Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
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Thousands of elections are taking place in 2026 across the United States, including primary and general elections at the federal, state, and local levels. These include elections for all 435 seats in the U.S. House, 33 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate, and 36 of 50 state governorships.
This page presents Ballotpedia's ongoing research and curation on 2026 elections in the United States, including:
- Coverage of U.S. Senate and U.S. House elections
- Coverage of state elections, including gubernatorial and state legislative races
- Coverage of local elections, including mayoral and other municipal elections
- Coverage of statewide ballot measures
The content on this page is organized by level of government (federal, state, local) and then by office type within those levels.
To review a previous year's version of this page, click one of these links: 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Federal politics
United States House of Representatives
Elections to the U.S. House will be held on November 3, 2026. The seats of all 435 representatives will be up for election. The seats of the six non-voting members of the U.S. House will be up for election as well.
As a result of the 2024 elections, Republicans maintained a majority in the chamber, winning 220 seats to Democrats' 215.[1]
The partisan breakdown in the U.S. House before and after the election is as follows:
| U.S. House Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 3, 2026 | After the 2026 Election | |
| Democratic Party | |||
| Republican Party | |||
| Vacancies | |||
| Total | |
| |
Featured analysis (from 2024)
- Congressional margin of victory analysis: An electoral margin of victory (MOV) is the difference between the share of votes cast for the winning candidate and the runner-up in a single-seat election. In a multi-seat race, the MOV is the difference between the vote share received by the bottom-placing winning candidate and the top-placing losing candidate. Margins of victory can be used to measure electoral competitiveness, political party or candidate strength, and, indirectly, the popularity of a particular policy or set of policies.
- Rematches in 2024 general elections: An election rematch occurs when the same candidates run against each other in consecutive election cycles. In the 2024 general election, 536 elections in Ballotpedia's coverage scope were rematches for single-seat offices between the same candidates who ran in 2022. Additionally, 69 elections in 2024 were rematches for single-seat offices between the same candidates who ran in 2020.[2]
Tap the box below to show more analysis articles related to the 2026 U.S. House of Representatives elections.
- Congressional elections decided by 10 percentage points or fewer
- Congressional competitiveness report
- Overview of the 2026 United States House of Representatives elections
- New members elected to Congress
- Comparison of state delegations to the 119th and 120th Congresses
- Incumbents who did not run for re-election
- U.S. House elections without a Democratic or Republican candidate, 2026
- U.S. House districts represented by a Republican in 2026 and won by Kamala Harris in 2024
- U.S. House districts represented by a Democrat in 2026 and won by Donald Trump in 2024
- Party committee fundraising
- Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026
- List of congressional candidates in the 2026 elections
- List of congressional challengers in the 2026 elections
- Ballotpedia's Top 15 Elections to Watch, 2026
- Wave election analysis
- Incumbents who won primaries by five percentage points or fewer or with a plurality, 2026
United States Senate
- See also: United States Senate elections, 2026
Elections to the U.S. Senate will happen on November 3, 2026. Thirty-three of the 100 seats in the chamber are up for election and another two seats are up for special election.
Of the 33 regularly scheduled general elections in 2026, Democrats control 13 and Republicans control 20.
As a result of the 2024 general elections, Republicans won a 53-45 majority in the chamber. Additionally, two independents caucus with the Democrats. Heading into the 2024 general election, Democrats had a 47-49 majority with four independents. Three of those independents caucused with the Democrats, and one other counted towards the Democratic majority for committee purposes.
Democrats could not lose any seats and retain a majority in the chamber. Meanwhile, Republicans needed to gain a net of two seats and retain a majority in the chamber. In the 2024 general elections, Republicans gained a net of four seats.
Four incumbents—all Democrats—lost re-election in the general elections in 2024.
Looking ahead at the 2026 general elections, Democrats need to gain a net of four seats to win a majority in the chamber. Meanwhile, Republicans can only lose two seats and retain a majority in the chamber.
