Race guides for the 2026 midterms

Questions readers ask

Short answers from the guides listed on this page. Party labels and ratings are not endorsements. Registration and voting rules are published by state and county election offices.

What races does this hub cover for 2026?

This hub lists 37 race guides for the 2026 midterms across 17 starter states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Texas, Florida, California, New York, Minnesota, Maine, Iowa, Alaska, and Kansas. The set is 9 Class 2 U.S. Senate guides (Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Texas, Minnesota, Maine, Iowa, Alaska, and Kansas), 16 governor guides (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Florida, California, New York, Texas, Minnesota, Maine, Iowa, Alaska, and Kansas), and 12 U.S. House guides (AZ-01, GA-07, MI-07, NC-01, NV-03, OH-09, PA-07, WI-03, TX-15, FL-13, CA-13, and NY-22). It is not a national list of every Senate, governor, or House contest. A House guide is an example district, not a district lookup. Local contests and the other House districts in these states are not covered in depth. The official ballot is published by that state’s election office. Sample-ballot sketches are linked from the state hubs.

Are party labels or ratings endorsements?

No. Party labels identify which ticket a candidate is reported on. They are not a recommendation. A rating appears on a guide only when a named outlet has published a placement we can link. Outlets cited in this set are Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and Decision Desk HQ. Each placement is a quotation of that outlet, with the date stored on the guide. It is not a Map the Midterms endorsement and not a forecast. Map the Midterms is an informational site. It is not a campaign.

Where do candidate names come from, and how current are they?

Candidate names and short bios are compiled from the sources cited on each guide. Guides name a 2026 candidate only when an election-office candidate list, certified ballot, certified results page, or the Clerk of the House nominee list includes that name. Those pages were checked October 15, October 16, or October 17, 2026. A page on this site is not a certification and not a call of the race. Other lines, when an election office lists them, are on the official ballot. Final names are published by the state election office linked from the state hub or the sample-ballot page. Vote.gov publishes state registration information.

Where do race guides link?

Each guide links to its state hub and to that state’s sample-ballot sketch. State hubs link to the official election office. The sample-ballot pages are sectioned sketches, not the ballot a county issues. When a guide has a published survey this site can cite, that survey is also on the polls hub, tagged to the same race. The results tracker is a separate page and does not certify winners. The ballot lookup opens the sketch for a starter state.

Does this site predict who will win?

No. Map the Midterms does not predict winners, average polls, or forecast control of the U.S. House, the U.S. Senate, or any governor’s office. Ratings stay attributed to the outlet that published them, even when the label says Tossup, Tilt, Lean, Likely, or Solid. Poll rows are individual published surveys. Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Nothing here becomes an official result until the state or county certifies the contest.

Is Map the Midterms an official election website?

No. Map the Midterms is an informational site. It is not a government, secretary of state, or county election website. Registration, sample ballots, districts, and voting rules are published by the state or county election office and by Vote.gov.

Ballot lookup · Polls and ratings · Results tracker · Vote.gov