The top of the ticket in every state where we've written a guide, with each candidate rated on character: seems like good people, compromised, or not good people. How we judge. Every claim links to its source.
The governor and Senate races get the attention, but most of what changes your daily life is further down: county commissioners, sheriffs, judges, school boards. Each state section links to the full statewide ballot and the county guides.
Alaska
U.S. Senate
Vote for oneAlaska's general election uses ranked-choice voting: you can rank up to four candidates, and a lower choice only counts if everyone you ranked above it has been eliminated. Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. is a different person from Sen. Dan Sullivan. We'd rank Peltola first. Ranking anyone after her doesn't hurt her.
Mary Peltola
Compromised (best choice in this race) DemocratEndorsed by the AFL-CIO and EMILY's List, and says Congress has to stop handing its power to the president. The NRA endorsed her in 2024, and in September 2026 the New York Times reported former staffers' accounts of profane outbursts at aides, which her campaign calls exaggerated.
Sources: Wikipedia, EMILY's List, Wikipedia
Dan S. Sullivan
Not good people RepublicanEndorsed by Donald Trump, who flew to Wasilla to rally for him on October 13, and by the NRA. Voted for Trump's 2025 tariffs on Canada and against war powers resolutions to limit the 2026 Iran war, and in 2021 voted against an independent commission to investigate the January 6 Capitol attack.
Sources: PBS NewsHour (AP), Action News Jax (AP), Wikipedia, Campaign endorsements, Wikipedia
Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.
Not enough info RepublicanA retired Petersburg teacher who says he ran because the senator stayed silent on Trump's proposed compensation fund for January 6 defendants. Republicans call him a sham candidate, which he denies, and the Alaska Supreme Court rejected a suit to take him off the ballot over name confusion.
Sources: Petersburg Pilot, KTAR (AP), PBS NewsHour, CBS News
Gerald L. Heikes
Not enough info RepublicanGot 1.1% in the primary and moved up when David Leslie dropped out. Supports a border wall and opposes resettling Syrian refugees without more vetting. No record in office to judge.
Sources: Ballotpedia, iVoterGuide
Governor / Lieutenant Governor
Vote for oneOpen seat: Gov. Mike Dunleavy is term-limited. Governor and lieutenant governor run as a ticket. Alaska's general election uses ranked-choice voting, and you can rank up to four. Tom Begich, a Democrat who finished second in the primary, withdrew and endorsed Kreiss-Tomkins, so Treg Taylor took the fourth spot. We'd rank Kreiss-Tomkins first. If you rank more, we'd put Taylor ahead of Wilson and leave Bronson off.
Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins / Zac Johnson
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratRepresented a Trump-voting Southeast district for ten years, co-chaired a bipartisan fiscal working group, and wrote the 2014 law making 20 Alaska Native languages official state languages. Endorsed by the Alaska AFL-CIO, he wants a cabinet that is one-third Democrat, one-third independent and one-third Republican.
Sources: Anchorage Daily News, Wikipedia, Juneau Independent
Bernadette Wilson / Mike Shower
Compromised RepublicanDonald Trump endorsed her at his October 13 Wasilla rally, which she had said she would attend. One of the three sponsors of Ballot Measure 2, which would end ranked-choice voting and repeal rules that make campaigns disclose the true source of their money, and she told her supporters not to rank anyone else.
Sources: PBS NewsHour (AP), Action News Jax (AP), Alaska's News Source, Alaska Division of Elections, Anchorage Daily News, Wikipedia
Treg Taylor
Not good people RepublicanHis primary ads promised to "stand with President Trump," which he now calls mistakes, and as attorney general he sued to block federal Title IX protections for transgender students. Election officials pulled him off the ballot over incomplete financial disclosures, then put him back four days later.
Sources: Anchorage Daily News, Wikipedia, Anchorage Daily News
Dave Bronson / Josh Church
Not good people RepublicanAs mayor he praised anti-mask protesters who wore yellow Stars of David at a 2021 Assembly meeting before taking it back, and in 2022 his administration sought an audit of the city election's records and voting machines. Anchorage voters turned him out in 2024.
Sources: Wikipedia, Alaska's News Source
Full statewide ballot and county guides: Alaska 2026 elections.
