
Incumbent Larry Rhoden defeated Toby Doeden in the Republican primary runoff for governor of South Dakota on July 28. The gubernatorial primary runoff was the first since South Dakota passed a 1985 law requiring a candidate to receive 35% of the vote to avoid a runoff. In the June 2, 2026, primary, Doeden received 31%…

In August 2026, Ballotpedia is tracking 4089 elections across 27 states. These include 15 statewide elections, two territory-wide elections, 517 special elections held to fill vacancies in 19 states, as well as one recall election in Oregon. Last month, Ballotpedia tracked 442 elections across 11 states. This included two statewide elections, 20 special elections, and…

So far this year, 43 state legislative incumbents—eight Democrats and 35 Republicans—have lost to primary challengers. Across the 14 states that have held primaries, 2.6% of incumbents running for re-election have lost, or 11.4% of the incumbents who were contested. That represents a 31% decrease from 2024 and sits 23% below the average of 56…

With the summer fast approaching, the electoral heat is also rising as more and more states will soon hold their primary elections. Sixteen states have statewide candidate filing deadlines in the next two weeks. The map above and bulleted list below show which states have candidate filing deadlines scheduled between May 23 and June 5.…

Arkansas, North Carolina, and Texas have their statewide primaries on March 3, kicking off the 2026 primary season. Generally, political parties use primary elections to determine their nominees in advance of a general election. In some cases, however, political parties can — or must — nominate candidates for the general election without conducting a primary.…