This Election Isn’t Just About the Presidency: Control of 12 State Governorships Is Also at Stake
Is Your State One of Them?
This year’s election contests aren’t just going to be a big day for the presidential race. There are numerous state and local officers up for election. Because we know just how important – perhaps even more so – these down-ballot races can be, we here at The New Civil rights Movement are breaking down the other races and what initiatives progressives should be paying attention to as they head to the ballot box on Tuesday.Â
In this article we look at the 12 states that have governor races.
Keep in mind, Republican governors currently control 34 states and territories, Democratic governors only 18.
North CarolinaÂ
There’s a good chance you know the names Pat McCrory and Roy Cooper.
McCrory is the incumbent, Republican governor who’s responsible for pushing and signing into law the horribly anti-LGBTQ (and more specifically, anti-trans) “bathroom bill†HB2 in one day. He’s lost his state hundreds of millions of dollars and recent polling puts him at a slight – not not major – disadvantage to his Democratic opponent, Roy Cooper.
Roy Cooper, for his part, has spoken against HB2 numerous times and has refused to defend it in court. Â
Indiana
If there’s any good to come from a Donald Trump candidacy, it was his choice of Indiana’s governor as a running mate, which got Mike Pence out of the office. Pence is the guy who helped push through Indiana’s so-called “religious libertyâ€/RFRA bill that enabled discrimination against LGBTQ people, among others. He also used HIV-research money for converstion therapy programs and more than a few other hits to the LGBTQ community. Suffice it to say he’s no ally.
Running to replace him are Democrat John Gregg and Republican Eric Holcomb. Gregg has branded himself as the LGBTQ-friendly alternative to Holcomb, though even his own record of acceptance is a bit rocky. However, Holcomb has long been branded as a close ally of Pence’s and has aligned himself with Pence’s old conservative allies.
MissouriÂ
Republican Eric Greitens, a former Navy Seal, is on the ballot against Democrat Chris Koster, the sitting Missouri Attorney General. This past year Missouri debated a very far-reaching “religious freedomâ€/bathroom bill. Both candidates oppose that bill, but in very different ways.Â
Greitens has said “people of faith are under attack in America†but also says bathroom access should be “handled by schools and families.†He has, however, repeated the oft-told lie that allowing transgender people to use the bathroom consistent with their gender identity would allow “grown men into little girls’ bathrooms.â€
Koster, for his part, has been very vocal on his support for LGBTQ people and families.Â
Delaware
Congressman John Carney (Democrat) and State Senator Colin Bonini (Republican) are vying for the business-centric state’s executive office. Carney endorsed marriage equality as a congressman back in 2013 while Bonini voted against it as a state legislator. The state is expected to remain solidly Democrat.
MontanaÂ
Democrat Steve Bullock is seeking re-election and is challenged by Republican Greg Gianforte. Gianforte hasn’t been very vocal about LGBTQ rights but Buzzfeed’s Dominic Holden uncovered past lobby efforts against LGBTQ rights and his foundation has donated more than $1.1 million to organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights. The latest polls have Bullock just about 2 points ahead of Gianforte.
New Hampshire
Colin Van Ostern (Democrat), Chris Sununu (Republican) are joined by a libertarian and two independents in the race for governor. Van Ostern has been vocal in his support for LGBTQ rights while Sununu has been noticeably silent.
North Dakota
Marvin Nelson, the Democratic former state legislator, is one of the few candidates we’ve seen in any governor’s race to explicitly state they are anti-discrimination on their campaign website. His opponent, Republican businessman Doug Burgum, describes himself as a small-government conservative. He’s also made it a point to say he’s not running on social issues.
When discussing the oil pipeline at Standing Rock, Nelson expressed sympathy with the Sioux Tribe while Burgum said the issue has presented a new opportunity for “dialogue.â€
OregonÂ
Democrats have controlled the state since 1987 and it seems this cylce will be no exception. Kate Brown, the incumbment, became governor about a year ago when her predecessor resigned. She’s the first openly bisexual governor in the US and has put non-discrimination and equality at the center of her campaign. Her opponent, Republican Bud Pierce, has stayed notably silent on LGBTQ rights, but he was forced to apologize after an offensive gaffe during a discussion of domestic violence during a recent debate.
