the California Senate—the first person in 150 years to have held both offices; Xavier Becerra, former U.S. secretary of health and human services and former attorney general of California; Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis; Tony Thurmond, state superintendent of public instruction; Antonio Villaraigosa, former mayor of Los Angeles and former assembly speaker; and former Rep. Katie Porter, who was a candidate for the U.S. Senate in California in 2024.
The race has been equally notable for the candidates who were considering running but either publicly declined or withdrew their candidacies. The most notable such person was former Vice President Kamala Harris, who previously served as a U.S. senator from California as well as the state’s attorney general, and whom many had predicted would be a clear frontrunner if she chose to run. Similarly, incumbent state Attorney General Rob Bonta, former Sen. Laphonza Butler, and California Treasurer Fiona Ma, all Democrats, also declined to run, with Ma suspending her gubernatorial candidacy.
The primary will be on June 2, 2026.
Florida
The Sunshine State has become the center of Republican politics following Trump’s emergence on the national political scene, being the site of his primary personal residence at Mar-a-Lago. Once a presidential battleground state, Florida is now considered safely Republican, with the governor of Florida attracting the same presidential speculation among Republicans that the governor of California receives among Democrats.
Florida’s incumbent Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who won a large re-election victory in 2022 and ran against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, is term-limited from seeking re-election. Trump has endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), who is currently the frontrunner among declared candidates in both polling and endorsements. He has also been endorsed by DeSantis’s predecessor as governor, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.).
However, Donalds could face a primary challenge from Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis, who gained a big reputation among the state’s conservatives during her husband’s gubernatorial term. Casey DeSantis has not yet declared her candidacy, although she has publicly expressed interest. Many other prominent Republicans in Florida, such as former Rep. Matt Gaetz and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, have declined to run.
On the Democratic side, the likeliest candidate is former Rep. David Jolly, who served in Congress from 2014 to 2017 as a Republican but switched parties in 2018 and has since become a critic of Trump. The primary will be on Aug. 25, 2026.
Georgia
The Peach State is another battleground state in presidential elections, and its statewide races attract a great deal of attention. Although the statewide race for senator, in which incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) is running for re-election, is attracting a great deal of attention, the race for governor of Georgia is equally significant. Incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, is term-limited.
For the Republican nomination, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and state Attorney General Chris Carr are running. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), one of the state’s most prominent and controversial politicians, has declined to run.
On the Democratic side, the former mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms, is seeking her party’s nomination, as are two Georgia state legislators, state Sen. Jason Esteves and state Rep. Derrick Jackson. Stacey Abrams—former minority leader of the state House who was the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in 2018 and 2022, both times being defeated by Kemp—has also suggested that she may run again. The primary will be on May 26, 2026.
Michigan
The Wolverine State is yet another presidentially competitive state holding a gubernatorial election in 2026. As with all such states, Trump won it in 2024’s presidential election. Incumbent Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-Mich.) is term-limited and cannot run again.
The Democratic nomination contest has many high-profile elected officials in the state running: Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, and Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson. State Attorney General Dana Nessel has suggested that she may run, as has former Rep. Andrew Levin. Several high-profile Democrats have also declined to run, such as former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who previously was the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, but has since moved to Michigan.
Currently, polling shows that Benson leads the whole field by a wide margin, with the support of 65 percent of definite voters.
On the Republican side, the primary is a four-way contest between Rep. John James (R-Mich.), state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, former state Attorney General Mike Cox, and former state House Speaker Tom Leonard. Also running is William Null, a construction worker who was federally indicted for participating in a plot to kidnap Whitmer in 2020 but was later acquitted.
A potential candidate is Dick DeVos—former CEO of Amway, GOP nominee for governor in the 2006 election, and husband of former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos—who has not ruled out a bid. The primary will be on Aug. 4, 2026.
Wisconsin
In America’s Dairyland, also known as the Badger State, incumbent Gov. Tony Evers (D-Wis.) upset the race by announcing that he would not run for re-election to a third term. The state is presidentially competitive and, thus, its statewide races at all levels—most recently, for the U.S. Senate and for the state Supreme Court—have attracted nationwide attention.
So far, only Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez has announced her candidacy for the Democratic nomination. Others who have expressed interest are former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, and state Attorney General Josh Kaul.
On the Republican side, no major candidate has yet to emerge, although Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-Wis.) appears prepared to announce his candidacy. The primary election will be held on Aug. 11, 2026.
Pennsylvania
Finally, in the Keystone State—considered the most important state for presidential elections—incumbent Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, is running for re-election in 2026.
Shapiro is the heavy favorite to win the race, and no other Democrat has entered the contest. Neither has any Republican candidate, with several of the state’s political leaders expressly declining to run. These include Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.), who was endorsed by Trump to run for governor but opted to run for re-election to the House instead, as well as state Attorney General Dave Sunday. Likely, the leading candidate for the party’s nomination will be Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity.
The primary in Pennsylvania’s gubernatorial race will be held on May 19, 2026.
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