Arizona
Governor and Lieutenant Governor
Vote for oneArizona elects its first lieutenant governor this year, on a joint ticket with the governor. Two write-in Republicans, Gertritrude Gonzalez and Alice Novoa, are also running for governor.
Katie Hobbs / John Giles
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratPicked Giles, a longtime Republican who became an independent in May 2026 and spoke at the 2024 Democratic convention against what he called "the cult of Donald Trump." Says she works "across the aisle to get things done," and is endorsed by Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego.
Sources: PBS NewsHour, KJZZ, Campaign site, Wikipedia
Andy Biggs / Sine Kerr
Not good people RepublicanHelped lead the push to keep Trump in office after he lost in 2020, and joined Trump onstage at an October 14 rally in Bullhead City, telling the crowd "Let's turn Arizona red." Wants to end the state income tax. Kerr sponsored a 2021 bill to ban nearly all abortions with criminal penalties for doctors.
Sources: Fox News, KJZZ, Cronkite News, Wikipedia, Wikipedia (Kerr)
Risa Lombardo / Lisa Castillo
Compromised GreenThe Arizona Green Party disowned both as "sham candidates" meant to pull votes from Hobbs and asked to have them removed from the ballot. The state Clean Elections Commission is investigating whether her campaign faked donor records to collect $2.8 million in public money; a judge threw out her suit to stop it.
Sources: Hoodline, Arizona Green Party, Wikipedia
Teri Hourihan / Angela Harrolle Mohan
Seems like good people No LabelsA Phoenix psychotherapist who beat a much better-funded rival for the No Labels nomination and debated Biggs on October 6 after Hobbs declined. Wants audits of all state agencies, universal child care modeled on New Mexico's and safe gun storage rules, and opposes ending the state income tax.
Sources: KJZZ, KOLD, FOX 10, KTAR, Your Valley
Full statewide ballot and county guides: Arizona 2026 elections.
Florida
U.S. Senator
Vote for oneAshley Moody was appointed in January 2025 to fill Marco Rubio's vacated seat.
Angie Nixon
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratRunning on the idea that health care, child care and housing are human rights, and won the August primary in an upset over Alexander Vindman. A member of the Democratic Socialists of America, endorsed by Reps. Maxwell Frost, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley.
Sources: The 19th, The Guardian, Wikipedia
Ashley Moody
Not good people RepublicanAs attorney general she joined the Texas lawsuit to throw out the 2020 presidential results in four swing states. On taking her Senate seat she promised to "fight for President Trump to deliver the America First agenda on Day 1."
Sources: Wikipedia, PBS NewsHour, WUSF
Neil J. Gillespie
Not enough info No partyRunning on overhauling the courts, border security and weakening the two-party system. He has filed many lawsuits of his own, including against The Florida Bar.
Sources: PantherNOW, Campaign blog
Governor and Lieutenant Governor
Vote for oneOpen seat. Also on the ballot: Scott Eckhard Jewett and Nicole Skelly (Libertarian), and five no-party tickets: Charles Burkett and Ruben A. Coto, Frank J. Russo and Rachel Rodriguez, Moliere "Moe" Dimanche and Benjiman Rojas, Dean Ocean Abrams and Joe Van Vactor, and Jeffrey Peter "Dr. Jeff" Datto and Juan Santana.
David Jolly
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratLeft the Republican Party and spent years as a TV analyst criticizing Trump and MAGA. Running on property insurance reform, more money for public schools and a pause on AI data centers, and opposes Amendment 3 because sheriffs and cities fear losing public safety money.
Sources: Wikipedia, Campaign site, WESH 2
Byron Donalds
Not good people RepublicanEndorsed by Donald Trump and JD Vance. Running on the Amendment 3 property tax cuts and school choice.
Sources: Wikipedia, WESH 2, Campaign site
Full statewide ballot and county guides: Florida 2026 elections.
Georgia
U.S. Senator
Vote for oneThree write-in candidates have also qualified: Christina Loren Clement (Republican), Elbert Bartell and Cassandra Easton (independents).
Jon Ossoff
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratRan unopposed for the Democratic nomination for a second term. In the Senate he voted for the American Rescue Plan, the Inflation Reduction Act and the 2023 bipartisan debt ceiling deal.