Democrats are defending two seats in states that Donald Trump (R) won in the 2024 presidential election. Those states are Georgia and Michigan. Republicans are defending one seat in a state that Kamala Harris (D) won in the 2024 presidential election. That state is Maine.
As of September 1, 2025, seven U.S. Senate incumbents—four Democrats and three Republicans—are not running for re-election in 2026.
Two special elections will also happened on November 3, 2026. One special election is to fill the last two years of the six-year term that Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) was elected to in 2022. The other special election is to fill the last two years of the six-year term that J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) was elected to in 2022.
Those elected to the U.S. Senate in the regularly scheduled elections on November 3, 2026, will begin their six-year terms on January 3, 2027.
The partisan breakdown in the U.S. Senate before and after the election is as follows:
| Partisan composition, U.S. Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| 119th Congress | ||
| Party | Members | |
| Democratic | 45 | |
| Republican | 53 | |
| Independent | 2[3] | |
| Vacancies | 0 | |
| Total | 100 | |
Tap the box below to show more analysis articles related to the 2026 U.S. Senate elections.
- Congressional elections decided by 10 percentage points or fewer
- Congressional competitiveness report
- Overview of the United States Senate elections in 2026
- New members elected to Congress
- Comparison of state delegations to the 119th and 120th Congresses
- Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026
- Wave election analysis
- Incumbents who are not running for re-election in 2026
- Party committee fundraising, 2023-2026
- List of congressional candidates in the 2026 elections
- List of congressional challengers in the 2026 elections
- States won by Donald Trump in 2024 with Democratic-held U.S. Senate seats up for election in 2026
- States won by Kamala Harris in 2024 with Republican-held U.S. Senate seats up for election in 2026
- Incumbents who won primaries by five percentage points or fewer or with a plurality, 2026
State politics
State legislative elections
- See also: State legislative elections, 2026
In the 50 states, there are 99 state legislative chambers altogether. Across 46 states, 88 of those chambers are holding regular legislative elections in 2026. The general election for state legislative races is on November 3, 2026.
States will also hold special state legislative elections in 2026 to fill vacant seats.
In the U.S. Territories, five legislative chambers are holding regularly scheduled elections in 2026. Elections will be held for the American Samoa House of Representatives, the Guam Legislature, the Northern Mariana Islands Senate and House of Representatives, and the U.S. Virgin Islands Legislature.
As of November 25th, 2025, Republicans controlled 55.29% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats held 43.53%. Republicans held a majority in 57 chambers, and Democrats held the majority in 39 chambers. Two chambers (Alaska House and Alaska Senate) were organized under multipartisan, power-sharing coalitions. One chamber (Minnesota House of Representatives) was split evenly between both parties.
| Partisan balance of all 7,386 state legislative seats | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legislative chamber | 
|
|
 Other
|
Vacant | ||||
| State senates | 829 | 1,118 | 6 | 20 | ||||
| State houses | 2,386 | 2,966 | 20 | 41 | ||||
| Total: | 3,215
|
4,084
|
26
|
61 | ||||
Tap the box below to show more analysis articles related to the 2026 state legislative elections.
- Annual Competitiveness Report
- State legislative special elections
- Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026
- Impact of term limits
- Open seats
- Contested primaries
- Incumbents in contested primaries
- Data on incumbents defeated in 2026
- Major party competition
- Unconstested incumbents
- Trifecta vulnerability in the 2026 elections
- Candidates with the same last names, 2026
- Rematches in 2026 general elections
- Ballotpedia's Top 15 Elections to Watch, 2026
- Election results, 2026: State legislative veto-proof majorities
- Wave election analysis
- Election results, 2026: Incumbent win rates by state
- Election results, 2026: Uncontested races by state
- Incumbents who won primaries by five percentage points or fewer or with a plurality, 2026
- Margin of victory analysis for the 2026 state legislative elections
- Election results, 2026: State legislative races decided by fewer than 100 votes
State executive elections
- See also: State executive official elections, 2026
State executive offices up for election in 2026 include 36 gubernatorial seats, 31 lieutenant gubernatorial seats, 30 attorney general seats, and 26 secretary of state seats. Including down-ballot races, there are 295 state executive offices up for election across 43 states in 2026.[4]
Tap the box below to show more analysis articles related to the 2026 state executive elections.