Utah
Republican incumbent Gary Herbert is currently polling at 63% against Democract Mike Weinholtz virtually guaranteeing that only something drastic could endanger his chances of a clear win on Tuesday. For what it’s worth, Weinholtz has been a vocal supporter of LGBTQ equality.
VermontÂ
Both candidates, Sue Minter (D) and Phil Scott (R), have been noticeably silent on LGBTQ rights, though the state does have a legacy of equality and inclusion.
Washington
Jay Inslee, the current Democractic governor, is endorsed by numerous LGBTQ groups for his history of working for LGBTQ equality. His opponent, Republican Bill Bryant, has said LGBTQ people deserve protection from discrimination but inclusive bathroom laws “put the rights of one group over another.â€Â Inslee is currently polling at 50% against Bryant’s 40%.Â
West Virginia
The race to be the next govenor of West Viriginia may well be the strangest in the nation. Democrat Jim Justice is a billionaire coal baron who “promises to shake up the establishment.†He’s self-funded his campaign to the tune of $2.2 million dollars, but none of that seems to matter as West Virginia is one of Trump’s strongest states. His opponent, Republican Bill Cole, is currently up 44% to Justice’s 33%.
Cole has gone on record saying he’s against marriage equality while Justice says “the Supreme Court’s decision should be respected,†though he’s “for religious freedom without government interventionâ€.
 Â
Coming Saturday: A look at some of the key US Senate races to watch.
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Maine Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Graham Platner is under fire after releasing a video declaring that new allegations against him are false, yet he is “taking time to reflect” on a path forward.
Politico on Monday afternoon reported that a woman who dated Platner, Jenny Racicot, “says he forced her to have sex with him nearly five years ago despite her repeated objections, an allegation Platner denies.”
“Racicot said she had an on-and-off relationship with Platner,” Politico reported, “for more than two years before he entered her rural Maine home uninvited one night in late 2021, deeply intoxicated, and forced himself on her while she repeatedly told him to stop. She said she cut off contact with him after telling him the encounter was not consensual.”
In a video posted to social media eleven minutes after the Politico story dropped, Platner says, “I wanted to directly address the troubling, serious, and false allegations against me. Any accusation of nonconsensual behavior is categorically false.”
He said he and his supporters “were united in a love of Maine, a belief that our politics must change, in a focus on defeating Susan Collins.”
“So, regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful the political reality will inflict, we are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love, the people that I love, the movement I belong to, and the goal of defeating Susan Collins.”
“Those were the goals when we launched this campaign. And they remain my goals today.”
“Throughout it all, you never turned your back on me. And I will not turn my back on you now. Every one of you deserves to see that vision come to fruition and see Susan Collins defeated. And we will use every tool at our disposal to do so.”
The Bulwark’s Tim Miller, a political commentator who served as the communications director for the Jeb Bush 2016 presidential campaign, blasted Platner.
“I’m sorry but ‘we are taking time to reflect on the best path forward’ is not an option on the table,” Miller wrote. “Either it’s false and you campaign with vigor or it’s true and you get out / apologize to everyone you let down.”
Journalist Ryan Grim, commenting on Platner’s video, noted that Platner “strongly suggests he is considering dropping out. Already Troy Jackson and Chellie Pingree, both gubernatorial candidates, are being kicked around in Maine circles as potential replacements.”
Several others, including Puck News’ Peter Hamby, predicted Platner will be dropping out.
Platner had postponed several campaign events before the Politico story was published.
— Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) July 6, 2026
President Donald Trump is facing backlash after posting a video of children — including showing their unblurred faces — graduating from kindergarten, with some of the girls purportedly wearing hijabs.
