5 governor races to watch as 2026 takes shape

Gubernatorial races are creeping into the spotlight as attention turns toward 2026, when three dozen governors’ mansions will be up for grabs.

Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy made headlines this week when he jumped into Ohio’s gubernatorial race, snagging a major endorsement from President Trump. He’s among several firebrand allies gunning for governor, including in Florida and Arizona. 

Meanwhile, some blue states will see competitive primaries, as well. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) could face a bitter primary, while the primary to determine who could succeed term-limited Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) in California appears likely to turn competitive.

The midterm races will follow off-year gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia this fall. Here are some of the key contests to watch in 2026.

Ohio

Ramaswamy jumped into the Ohio race Monday, vying to succeed term-limited Gov. Mike DeWine (R) to take the helm of the Buckeye State. After pulling in some of Vice President Vance’s top advisers, Ramaswamy got an endorsement from Trump that experts say could be game-changing in the red state.

“I will lead Ohio to be the top state in the country where patriots across America actually flock to instead of Florida and Texas,” the biotech entrepreneur said in his kickoff event, after praising Trump and touting his efforts to get the president elected. 

Ramaswamy, who ran against Trump for the White House in 2024, was tapped to lead Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency alongside billionaire Elon Musk, but he departed the cost-cutting commission as he mulled a campaign. Musk also has endorsed the Republican firebrand. 

He’ll go up in the GOP primary against Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R), who has also stressed his alignment with Trump and holds the advantage of experience in elected office, plus long-standing political ties in the state. 

Amy Acton, a former Ohio health director, is running on the Democrats’ side. But the state that was once a bellwether has shifted redder in recent years, siding with Trump by 11 points last year.

California

Newsom, a Democratic attack dog long suspected of national ambitions, will be termed out in 2026, stoking questions about his next move and chatter about who could succeed him in the Golden State.

The spotlight is on former Vice President Kamala Harris, a former state attorney general and U.S. senator, and she’s scrambling the race without even signaling a bid. 

A survey from Emerson College Polling/Inside California Politics/The Hill found Harris was the runaway favorite among Democratic primary voters in a hypothetical gubernatorial test, with 57 percent support. 

In second place was former Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), who left the House to try for the Senate last year, with 9 percent support. Her backing jumped up to 21 percent without Harris in the mix. 

Meanwhile, Trump’s “special missions” envoy Richard Grenell has said he’d consider a bid if Harris gets in the race, arguing that would mean “a new day in California, and that the Republican actually has a shot.” 

But Harris, who has also been floated as a contender to try again for the White House in 2028, might have other plans — which could leave room for new names to surge into California’s open primary in the midterms. 

Florida

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) this week became the first major candidate to jump into the race to replace Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) as head of the Sunshine State. 

Donalds, who was floated in the GOP veepstakes last year, enters the race with Trump’s backing and promising early polling — and amid speculation that Florida first lady Casey DeSantis is considering a run.

Ron DeSantis, who is term-limited, has previously shrugged off the chatter. But he declined to endorse the congressman, who he said “just hasn’t been a part” of conservative wins in the state, and talked up his wife as someone who could take conservative principles “to the next level.”

The governor challenged Trump for the White House in 2024 and, though they have been mending fences as Trump returns to the Oval Office, tension between DeSantis and the MAGA wing of the GOP are on display as the race to succeed him heats up.

New York

Hochul faces a tough reelection fight in the Empire State as she weathers underwater approval ratings and legal battles with the Trump administration. 

Hochul’s Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado said this week he won’t seek reelection with her in 2026, prompting questions about whether he could challenge her for the seat. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), an outspoken Hochul critic, has also been floated as a potential primary threat. 

On the GOP side, Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) looks to be weighing a run, which could mean a general election hurdle for Hochul if she clears the primary. It would be an uphill fight for a Republican to take the helm of the solidly blue state, but after Trump made notable inroads in New York City this fall, some have sounded alarm that Democrats could lose more ground.

Hochul, who took office after the controversy-ridden resignation of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), has been in recent focus after she said she wouldn’t remove New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) amid scandal — and after she sparred with the White House over its rescinded approval of Manhattan’s congestion pricing plan.

Arizona

Another Trump-endorsed candidate, GOP businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson, jumped this month into the race for Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs’s seat in Arizona. 

It’s Robson’s second try for the Grand Canyon State governor’s mansion after she lost to Republican Kari Lake in the primary. Lake went on to lose to Hobbs in the general, but by a razor-thin margin of less than 1 percentage point — giving Republicans cause to hope for a possible pickup opportunity. 

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, has also kicked off a 2026 campaign, pledging to “Make Arizona Great Again,” in a nod to Trump’s slogan.

Meanwhile, Hobbs could also face a primary challenge from her party, with Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) reportedly mulling a run. 

Following the tight 2022 race, and as Democrats reckon with Trump’s sweep of the swing states last year, the Arizona race is expected to be among the most competitive in the country in 2026.