Welcome to the Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, Brew.
By: Lara Bonatesta
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Marsha Blackburn’s entrance into Tennessee gubernatorial election makes her the third U.S. senator to announce a 2026 gubernatorial bid
- Adding nuance to robust data: Ballotpedia Policy, by Leslie Graves, Ballotpedia Founder and CEO
- A look at what goes into the design of your ballot
Marsha Blackburn’s entrance into Tennessee gubernatorial election makes her the third U.S. senator to announce a 2026 gubernatorial bid
On Aug. 6, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) announced her bid for governor of Tennessee. Blackburn’s entrance in the race makes her the third sitting U.S. senator, along with Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), to announce a 2026 gubernatorial campaign.
Daily Brew readers may recall that Ballotpedia recently analyzed more than 100 years’ worth of data to get a sense of how senators fare when they run for governor and vice versa. This analysis spans from 1913 — when the ratification of the 17th Amendment established the direct election of senators — to the present day.
Here’s a brief look at the history of senators running for governor.
The number of senators running for governor in 2026 is the highest since 2010, when four sitting or former senators ran for their states’ governorships. Between 2010 and 2024, ten senators, including seven Republicans, two Democrats, and one independent, ran for governor. Of the 10, four won, four lost in the general election, and two lost in the primary.
Of the three states with senators running for governor in 2026, only Colorado has previously elected a senator to its governorship. Colorado elected Edwin Johnson (D) governor in 1954. Johnson served in the Senate from 1937 to 1955.
Alabama and Tennessee have never elected a U.S. senator to their respective governorships. Tuberville is the first senator to run for governor of Alabama. In Tennessee, one senator, Ross Bass (R), ran for governor in 1974 but lost in the primary.
Since 1914, 24 states have elected senators to their governorships, and only one state — New Jersey — has done so more than once. New Jersey has elected three senators to its governorship, most recently Jon Corzine (D) in 2005.
Twenty-six states have not elected a senator as governor. Of those, 18 have never had a senator run for the position.
On July 28, former North Carolina governor Roy Cooper (D) announced his bid for U.S. Senate, making him the first governor to announce a 2026 Senate candidacy. Check out our July 30 edition of the Daily Brew to learn more.
Click here to learn more about the results of U.S. senators running for governor.
Adding nuance to robust data: Ballotpedia Policy
Roughly one out of every two voters turns to Ballotpedia when it comes time to cast a ballot. Many of those visitors are looking for immediate, fact-based answers to a discrete group of fundamental questions: who and what is on their ballot, and where and when they can vote.
We’re pleased to perform this essential service and are constantly improving our means of gathering and delivering the robust information voters need to make informed, confident decisions.
However, another crucial layer of the robust information we offer focuses on some of the major public policy debates at the federal, state, and local levels of government.
Take the example of a state treasurer. In the 36 states where this is an elected office, a fair number of voters won’t understand what the treasurer does or why the candidates for that office are talking about certain policy issues, such as Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) investing.
We gather all the information on a topic together in one place, making it easy for anyone to read and understand. Then, we step aside and let the reader’s interest take over.
This allows Ballotpedia readers to go beyond information about statewide officers and their stances on issues such as ESG investing, education, and administrative agencies and regulations. For example, through our policy-focused encyclopedic content spanning multiple topics, readers can learn about ESG. They can learn what the key terms mean, dive into what history says about the policy through court rulings and timelines, and understand the relevant key arguments and policy proposals, all from the same balanced source.
This approach builds on the principles and practices we established for covering ballot measures.
Ballotpedia’s Policy director, Josh Altic, who for several years was the managing editor of our Ballot Measures coverage, said, “What we realized is that people who want to engage more meaningfully in politics need a better understanding of policy topics and how the underlying systems actually work.”
“We also saw that, just like with ballot measures, there was a real lack of sources that were well-organized, balanced, and comprehensive. People needed policy content that gives them the full picture — so when they’re done reading, they feel confident they’re not missing major arguments or key aspects of the topic.”
