NDRC Announces 14 Priority States for 2026 Elections
Washington, D.C. – As reported in NOTUS, the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC) announced it will support a series of state-level elections in 2026 that are critical to safeguarding and strengthening democracy. This list of priorities is part of an aggressive campaign to support candidates for offices that are key to stopping Republicans from enacting even more mid-decade gerrymanders, putting more states in a position to counter Republican gerrymandering with responsive redistricting, and to achieve competitive congressional and state legislative maps.
Building on past electoral success, including most recently the 2026 Wisconsin Supreme Court election, the 2025 Pennsylvania Supreme Court elections, and the 2025 Virginia gubernatorial and legislative elections, NDRC will focus its resources across at least 14 states. Investments will be made in support of three main goals: (1) elect Democratic candidates for governor, state legislatures, and other state-level offices that play a critical role in the redistricting process; (2) combat partisan efforts to reduce the independence of state supreme courts by supporting fair-minded state supreme court justices; and (3) enact ballot initiatives to counter Republican gerrymandering or to overturn existing Republican gerrymanders.
“The next phase in the fight against Republicans’ ongoing mid-decade gerrymandering will take place at the ballot box this November, and the 2026 state-level elections—in both red and blue states—will determine whether our country slips further into the Republican gerrymandering abyss or if it can forge a path to achieve a representative democracy, ” said Eric H. Holder, Jr., the 82nd Attorney General of the United States and Chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC). “When given the opportunity to voice their preferences at the ballot box, the American people at each juncture have voted to counter Republicans’ immoral and egregious gerrymanders. They see the real and consequential threat that has been driven by Republicans and unleashed by an ideologically driven Supreme Court.
“Now, we must carry that momentum into November to send a clear signal to Republicans that these unAmerican, anti-democracy attacks on the right to vote will be defeated. State officials must take direction from the voters this November and use their power to save—and then enhance our democracy. If they forcefully act in a manner consistent with the will of the people, our democracy will be preserved,” Holder concluded.
The NDRC will—at a minimum—focus its resources on the following state elections this year to protect and strengthen democracy:
- Arizona: Governor, State House, State Senate
- Colorado: Governor, Redistricting Ballot Initiative
- Florida: Governor
- Georgia: Governor, State House
- Michigan: State Supreme Court
- Minnesota: Governor, State House, State Senate
- Missouri: Redistricting Referendum
- New Hampshire: Governor, State House, State Senate
- North Carolina: State Supreme Court
- Ohio: Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor, State Supreme Court
- Pennsylvania: Governor, State House, State Senate
- Texas: Governor, State House
- Washington: State House, State Senate
- Wisconsin: Governor, State Assembly, State Senate
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