Sources: Wikipedia, Black Vote Watch
Mike Collins
Not good people RepublicanWon the June runoff with Donald Trump's endorsement and later picked up Gov. Brian Kemp's.
Sources: Wikipedia, The Current
Governor
Vote for oneOpen seat.
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratAs mayor she signed an ordinance ending cash bail for low-level city offenses, which Republicans are now using against her. Endorsed by Joe Biden, Eric Holder, Rep. Sanford Bishop and the federal employees' union AFGE.
Sources: AJC, AFGE, Campaign site
Rick Jackson
Not good people RepublicanBeat Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in the runoff, then took Trump's endorsement in July after running primary ads attacking how Brad Raffensperger handled the 2020 election. The IRS sued his investment firm in 2024 seeking $38 million over income it says went unreported.
Sources: Wikipedia, Axios Atlanta, FOX 5 Atlanta
Full statewide ballot and county guides: Georgia 2026 elections.
Iowa
U.S. Senator
Vote for oneOpen seat: Sen. Joni Ernst is not running again.
Josh Turek
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratCalls himself a "common-sense" Democrat and won't take corporate PAC money. Wants to ban members of Congress and their spouses from trading stock, and is endorsed by Tom Harkin, the Iowa Federation of Labor and the state teachers' union.
Sources: Campaign platform, Campaign endorsements, Wikipedia
Ashley Hinson
Not good people RepublicanEndorsed by Donald Trump, and her campaign says she is "working alongside President Trump." In September 2026 a watchdog filed a House ethics complaint asking whether she used her office to help her husband's insurance trade group; her campaign says his role there was unpaid.
Sources: Wikipedia, Campaign site, Iowa Starting Line
Thomas Laehn
Not enough info LibertarianGreene County's attorney and the first Libertarian elected to a partisan office in Iowa. Says Congress has let presidents of both parties take its power, and that Republicans in Congress "are more loyal to Trump than they are to their own institution." Calls the carbon pipeline "the biggest boondoggle in the history of our state."
Sources: Bleeding Heartland, Bleeding Heartland, Campaign site, Bleeding Heartland, Ballotpedia
Governor / Lieutenant Governor
Vote for oneOpen seat: Gov. Kim Reynolds is not running again. Governor and lieutenant governor are elected together as a ticket.
Rob Sand / Dave Muhlbauer
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratAs a prosecutor he convicted the lottery insider behind the $25 million Hot Lotto fraud, and as auditor his office flagged $21 million in misused federal COVID money that the state paid back. Says he would veto "culture war" bills.
Sources: Iowa Capital Dispatch, The Gazette, Wikipedia
Zach Lahn / Derek Wulf
Not good people RepublicanEndorsed by Donald Trump, who called him "more Trump" than his primary opponent, and by Turning Point Action and former Rep. Steve King. The sheriff in Black Hawk County is investigating fraud and theft accusations against Wulf, whose farm business was put under a court-appointed manager in September 2026.
Full statewide ballot and county guides: Iowa 2026 elections.
Kansas
U.S. Senator
Vote for oneAdam Hamilton
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratRoger Marshall
Not good people RepublicanDavid C. Graham
Not enough info LibertarianRan for this seat in 2022 on shrinking the federal government, ending proxy wars and easing up on nonviolent offenders. This year he has no campaign website and didn't respond when KCUR asked for campaign materials.
Sources: Lawrence Times, iVoterGuide, KCUR
Governor / Lieutenant Governor
Vote for oneOpen seat.
Cindy Holscher / KC Ohaebosim
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratRunning on the cost of living, and wants a pause on big AI data centers over their energy use and what they do to water and utility bills. Endorsed by former governors Kathleen Sebelius and John Carlin, the Kansas AFL-CIO and the teachers' union PAC.
Sources: Campaign site, News From the States, Wikipedia
Ty Masterson / Jeffrey Klemp
Not good people RepublicanEndorsed by Donald Trump and Sen. Roger Marshall. Runs on fiscal responsibility, though his homebuilding business went under and he filed for bankruptcy in 2010 with more than $1.1 million in debt.
Sources: Wikipedia, American Journal News
Full statewide ballot and county guides: Kansas 2026 elections.
Nevada
Governor
Vote for oneEvery statewide race in Nevada also offers "None of These Candidates" as a choice.
