Year: 2026
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Incumbent Rep. Wesley Bell defeated four other candidates in the Democratic primary for Missouri's 1st Congressional District on Aug. 4, 2026
Incumbent Rep. Wesley Bell (D) defeated four other candidates in the Democratic primary for Missouri's 1st Congressional District on Aug. 4, 2026. Bell and Cori Bush (D) led in noteworthy endorsements and fundraising. At the time of the election, this primary was one of five in the 2026 election cycle in which a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives ran against an incumbent member. Bush represented…
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Rep. Cleo Fields becomes the 59th U.S. representative to announce he won’t seek re-election in 2026
Rep. Cleo Fields (D-La.) announced on July 21, 2026, that he will run in the special election for District 14 in the Louisiana Senate rather than for another term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Fields previously represented the district from 1988 to 1993, from 1997 to 2008, and from 2020 to 2025. According to…
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State lawmakers enacted 37 bills on ballot measures and direct democracy through mid-2026
States have enacted 37 bills and resolutions concerning the three powers of direct democracy in the U.S. — the ballot initiative, referendum, and recall election — in 2026, through Aug. 5, 2026. The average number of bills and resolutions enacted per year from 2018 to 2025 was 41. While most bills are adopted during the…
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Primaries and incumbent contests down in New Hampshire this year—record lows since 2010
In 2026, 25% of the state legislative incumbents running for election in New Hampshire will face primary contests, a record low since 2010. In total, 77 incumbents face contested primaries across the New Hampshire House and Senate. The average number of incumbents contested each year from 2010 to 2024 was 111. Sixteen of the contested…
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Two states have veto-proof majorities opposite their governor's party — that could change this year
Heading into the 2026 elections, there are two states with a governor of one party and a veto-proof state legislative majority of the opposing party: Kansas and Kentucky. At least one legislative chamber is up for election this year in both states, meaning their veto-proof majority status could change. Voters in Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina,…
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422 candidates, the second most since 2010, running in Missouri’s Aug. 4 state legislative primaries
Four hundred twenty-two candidates, the second most in any year since 2010, are running in Missouri’s Aug. 4 primaries. All 163 seats in the Missouri House of Representatives and 17 seats in the Missouri Senate are up for election this year. There are 62 open seats with no incumbent running for re-election. This is the…
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Signatures submitted for Colorado graduated income tax measure that competes with proposed income tax cap initiative
In Colorado, signatures were submitted to the secretary of state on August 3, 2026, for a ballot initiative to establish a graduated income tax. Known as Initiative 195, the measure would establish a six-tier structure for state income taxes, ranging from 3.7% to 8.4%, and remove the uniform tax rate requirement from the Taxpayer's Bill…