“President Trump posted a captionless video of graduating kindergarteners on Truth Social on Monday, goading his supporters into verbally attacking little children simply for being Muslim,” The New Republic reported. “The clip is from Gateway STEM Academy, a majority-Black K-8 public charter school in St. Paul, Minnesota. It shows about 21 children in caps and gowns on stage singing a song together. Most of the girls are wearing hijabs.”
The original post of the video which Trump reposted reads: “Public school in St. Paul, Minnesota. Every girl is in a hijab … in kindergarten.”
Trump did not add any comments. TNR called the post “Islamophobic, weird, and creepy,” while noting that the comments section of Trump’s post was filled with calls “by racist, xenophobic MAGA supporters” to “deport the children and ban hijabs.”
TNR also noted that it “should come as no surprise that Trump isn’t above attacking children who just learned how to read, but this post is still particularly discomforting—and will certainly contribute to the already potent level of anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S. and in Minnesota.”
Critics blasted Trump.
“There is something deeply unsettling about the president of the United States—the most powerful person in the world—going after kindergarten schoolchildren in Minnesota because they wore hijabs, as Trump has done this morning on his website,” The Bulwark’s Sam Stein wrote.
One social media commentator wrote, “Trump posted an unblurred video of more than a dozen Muslim kindergartners to Truth Social, exposing the children’s faces while targeting them for their religion.”
Another added, “Trump is a bigot. The president took to Truth Social to attack kindergarteners in hijabs. These are little kids. The president isn’t just a bigot, he’s also a coward.”
The original video was posted to the X social media platform in June.
U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) at the time commented, “If you are in a public school in America, you should be speaking english.”
Image via Reuters
President Donald Trump’s apparent efforts to delay releasing the $5.8 million civil judgment to E. Jean Carroll are being met with a warning by the journalist’s legal team, who suggest there could be a legal maneuver for Trump to employ to forgo paying the judgment in either of the two cases he lost.
According to The Guardian, on July 4, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered Trump to release the $5.8 million judgment, which is in escrow, to Carroll by this coming Tuesday — or explain why he would not do so.
Carroll’s attorneys think Trump may be trying to buy time to mount another legal strategy, telling the judge that Trump’s request for an extension “appears to be little more than yet another play for time.”
“The case is separate from Trump’s appeal of a Manhattan civil jury’s 2024 award of $83.3m to Carroll for defamation,” The Guardian explains. “But her lawyers have suggested a legal scenario in which the president might seek to conjoin the cases and further delay payment of both.”
Carroll’s attorney Roberta Kaplan (no relation to the judge) wrote, “We can only assume that defendant is seeking … to buy time so he can try to concoct some new basis to put off paying plaintiff presumably in connection with his forthcoming petition and motion for a rehearing.”
Trump’s former attorney, Justin Smith, in one of his final acts, wrote to the Supreme Court suggesting that his client would be appealing the $83.3 million civil judgment.
Smith argued that the Supreme Court “may wish to consider the petitions together,” given they involve the same parties.
The larger judgment case involves possible questions of presidential immunity, and that has Carroll’s attorneys concerned.
“A conjoined case, Carroll’s lawyers fear, could result in both judgments being wiped out,” The Guardian reports.
The president has also made clear he is no fan of Judge Kaplan, after the jurist made several rulings that “angered” Trump.
“What else can you expect from a Trump Hating, Clinton appointed judge, who went out of his way to make sure that the result was as negative as it could possible be,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in 2023, “speaking to, and in control of, a jury from an anti-Trump area which is probably the worst place in the US for me to get a fair ‘trial’.”
Image via Reuters
Platner Scorched Over ‘Taking Time’ Video After New Accusation
Trump Sparks Fury Online After Posting Unblurred Video of Muslim Kindergartners in Hijabs
One Legal Maneuver Threatens to Undo Everything E. Jean Carroll Won
Inside the Group Helping MAGA Voters Walk Away — And What Finally Pushed Them
