The 7 Key Governor Races to Watch in the Midterm Elections

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Amy Acton, Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate, speaks at a rally on April 28, 2026, in Cincinnati. —Jon Cherry—Getty Images As Election Day looms, much of the national focus is on whether Democrats will win control of Congress.

But in several states, the race for governor is among the tightest, and most consequential, races on the ballot.

The party in control of the White House typically fares poorly in midterm elections.

While that usually translates most clearly into losing congressional seats, true “wave” elections often lead to similar shifts in state governments as well.

Multiple states could see the party in the governor’s seat flip.

Voters in Ohio, Alaska, and Texas might end up electing their first Democratic governors in decades.

In Oregon, the reverse could pan out, with a Republican in contention to upend a Democrat’s hold on the office for the first time since 1982.

Read More: Republican Panic Sets In Over Prospects of a Massive Blue Wave Here are seven races for governor to watch on Election Day.

Ohio Ohio's governor's race was thrust into the national spotlight this week after Republican Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign released an ad featuring the estranged mother of his Democrat opponent Amy Acton.

Acton’s mother lost custody of Acton and her brother after their stepfather was arrested and indicted on a charge of raping Acton when she was a child.

The ad immediately drew widespread outrage, the latest twist in a race that Republicans had thought they were well positioned to win after Trump won the state by 11 points in 2024.

Many Republicans had been expected to vie to replace Gov.

Mike DeWine, who couldn’t run again because of term limits.