- State executive official elections overview
- State executive officials election results
- Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026
- Gubernatorial elections
- Secretary of State elections
- Attorney General elections
- Historical and potential changes in trifectas
- State government trifectas
- Endorsements of school board members by state executive officeholders and candidates, 2026
- Impact of term limits on state executive elections
- Rematches in 2026 general elections
- Veto-proof state legislatures and opposing party governors
- Ballotpedia's Top 15 Elections to Watch, 2026
- Wave election analysis
- Incumbents who won primaries by five percentage points or fewer or with a plurality, 2026
State judicial elections
- See also: State judicial elections, 2026
As of research conducted in 2025, a total of 293 appellate court seats are up for election in 2026. The number of seats up for election may change due to resignations and appointments. The seats include:
- 62 supreme court seats
- 231 intermediate appellate court seats
Tap the box below to show more analysis articles related to the 2026 state judicial elections.
- State supreme court elections, 2026
- State judicial elections, 2026
- Ballotpedia's Top 15 Elections to Watch, 2026
- Incumbents who won primaries by five percentage points or fewer or with a plurality, 2026
Local elections
- See also: United States municipal elections, 2026
This section will contain links to all local elections elections covered on Ballotpedia in 2026, including municipal elections, school board elections, local trial court judicial elections, and local ballot measure elections. More information will be added to this page as it becomes available.
Ballotpedia's coverage scope for municipal elections includes elections on the ballot in the 100 largest U.S. cities by population, as well as elections for mayors, city council members, and district attorneys in each state capital.
Throughout 2026, Ballotpedia is providing comprehensive local election coverage in 20 states as well as comprehensive general election in six additional states. Use the links below to navigate to pages for each of these states, which contain additional links to specific counties.
Arkansas • Arizona • California • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Iowa • Illinois • Indiana • Kentucky • Maine • Michigan • Minnesota • Montana • North Carolina • New Mexico • Nevada • Ohio • Oklahoma • Rhode Island • South Carolina • Texas • Washington • Wisconsin • Wyoming
Tap the box below to show more analysis articles related to the 2026 local elections.
- United States municipal elections overview
- School board elections
- Local trial court judicial elections
- Local ballot measure elections
- Analysis of uncontested elections
- Partisan balance of mayors of the 100 largest cities by population
- Rematches in 2026 general elections
- Ballotpedia's Mid-Year Recall Report (2026)
- Ballotpedia's 2026 Recall Analysis
- Trends in the margins of victory for incumbents of three or more terms, 2018-2026
- Incumbents who won primaries by five percentage points or fewer or with a plurality, 2026
Ballot measures
- See also: 2026 ballot measures
As of November 24, 2025, 56 statewide ballot measures were certified for the ballot in 28 states for elections in 2026.
Tap the box below to show more analysis articles related to the 2026 ballot measures.
Election coverage by state
Click your state on the map below to navigate to relevant election information.
See also: Elections by state and year.
Election resources
Footnotes
- ↑ These figures include the seat of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who resigned on Nov. 13, after winning re-election.
- ↑ This number only includes races for offices with four-year term lengths.
- ↑ Two independents caucus with the Democratic Party.
- ↑ Ballotpedia describes the offices of governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and secretary of state as top-ballot state executive offices. Down-ballot state executive offices that exist in all 50 states include superintendent of schools, insurance commissioner, agriculture commissioner, labor commissioner, and public service commissioner. Examples of other down-ballot state executive offices include treasurer, auditor, and comptroller.
