candidates 2026

Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton on running for Senate, raising four daughters, and why the dinner table is where policy gets real
The Illinois lieutenant governor won a competitive primary and is now on track to become just the sixth Black woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate.

She fought to save her mom’s life. Now Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen is running for re-election to fix the system that almost didn’t.
The Colorado congresswoman has spent her career fighting for mental health, addiction treatment, and working families. She’s also only the 13th voting member of Congress to give birth while serving.

She’s been a minister, a chaplain, and a state rep. Now Lindsay James is running for Congress to fight for Iowa families
The Dubuque Democrat, minister, and mom of two teenagers won the primary. Now she’s taking on a competitive open seat in northeast Iowa.

Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan has fought for paid leave, affordable childcare, and the minimum wage. Now she’s taking that fight to Washington
The Minnesota lieutenant governor and Ojibwe citizen is running to make history as the first Native American woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate — and she’s doing it one bedtime conversation at a time.

Dr. Jasmine Clark on running for Congress, raising teenagers, and why science belongs in the room where it happens
The Georgia microbiologist and state representative is running for Congress — and she’s doing it with a teenager at home, a PhD on her wall, and a jigsaw-puzzle approach to work-life balance.

JoAnna Mendoza on being a single mom, a Marine veteran, and a first-time congressional candidate in Southern Arizona
She grew up picking cotton in rural Arizona, served 20 years in the Marines, and came home to raise her son as a single mom by choice. Now she’s running to flip AZ-06.

Dr. Annie Andrews on running for Senate, raising three kids, and why every vote she’d cast is for America’s children
The South Carolina pediatrician is taking on Lindsey Graham — and doing it on a diet of protein bars, gas station snacks, and sheer maternal determination.

Lauren Babb Tomlinson on running for Congress with a 15-month-old at home
The Sacramento mom and first-time candidate is running for U.S. House in CA-06 — and she’s doing it without a trust fund or a political pedigree.