Aaron Ford
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratRunning on lower housing costs, a crackdown on Wall Street landlords buying up homes, and pushing back on federal tariffs. Says he would sign a repeal of Nevada's right-to-work law: "They can send me a bill. And if they send it to me, I'm signing it."
Sources: Campaign site, Nevada Independent, Wikipedia
Joe Lombardo
Not good people RepublicanPushed back on false claims that the 2020 election was stolen, but endorsed Donald Trump in 2024 and has Trump's endorsement this year. Set a state record for vetoes, and in 2025 paid $5,000 to settle an ethics complaint over using his sheriff's uniform and badge in campaign ads.
Sources: Campaign endorsements, Nevada Independent, Nevada Independent
Danielle Ford
Seems like good people No Political PartyNo relation to Aaron Ford. A public education advocate running on schools, housing and health care, and wants local police to focus on serious crime instead of civil immigration enforcement.
Sources: Campaign site, Nevada Department of Education, BallotReady
Full statewide ballot and county guides: Nevada 2026 elections.
New York
Governor / Lieutenant Governor
Vote for oneGovernor and lieutenant governor run as a ticket. Gov. Kathy Hochul is running for a second full term with former City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams; Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado dropped out of the Democratic primary in February. In New York you can vote for a candidate on any party line they appear on, and it counts the same.
Kathy Hochul / Adrienne Adams
Compromised (best choice in this race) DemocratSigned a law in 2026 banning local police deals with ICE, including 287(g) agreements, and barring masked officers from dealing with the public. Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula gave $156,600 to her campaign and the state party in January 2026 after she steered state money to the team's new stadium, and she paused congestion pricing weeks before its 2024 start.
Sources: Governor's office, WAMC, Wikipedia
Bruce Blakeman / Todd Hood
Not good people RepublicanEndorsed by Donald Trump, whose inauguration he attended. As county executive he signed a ban on wearing masks in public, barred transgender athletes from county facilities, and made Nassau the first county to sign a cooperation agreement with ICE; he says he'll join a lawsuit against the state's new ICE law.
Sources: Fox News, Politico via Yahoo, PoliticsNY, Washington Examiner
Full statewide ballot and county guides: New York 2026 elections.
North Carolina
U.S. Senator
Vote for oneRoy Cooper
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratAs governor he signed the bipartisan bill that expanded Medicaid and vetoed the 12-week abortion ban. Endorsed by the largest federal employees' union, the Sierra Club and the veterans' group Common Defense.
Sources: Ballotpedia, AFGE, Common Defense
Michael Whatley
Not good people RepublicanTrump put him in charge of the RNC to focus on election litigation and the 2020 election, then endorsed him for this seat. He says he backs Trump's agenda, including deporting unauthorized immigrants, "100%."
Sources: The Guardian, Wikipedia, Campaign site
Shannon W. Bray
Not enough info LibertarianHolly Springs police arrested him three times in one week in August 2023 on charges including assault on a female, communicating threats, violating a domestic violence protective order and manufacturing marijuana; we found no record of how the cases ended. Runs on digital privacy and limits on federal surveillance.
Sources: CBS 17, WFAE, Campaign site
Michael Dublin
Seems like good people GreenA retired public school teacher and Marine veteran who co-chairs the state Green Party's Black Caucus and refuses corporate donations. Wants a $$25 minimum wage and a Green New Deal for North Carolina, and says "ICE is a scam" that profits private prisons.
Sources: WFAE, The Election Hub, Ballotpedia
Full statewide ballot and county guides: North Carolina 2026 elections.
Ohio
U.S. Senator (special election)
Vote for oneFills the rest of JD Vance's term, through January 2029. Husted was appointed to the seat in January 2025. Stephen Faris, Anthony Holliman and Timothy Telymonde are registered write-in candidates.
Sherrod Brown
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratJon Husted
Not good people RepublicanEndorsed by Donald Trump, who rallied for him in Vandalia on October 3, and his first ad opens and closes on that endorsement. In 2017 FirstEnergy gave $1 million earmarked "Husted campaign" to a nonprofit that doesn't disclose donors; his spokesperson said the campaign never received it.
