2026 United States elections explained

Year:	2026
Type:	Midterm elections
Election Day:	November 3
Incumbent President:	Donald Trump (Republican)
Next Congress:	120th
Senate Seats Contested:	35 of 100 seats (33 seats of Class 2 + 2 special elections)
Senate Map Caption:	Map of the incumbents:
House Seats Contested:	All 435 voting seats +5 of 6 non-voting seats
House Map Caption:	Map of the incumbents:
Governor Seats Contested:	39 (36 states, 3 territories)
Governor Map Caption:	Map of the incumbents:

The 2026 United States elections are scheduled to be held, in large part, on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. In this U.S. midterm election, which will occur during Republican President Donald Trump's non-consecutive second term, all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and 33 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate will be contested to determine the 120th United States Congress. Thirty-nine state and territorial U.S. gubernatorial elections, as well as numerous state and local elections, will also be contested.

Federal elections

Senate elections

See main article: 2026 United States Senate elections. 35 seats will be up for election, including 33 Class 2 seats. Special elections will be held to fill any vacancies that arise during the .

House of Representatives elections

See main article: 2026 United States House of Representatives elections. All 435 voting seats in the United States House of Representatives will be up for election; additionally, elections will be held to select the delegate for the District of Columbia as well as the delegates from 4 of the 5 U.S. territories, excluding Puerto Rico. Preliminary calculations show at least 11 Democrats in seats Donald Trump won, while only two or three Republicans are in seats won by Harris.^[1] Ohio will have new congressional districts this cycle.^[2]

On October 1, 2024, Arizona Rep. Raúl Grijalva announced that he would not run for re-election in the 2026 election.^[3] Grijalva was already expected to win re-election in the 2024 cycle when the announcement was made, as his seat represents a heavily Democratic voter base.

On October 28, 2024, it was reported that Tennessee Rep. John Rose was expected to announce a run for Governor of Tennessee during this election cycle.^[4]

State elections

Elections will be held for the governorships of 36 U.S. states and three insular areas. As most governors serve four-year terms, the last regularly scheduled elections for most seats up for election in 2026 were held in 2022. The governors of New Hampshire and Vermont each serve two-year terms, and the incumbents in these two states were elected and re-elected, respectively, in 2024.

Local elections

Mayoral elections

A number of major cities will hold mayoral elections in 2026.

Eligible incumbents

Anaheim, California: One-term incumbent Ashleigh Aitken is eligible for re-election.
Bismarck, North Dakota: One-term incumbent Mike Schmitz is eligible for re-election.
Charleston, West Virginia: Two-term incumbent Amy Shuler Goodwin is eligible for re-election.
Danville, Illinois: Two-term incumbent Rickey Williams Jr. is eligible for re-election.
Independence, Missouri: One-term incumbent Rory Rowland is eligible for re-election.
Long Beach, California: One-term incumbent Rex Richardson is eligible for re-election.
Los Angeles, California: One-term incumbent Karen Bass is running for re-election.^[5]
Louisville, Kentucky: One-term incumbent Craig Greenberg is running for re-election.^[6]
Maui County, Hawaii: One-term incumbent Richard Bissen is eligible for re-election.
North Las Vegas, Nevada: One-term incumbent Pamela Goynes-Brown is eligible for re-election.
Oakland, California: Recalled one-term incumbent Sheng Thao is eligible to run for election again.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Two-term incumbent David Holt is eligible for re-election.
Paterson, New Jersey: One-term incumbent Andre Sayegh is eligible for re-election.
St. Petersburg, Florida: One-term incumbent Ken Welch is running for re-election.^[7]
Trenton, New Jersey: Two-term incumbent Reed Gusciora is eligible for re-election.
Washington, D.C.: Three-term incumbent Muriel Bowser is eligible for re-election.

Ineligible or retiring incumbents

Kauai, Hawaii: Two-term incumbent Derek Kawakami is term-limited and ineligible to run.^[8]
Reno, Nevada: Three-term incumbent Hillary Schieve is term-limited and ineligible to run.

Notes and References

Web site: 2024-11-21 . House Democrats Blunt Their Losses by Winning Trump Seats . 2024-11-27 . Cook Political Report . en.
Web site: Ohio congressional lines to be redrawn next year. Can gerrymandering be avoided? . 2024-12-01 . dayton-daily-news . English.
News: Bendery . Jennifer . Longtime Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva Says He's Not Running For Congress Again . October 1, 2024 . HuffPost . October 1, 2024 . en.
News: Sher . Andy . Rose uses GOP get-out-the-vote bus tour to make pre-gubernatorial announcement pitches . October 28, 2024 . State Affairs . October 28, 2024 . en . subscription.
News: L.A. Mayor Karen Bass launches her reelection bid, saying, ‘We cannot afford to stop our momentum’ . David . Zahniser . . July 1, 2024 . July 25, 2024 .
Web site: McCrary . Eleanor . Louisville mayor seeking reelection less than two years into first term . . 24 November 2024 . 25 September 2024.
News: St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch says he’ll run for reelection in 2026 . Colleen . Wright . . March 29, 2024 . August 20, 2024 .
News: Grunwald . Emma . Kawakami's campaign office confirms Kauaʻi mayor plans to run for Kouchi's Senate seat in 2026 . November 24, 2024 . Kauaʻi Now . September 19, 2024.