2026 Midterm Primary Election Calendar
See when your state holds its primary and read about some of the year’s most competitive races.
Races to watch
March 3
North Carolina
North Carolina will have an open Senate race in 2026 after Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican, decided he would not seek re-election in the wake of his vote against President Trump’s domestic policy bill in June.
Texas
Texans will vote in one of the most closely watched Senate races of 2026. Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican and staunch ally of President Trump, is challenging Senator John Cornyn for the party nomination. Neither candidate won more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary, so the race advanced to a runoff, which will be held on May 26. A Trump endorsement might decide the contest, but he has yet to weigh in.
March 17
Illinois
Senator Richard J. Durbin, a Democrat, did not seek reelection after about two decades in this seat. Juliana Stratton, the state’s lieutenant governor and a close ally to Gov. JB Pritzker, won the Democratic nomination, edging out Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi.
May 5
Ohio
Senator Jon Husted, a freshman Republican appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine to fill the vacancy created by JD Vance’s elevation to vice president, will defend his Senate seat for the first time.
Ohio will have a competitive contest for an open governor’s seat in November, and both parties’ candidates are already in place.
May 16
Louisiana
Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican, is facing a competitive primary. Mr. Cassidy was one of seven Senate Republicans who voted to impeach Mr. Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. Representative Julia Letlow is running to unseat him, bolstered by an enthusiastic endorsement from Mr. Trump.
May 19
Alabama
Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, is term-limited, leaving an open governor’s race.
Senator Tommy Tuberville’s choice to pursue the governor’s mansion opens the door to a competitive Republican primary to fill his open Senate seat.
Georgia
Georgia will have an open governor’s race in 2026, with Gov. Brian Kemp term-limited and a crowded field lining up to replace him.
In the Senate, the Republican battle to challenge Senator Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, is crowded and contentious.
Kentucky
Senator Mitch McConnell, a Republican and former majority leader, will not seek re-election, leaving an open Senate seat in Kentucky, which is typically considered deep red but has a Democratic governor.
Pennsylvania
Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, is seen as a strong incumbent, but Mr. Trump’s narrow victory in Pennsylvania has given Republicans some hope of unseating him. The leading Republican challenger is Stacy Garrity, the state treasurer who was endorsed by Mr. Trump.
June 2
California
The race for governor has become an unpredictable, wide-open contest, with term limits preventing Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, from running for re-election.
Iowa
Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican, will not seek re-election in 2026, kicking off a fight for her open Senate seat.
When Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, announced in April that she would not seek re-election in 2026, she set up the first open race for the state’s top office in 20 years.
Montana
Senator Steve Daines, Republican of Montana, said that he would not seek re-election this year in a surprise announcement that came minutes before the filing deadline for November’s election.
New Mexico
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, is term-limited, sparking a competitive open race to succeed her.
June 9
Maine
In the Senate, Democrats are eyeing the seat of Senator Susan Collins, a Republican, as a top 2026 pickup opportunity, in part because former Vice President Kamala Harris won Maine by seven percentage points in 2024.
With Gov. Mills term-limited and running for Senate, both party primaries are crowded with candidates hoping to take the governor’s seat, which was last held by a Republican from 2011 to 2019.
Nevada
In the race for governor, Democrats are hoping to unseat Joe Lombardo, a relatively moderate Republican incumbent who has so far kept Mr. Trump at arm’s length.
South Carolina
A few Republicans are running for the open governor’s seat being vacated by Gov. Henry McMaster. The winner of the primary is all but guaranteed to become the state’s next executive.
June 16
Oklahoma
A handful of Republicans are running to succeed Gov. Kevin Stitt, who is term-limited.
June 23
New York
In the race for governor, Gov. Kathy Hochul, the Democratic incumbent, is facing a primary challenge from Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado.
June 30
Colorado
Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat who has led the state since 2019, cannot run for re-election because of term limits. Colorado, once a political battleground, has not elected a Republican governor since 2002.
Senator John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, is facing a primary challenge from the left. State Senator Julie Gonzales’s campaign is being viewed as a test of whether younger, insurgent progressive candidates can unseat established Washington moderates.
July 21
Arizona
A handful of Republicans are vying to face Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, who is seen as one of the country’s most vulnerable incumbents.
August 4
Kansas
Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, is term-limited, leaving an open governor’s race in a state that went for Mr. Trump by 16 percentage points in 2024. The contest to replace her is crowded in both primaries without a clear front-runner on either side.
Michigan
Senator Gary Peters will not run for re-election in 2026, forcing Democrats to defend an open Senate seat in a battleground state that Mr. Trump won narrowly in 2024.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, is term-limited, setting up a competitive contest for governor in this battleground state.
August 6
Tennessee
Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, is term-limited and unable to run again. The Republican primary will include Senator Marsha Blackburn, who is running less than a year after winning re-election in the Senate.
August 11
Minnesota
Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota dropped his bid for re-election to a third term, and Senator Amy Klobuchar, a fellow Democrat, is seeking the office.
In the Senate, Tina Smith, a Democrat, will not seek re-election in 2026, creating another open seat for her party to defend.
Wisconsin
There will be an open governor’s race after the decision by Tony Evers, a Democrat, to not seek a third term.
August 18
Alaska
In the Senate, former Representative Mary Peltola, a Democrat who lost her statewide congressional seat in 2024 by only two percentage points in a state Trump carried by 13 points, is running to unseat Senator Dan Sullivan, the Republican incumbent.
Alaska’s governor’s race is an open contest this year, with Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, term-limited out of office. The state uses a non-partisan top-four primary, and so far the Republican field is the most crowded, with candidates already in the double digits. Far fewer Democrats have entered, though Ms. Peltola may still decide to run.
Florida
Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, is term-limited, leaving an open governor’s race in a state Mr. Trump won by 13 points in 2024.
Senator Ashley Moody, a Republican who was appointed to replace Marco Rubio after he became secretary of state, is defending her seat for the first time.
Wyoming
Senator Cynthia Lummis, a Republican, will not seek re-election after serving just one term. Representative Harriet Hageman, a Republican who represents Wyoming’s statewide house district, won an endorsement from Mr. Trump in the race to replace her.
September 1
Massachusetts
In the Senate, Edward J. Markey, the long-serving Democrat, is facing a primary challenge from Representative Seth Moulton.
September 8
New Hampshire
In the Senate, Jeanne Shaheen, a long-serving Democrat, will not run for re-election, clearing the path for an open race. Her departure complicates Democrats’ efforts to regain a majority in the Senate.
New Hampshire’s governors serve only two-year terms, and the filing period doesn’t open until June, but Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, is widely expected to run for re-election. There is no clear Democratic front-runner right now.