Midterms 2026 are one month out, and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. The ballot includes governor races with Black nominees in eight states, Senate contests with Black nominees and a long list of ballot measures on how people register, vote and are treated in the criminal justice system.

Here is what to watch, using only candidates and measures we could confirm are on the ballot. Before anything else, check your status with our midterms 2026 voter checklist, which covers registration deadlines and what to bring to the polls.

Midterms 2026: the governor races making history

Only three Black Americans have been elected governor in U.S. history, all men and all Democrats, including Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, PBS News reports. This year, PBS counted eight Black major-party nominees for governor on November ballots. Two are women, which means November could produce the first Black woman ever elected governor.

Recent polling and results in three of these races:

• Georgia. A Rasmussen Reports poll taken Sept. 14 had Republican Rick Jackson at 48 percent and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms at 45 percent, within the margin of error, with 7 percent undecided, TheGrio reports. The two are expected at an October town hall.
• Nevada. An Emerson College poll from Sept. 5 to 8 had Attorney General Aaron Ford at 44 percent and Gov. Joe Lombardo at 42 percent, with 11 percent undecided.
• Wisconsin. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley won his primary by less than a point and would become Wisconsin’s first Black governor, PBS News reports. He faces Rep. Tom Tiffany, who has President Trump’s endorsement.

In South Carolina, state Rep. Jermaine Johnson won the Democratic nomination without a runoff and faces Attorney General Alan Wilson in a state where Republicans have dominated statewide races, per PBS News. In Michigan, Rep. John James, a Black Republican, faces Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson for an open seat. Black Republicans are also on the ticket in Florida, where Rep. Byron Donalds is the nominee, and Minnesota, where Lisa Demuth takes on Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

Senate races with Black nominees

• Illinois: Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton beat two sitting House members in the March primary for retiring Sen. Dick Durbin’s seat. She faces Republican Don Tracy, PBS News reports.
• New Jersey: Sen. Cory Booker is seeking reelection against Republican Justin Murphy.
• Mississippi: District Attorney Scott Colom, the first Black person elected top prosecutor in his north Mississippi district, is challenging Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. Army veteran Ty Pinkins is also running as an independent. Forecasters rate the seat safely Republican, but Colom has outraised Hyde-Smith in two fundraising quarters, Mississippi Today reports.
• Florida: State Rep. Angie Nixon of Jacksonville won the Democratic nomination on Aug. 18 over Alex Vindman, who had outraised her by more than 16 to 1. She faces Sen. Ashley Moody, News4Jax reports.

The maps: who gets represented in the House

After the Supreme Court’s April ruling in Louisiana v. Callais weakened the Voting Rights Act, Louisiana lawmakers passed a new congressional map that cuts the state’s majority-Black districts from two to one, PBS News reports. Rep. Cleo Fields’ district was redrawn around mostly white communities.

Missouri went the other way, at least for now. The state’s 2025 map was designed to make it harder for Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City to win reelection. After more than 300,000 people signed a referendum petition, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that voters will decide the map’s fate on Nov. 3, and the 2022 map stays in use for this election, KCUR reports. Missouri voters should read that question slowly.

Ballot measures Black voters should read closely

Voters in 40 states will decide 164 statewide measures this year, the most of the 21st century, according to a Ballotpedia analysis. Here are the ones most tied to voting access and criminal justice.

Voter ID. Ballotpedia counts voter ID measures in seven states, the most ever in a single year. According to VoteRiders, they include:

• Arizona: ID for mail voters, and fewer accepted forms of ID
• California: government-issued ID for in-person voting
• Colorado: ID numbers with mail ballots
• Nevada: photo ID in person, ID numbers on mail ballots
• North Carolina and Ohio: voter ID written into the state constitution

Citizenship. Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, South Dakota and West Virginia will vote on measures saying only U.S. citizens may vote, per Ballotpedia News. Federal law already bars noncitizens from voting in federal elections, so read each measure to see what, if anything, it would change in your state.

Registration. Massachusetts voters will decide Question 4, which would let people register and vote on Election Day, NBC Boston reports.

Bail and policing. Indiana, Louisiana and Tennessee have measures restricting bail, and Missouri voters will decide whether to require elected sheriffs in most counties, Stateline reports. Bail rules affect who waits for trial at home and who waits in jail, so these are worth a close read.

Your one-month game plan

• This week: Confirm your registration and polling place on your state election office website.
• Get your ID ready: If you need a birth certificate or new ID, start now. Offices get busy in October.
• Preview your ballot: Look up a sample ballot so you are not reading measures for the first time in the booth.
• Make a plan with your people: Early voting, mail ballot or Election Day, pick one and put it on the calendar.

Midterms 2026 will decide governors, senators and rules that last long after the ads stop. Share this list with the group chat, and make sure everybody you love has a plan.