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What November 3 Decides
On November 3, 2026, voters will fill 36 governor seats, 34 U.S. Senate seats, all 435 House seats, and thousands of state legislative positions. At least 18 governor seats are open because incumbents are term-limited or retiring. Eight Senate incumbents are walking away. Ballot measures in at least seven states will test abortion rights, direct democracy, and constitutional amendment rules.
This is not a normal midterm. The outcomes will determine whether Medicaid covers 5 million people or cuts them, whether public schools keep their funding or lose it to voucher programs, whether state AGs keep suing the federal government or stop, and whether voters retain the power to pass ballot measures at all.
The Races That Set Policy
| State | Race | What’s at Stake | Key Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| WI | Governor (open, Evers retiring) | Veto on vouchers, Medicaid, abortion bans; new maps put both chambers in play | Nov 3 |
| MI | Governor (open, Whitmer term-limited) | Reproductive rights, union protections, EV manufacturing policy | Nov 3 |
| KS | Governor (open, Kelly term-limited) | Veto on abortion ban; Kelly blocked 11 anti-abortion bills since 2019 | Aug 4 primary |
| NV | Governor (Lombardo, R) | Abortion access confirmation vote (Question 6, second passage); Medicaid | Nov 3 |
| GA | Governor (open, Kemp term-limited) | Voucher expansion, Medicaid work requirements, six-week abortion ban | Nov 3 |
| KY | U.S. Senate (McConnell retiring) | Open seat for first time since 1984; Andy Barr (R) vs. Charles Booker (D) | Nov 3 |
| MI | U.S. Senate (Peters retiring, D) | Democrats defend seat in state Trump won in 2024 | Nov 3 |
| NH | U.S. Senate (Shaheen retiring, D) | Open Democratic seat in swing state; Republicans need net +1 to hold majority | Nov 3 |
| IA | U.S. Senate (Ernst retiring, R) | Open seat in state trending red; Democrats’ best GOP pickup opportunity | Nov 3 |
| AZ | Attorney General (Mayes, D) | Won by 280 votes in 2022; leads multistate lawsuits against federal overreach | Nov 3 |
| WI | Attorney General (Kaul, D) | Won by 1.3 points in 2022; abortion enforcement, election law defense | Nov 3 |
| MI | Attorney General (open seat, D) | Defends reproductive rights law; anchors multistate federal litigation | Nov 3 |
| NV | Attorney General (open seat, D) | Consumer protection, immigration enforcement posture, federal lawsuit participation | Nov 3 |
| VA | Ballot Measure | Constitutional amendment guaranteeing abortion rights through second trimester | Nov 3 |
| NV | Ballot Measure (Question 6) | Second required vote to enshrine abortion rights in state constitution | Nov 3 |
| MO | Ballot Measure (Amendment 4) | Requires majority in all 8 congressional districts to pass citizen initiatives | Nov 3 |
| SD | Ballot Measure (Amendment L) | 60% supermajority to pass any citizen-initiated constitutional amendment | Nov 3 |
| ND | Ballot Measure | 60% supermajority for citizen-initiated constitutional amendments | Nov 3 |
| PA | State Legislature | Democrats need 3 Senate seats to create first trifecta since 1993 | Nov 3 |
| WI | State Legislature | New maps make both chambers competitive for the first time in a decade | Nov 3 |
Governor Races Set the Floor
Governors decide what bills become law. In Kansas, Laura Kelly vetoed 11 anti-abortion bills in six years. Her successor will face the same bills on day one. In Wisconsin, Tony Evers vetoed voucher expansions and Medicaid cuts. Without a Democratic governor, the Republican legislature faces no check.
Michigan’s next governor inherits the reproductive rights amendment voters passed in 2022 and the state’s role in EV battery manufacturing. Georgia’s next governor will decide whether the state expands Medicaid work requirements or follows the 2022 voter mandate for broader coverage.
Eighteen open seats means eighteen chances for policy to reverse direction. The governors elected this November will serve through 2030, controlling redistricting leverage, budget priorities, and veto power over abortion, education, and healthcare legislation.
The Senate Math
Democrats currently hold 46 Senate seats. They are defending open seats in Michigan, New Hampshire, Minnesota, and Illinois, all states where the retiring incumbent is a Democrat. Republicans have open seats in Kentucky, Iowa, North Carolina, and Alabama (where Tuberville is running for governor instead).
The margin matters because Senate confirmation of federal judges, cabinet officials, and Supreme Court nominees runs through whoever holds the majority. Every AG lawsuit that reaches the federal bench lands in front of judges confirmed by this Senate.
Attorney General Races Nobody Talks About
State AGs have filed more than 100 multistate lawsuits against federal policies since 2025. Democratic AGs in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin are leading that litigation. All four seats are toss-ups. All four states went for Trump in 2024.
If Republicans sweep those four seats, the coalition bringing federal lawsuits on immigration enforcement, environmental rollbacks, and civil rights protections loses its anchor states. The AG races get a fraction of the campaign spending that governor and Senate races attract, which makes them the most underpriced fight on the ballot.
Ballot Measures Under Threat
Voters have used ballot measures to protect abortion rights in seven states since Dobbs. Legislatures in Missouri, South Dakota, and North Dakota responded by placing supermajority requirements on the 2026 ballot. If those pass, future citizen-initiated amendments become functionally impossible in states where they matter most.
Virginia and Nevada both have abortion measures on the November ballot. Nevada’s Question 6 already passed once in 2024 and needs a second vote to take effect. Virginia’s amendment would guarantee reproductive freedom through the second trimester.
What You Can Do Before August
- Check your registration now. Primaries in Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and other states happen on August 4. You cannot vote if you are not registered.
- Know your primary candidates. Governor and AG nominees are decided in the primary. In many states, the primary is the real contest.
- Talk to one person who skips midterms. Turnout drops 20-30% in non-presidential years. That gap is where policy gets decided.
- Follow the AG races. They get almost no media coverage but control whether your state fights federal overreach or cooperates with it.
Check your registration at vote.org. Read more on the Voting and Elections hub and the Reproductive Rights hub.