Governor Races 2026: All 36 Races, Candidates & Toss-Ups

Election Day update — Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Winners will be added as races are called.

Voters in 36 states are choosing a governor today, making the governor races 2026 the biggest set of statewide contests of the midterms. Many are open seats where popular governors are term-limited, and the winners will shape abortion laws, taxes, election rules and redistricting for years. Here are the most competitive governor races 2026, plus a full list of all 36 races and candidates.

Governor races 2026 at a glance

• States electing a governor: 36
• Toss-ups (Cook Political Report): Georgia, Kansas, Nevada
• Lean Democratic: Alaska, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio, Oregon, Wisconsin
• Lean Republican: Florida, Nebraska, Texas
• Big open seats: Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas and Minnesota

The toss-up governor races 2026

Georgia: Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) vs. Rick Jackson (R)

Gov. Brian Kemp is term-limited. Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms faces Republican Rick Jackson in a race rated a toss-up, on the same ballot as the Jon Ossoff Senate race.

Nevada: Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) vs. Aaron Ford (D)

Republican Joe Lombardo is the only GOP governor seeking re-election in a toss-up race. He faces Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford.

Kansas: Cindy Holscher (D) vs. Ty Masterson (R)

Democrat Laura Kelly is term-limited. State Sen. Cindy Holscher tries to keep the seat blue against Senate President Ty Masterson in a deep-red state.

Other governor races to watch

• Ohio: Amy Acton (D) vs. Vivek Ramaswamy (R). Trump-backed businessman Vivek Ramaswamy faces former state health director Amy Acton for Mike DeWine’s open seat. Cook rates it Lean Democratic.
• Florida: David Jolly (D) vs. Byron Donalds (R). Trump-backed Rep. Byron Donalds faces former GOP congressman turned Democrat David Jolly for Ron DeSantis’ seat. Lean Republican.
• Michigan: Jocelyn Benson (D) vs. John James (R). Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson faces Rep. John James to replace Gretchen Whitmer. Lean Democratic.
• Wisconsin: David Crowley (D) vs. Tom Tiffany (R). Open seat after Gov. Tony Evers chose not to run. Lean Democratic.
• Arizona: Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) vs. Andy Biggs (R). Hobbs seeks a second term against Rep. Andy Biggs. Likely Democratic.
• Iowa: Rob Sand (D) vs. Zach Lahn (R). State Auditor Rob Sand is favored to flip Kim Reynolds’ open seat. Lean Democratic.
• Texas: Gov. Greg Abbott (R) vs. Gina Hinojosa (D). Abbott seeks a fourth term. Lean Republican.
• Pennsylvania: Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) vs. Stacy Garrity (R). A national spotlight race for a possible 2028 contender. Solid Democratic.

All 36 governor races 2026: full candidate list

State	Democrat	Republican	Cook rating
Alabama (open)	Doug Jones	Tommy Tuberville	Solid R
Alaska (open)	Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins	Multiple Republicans (top-four ballot)	Lean D
Arizona	Katie Hobbs*	Andy Biggs	Likely D
Arkansas	Fredrick Love	Sarah Huckabee Sanders*	Solid R
California (open)	Xavier Becerra	Steve Hilton	Solid D
Colorado (open)	Phil Weiser	Victor Marx	Solid D
Connecticut	Ned Lamont*	Ryan Fazio	Solid D
Florida (open)	David Jolly	Byron Donalds	Lean R
Georgia (open)	Keisha Lance Bottoms	Rick Jackson	Toss-up
Hawaii	Josh Green*	Gary Cordery	Solid D
Idaho	Terri Pickens	Brad Little*	Solid R
Illinois	JB Pritzker*	Darren Bailey	Solid D
Iowa (open)	Rob Sand	Zach Lahn	Lean D
Kansas (open)	Cindy Holscher	Ty Masterson	Toss-up
Maine (open)	Hannah Pingree	Robert Charles	Solid D
Maryland	Wes Moore*	Dan Cox	Solid D
Massachusetts	Maura Healey*	Mike Minogue	Solid D
Michigan (open)	Jocelyn Benson	John James	Lean D
Minnesota (open)	Amy Klobuchar	Lisa Demuth	Solid D
Nebraska	Lynne Walz	Jim Pillen*	Lean R
Nevada	Aaron Ford	Joe Lombardo*	Toss-up
New Hampshire	Cinde Warmington	Kelly Ayotte*	Likely R
New Mexico (open)	Deb Haaland	Gregg Hull	Solid D
New York	Kathy Hochul*	Bruce Blakeman	Solid D
Ohio (open)	Amy Acton	Vivek Ramaswamy	Lean D
Oklahoma (open)	Cyndi Munson	Mike Mazzei	Likely R
Oregon	Tina Kotek*	Christine Drazan	Lean D
Pennsylvania	Josh Shapiro*	Stacy Garrity	Solid D
Rhode Island (open)	Helena Foulkes	Aaron Guckian	Solid D
South Carolina (open)	Jermaine Johnson	Alan Wilson	Solid R
South Dakota	Dan Ahlers	Larry Rhoden*	Solid R
Tennessee (open)	Jerri Green	Marsha Blackburn	Solid R
Texas	Gina Hinojosa	Greg Abbott*	Lean R
Vermont	Amanda Janoo	Phil Scott*	Likely R
Wisconsin (open)	David Crowley	Tom Tiffany	Lean D
Wyoming (open)	Kenneth Casner	Eric Barlow	Solid R

* Incumbent. Ratings from the Cook Political Report as of October 29, 2026.

Why the governor races 2026 matter

• 2028 presidential election: governors in swing states such as Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin will oversee the next presidential vote.
• Redistricting: governors sign or veto new congressional maps.
• Abortion, taxes and schools: most of these decisions are made at the state level.
• Future stars: Josh Shapiro, JB Pritzker and Wes Moore are all seen as possible 2028 candidates.

When will governor race results come in?

Results follow poll closing times — see our 2026 poll closing times by state and when to expect midterm election results. Nevada and Arizona count mail ballots for several days, so those races may not be called tonight. You can also follow the Senate races 2026 and House races 2026 on the same ballot.

Sources: Election Central (Cook ratings), Watch.vote, Fox News.

See the latest forecasts and betting odds: who will win the midterms 2026.

FAQ

How many governor races are there in 2026?

36 states elect a governor on November 3, 2026.

What are the closest governor races 2026?

Georgia, Kansas and Nevada are rated toss-ups. Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Oregon, Alaska, Florida, Nebraska and Texas are also competitive.

Who is running for governor of Ohio in 2026?

Democrat Amy Acton, a former state health director, and Republican Vivek Ramaswamy.

Who is running for governor of Georgia in 2026?

Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms and Republican Rick Jackson, for the seat Brian Kemp is leaving.