This comprehensive and neutral approach to public policy debates is atypical of what has traditionally defined public policy analysis, which usually features advocates making very informed, highly persuasive arguments for their particular point of view.
Our policy work extends beyond elected officials to include the bureaucracy — what’s also known as the administrative state. Our Administrative State portal is one of the most comprehensive free sources of administrative state information on the web, giving readers a central, convenient means to explore how government agencies develop and implement the rules and regulations that touch almost every aspect of our lives.
We also cover policy issues like school choice, which is increasingly becoming a major topic of public debate, and legislative and legal action in state capitals across the country.
Regardless of the topic, our policy coverage falls squarely within our larger effort to provide voters with the robust information they need to make informed choices at the ballot box. But it goes a step further, helping those same voters, and all our readers, understand the policy issues that arise from, and help shape, our political landscape.
As Josh said, “We’re giving our readers tangible proof of the importance of elections. The saying that elections have consequences is true, which makes it even more important for us to give voters the tools and information they need to understand what policies their local officials are debating, voting on, and enacting into law.”
Reader question for the week: What area or topic in public policy are you most passionate about? Reply to this email with your answer, and with your permission, we’ll share your answer on an upcoming episode of our podcast, On the Ballot.
A look at what goes into the design of your ballot
When voters look at their ballots, they might wonder why one candidate’s name appears above another.
Most states have laws or rules dictating how ballots must be designed, including the order in which candidates’ names appear, the order of the offices those candidates are running for, and how those candidates’ partisan affiliations are shown.
Candidate order
Here’s an overview of how candidates are listed on the ballot:
- Thirteen states and the District of Columbia randomly decide candidate order
- Eight states mandate that candidates be displayed in a specific order based on their party
- Eight states list candidates alphabetically
- Four states rotate the candidate order on different ballots depending on where voters are in the state, so each candidate is listed first roughly equally
- One state lists incumbents first
- One state lists candidates in the order in which they file
- Fifteen states use some combination of these methods
Does the order of candidates’ names on the ballot affect the outcome of an election? Researchers who have studied this haven’t found a definitive answer.
For example, a 2005 CALTECH/MIT Voting Technology Project study found “little systematic evidence that candidate voteshares benefit from being listed first on the ballot.”
In 2007, however, the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research published a study that found that “ballot order significantly affects the results of elections” and that candidates who were listed first were more likely to win the office.
More recently, a 2024 Sam Houston State University study found that ballot designs that give “the most advantageous ballot position to the currently prevailing political party” increase “the favored candidate’s vote share by two to three percentage points, enough to flip the result of roughly 1% of major elections nationwide.”
Office order
States also have different rules and laws dictating the order in which to display races for offices like president, U.S. Senate, and governor on the ballot.
- In every state, the president is the first elected office listed on the ballot.
- Thirty-one states list U.S. Senate as the second race on the ballot, or the first in a non-presidential election year. Eleven states list the governor as the second race.
- Eight states and the District of Columbia have no laws determining the order of offices on the ballot.
Political scientists have also studied whether voters are less likely to vote in races for offices listed further down the ballot, which are often referred to as downballot races. These races are typically for state and local offices, as well as for ballot measures. A University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire study found that “events that are likely to increase voter turnout, such as presidential races, hotly-contested races, and significant third-party candidates, appear to bring voters to the polls that are more likely to roll-off than more traditional party voters.” This means that voters are less likely to vote in downballot races if there is a high-profile election at the top.
Party labels
States also have different rules dictating how a candidate’s partisan affiliation appears on the ballot.
- Thirty states require a candidate’s party affiliation to immediately follow their name on the ballot.
- Fifteen states require candidates to be grouped or positioned on the ballot by party.
- Five states and the District of Columbia do not have laws determining how party affiliation appears on the ballot.
Click here to learn more about each state’s rules determining ballot order.