Sources: Signal Ohio, WKRC, Wikipedia
Bill Redpath
Not enough info LibertarianA longtime Libertarian Party activist who twice chaired its national committee and has run for governor, Senate and House in Virginia. His top priorities are ending tariffs and cutting federal spending, including corporate welfare and farm subsidies.
Sources: The Ballot Brief, Wikipedia
Greg Levy
Not enough info IndependentA self-described socialist running on a $$30 minimum wage who takes no corporate or PAC money. In October a new super PAC that used a printer tied to Republican and MAGA Inc.-linked consultants spent nearly $$400,000 on mailers promoting him; his campaign called them "a form of digital blackface."
Sources: Spectrum News, Wikipedia
Governor / Lieutenant Governor
Vote for oneOpen seat: Gov. Mike DeWine is term-limited. Governor and lieutenant governor are elected together as a ticket. Four write-in tickets are also registered: Timothy Grady / Andrea Neutzling, Renea Turner / Jalen Turner, Ron Ula / Michael C. Lehnerd, and Heather Hill / Patrick Manley.
Amy Acton / David Pepper
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratLed the state's early COVID-19 response under DeWine, and proposes a child tax credit of up to $1,000 for families earning up to $85,000. Endorsed by the Ohio Nurses Association and the state firefighters' union; Pepper wrote "Laboratories of Autocracy" about statehouse corruption.
Sources: Wikipedia, Ballotpedia, Acton campaign, Leadership Now
Vivek Ramaswamy / Rob McColley
Not good people RepublicanEndorsed by Donald Trump and the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio, and calls himself an American nationalist. In August 2026 a federal judge let a whistleblower suit go forward that says he pressured an executive at Strive Asset Management to break securities law.
Sources: Wikipedia, Ohio GOP, Ballotpedia
Don Kissick / James L. Mills
Not enough info LibertarianWants to abolish property taxes on owner-occupied homes and family farms, saying Ohio doesn't have a revenue problem. Mills says immigration enforcement should be civil, not militarized, with a clear path to citizenship.
Sources: Statehouse News Bureau, Village Press, Lima News / Your Hometown Stations
Full statewide ballot and county guides: Ohio 2026 elections.
Texas
U.S. Senator
Vote for oneAlso on the ballot: Ted Brown (Libertarian).
James Talarico
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratA former teacher who wrote the Texas law capping insulin at $25 a month and co-wrote a ban on police chokeholds.
Sources: Wikipedia
Ken Paxton
Not good people RepublicanSued to throw out four states' 2020 votes and spoke at the January 6 rally, telling the crowd "We will not quit fighting." The Republican-led Texas House impeached him for corruption 121 to 23; the state Senate acquitted him in 2023.
Sources: Wikipedia, Texas Tribune, Al Jazeera, Texas Public Radio
Governor
Vote for oneAlso on the ballot: Pat Dixon (Libertarian).
Gina Hinojosa
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratA public school advocate who ran the Austin school board before the Legislature.
Sources: Texas Tribune
Greg Abbott
Not good people RepublicanSigned SB 4, which lets state police arrest and deport people on suspicion of illegal entry, and bused more than 100,000 migrants to other cities as a stunt. Also signed the school voucher law.
Sources: Texas Tribune, Wikipedia
Full statewide ballot and county guides: Texas 2026 elections.
Wisconsin
Governor / Lieutenant Governor
Vote for oneOpen seat: Gov. Tony Evers is not running again. Governor and lieutenant governor are elected together as a ticket. Jamie Jo Carothers (Independent) is a registered write-in candidate for governor.
David Crowley / Sarah Godlewski
Seems like good people (best choice in this race) DemocratThe first Black county executive in Milwaukee County history, he worked with state lawmakers of both parties on the 2023 shared revenue overhaul that let the county raise its sales tax to cover pension costs. Godlewski was state treasurer before becoming secretary of state in 2023.
Sources: Wikipedia, Milwaukee County, Wikipedia
Tom Tiffany / David Varnam
Not good people RepublicanEndorsed by Donald Trump. He objected to certifying the 2020 presidential results and joined a brief backing a lawsuit to throw out certified returns in swing states, Wisconsin among them.
Sources: PBS Wisconsin, Wisconsin Watch, Wikipedia
Full statewide ballot and county guides: Wisconsin 2026 elections.