| Now that the 2025 election is over, the 2026 election cycle begins.
We list some early retirement announcements below, for House incumbents retiring to run for other offices.
We also list "hot races": early candidacy announcements of serious challengers to House incumbents who are not retiring.
This list is disproportionately long on the Republican side -- which gives Democrats many more openings for re-atking the House majority. But most of these are "safe" seats; the "open" seats are more likely to "flip".
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Democratic incumbent / District / Candidates |
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Republican incumbent / District / Candidates |
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Source: State Legislation.
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Gubernatorial and Mayoral Results: Nov. 4, 2025
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Democratic candidates came out ahead in most races this November (on the left below), which is typical for when Republicans hold federal power (GOP results on the right below).
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Who Won? |
Jersey City Mayor (Runoff Dec. 2)
 Jim McGreevey, former Democratic N.J. Governor (2002-2004)
- James Solomon, city councilor (since 2017)
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Who Lost? |
New Jersey Governor (R)
- Jack Ciattarelli, State Assemblyman (2011-2018), nominee for governor (2021)
NYC Mayor (R) and (I)
- Curtis Sliwa, Republican; CEO of the Guardian Angels
- Andrew Cuomo, Independent, former governor of New York, 2011-2021.
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Source: See additional Gubernatorial races and Mayoral races .
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Two special elections for House: Sept. 9-23, 2025
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Two Democratic House members replace two deceased Democratic House members
Two special elections in September both elected Democrats (and hence no change in the House partisan balance).
- VA-11-D James Walkinshaw (elected Sept. 9) replacing deceased Gerry Connolly (D)
- AZ-7-D Adelita Grijalva (elected Sept. 23) replacing deceased Raul Grijalva (D)
Two previous special elections in 2025 also had no effect on the partisan balance, which is currently at 219 Republicans to 213 Democrats:
- FL-1-R Jimmy Patronis (elected April 1) replacing resigning Matt Gaetz (R)
- FL-6-R Randy Fine (elected April 1) replacing Mike Waltz (R) appointed to NSA
Two more special elections are scheduled for late 2025; but the partisan balance will likely not change until the November 2026 general election:
- TX-18-D Sylvester Turner deceased March 5; election Nov. 4
- TN-7-R Mark Green resigned July 20; ; election Dec. 2
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Source: House of Representatives.
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Mass shooting in Mineapolis: August 27, 2025
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New House members gun control/gun rights legislation
On Aug. 27, a mass shooting killed two children, and injured 18 others, at a Minneapolis Catholic School. After mass shootings, there is a call for new legislation. We survey past state legislation: addressing mass shootings has been an active topic across dozens of states for decades. Generally, the parties believe:
- Democrats support fewer guns via new restrictions on the most deadly or untraceable weapons.
- Republicans support more guns in the hands of good guys, as defense against guns in the hands of bad guys.
However, look at the party affiiliations below for numerous exceptions among both Democrats and Republicans -- indicating that these are "votes of conscience" much more than partisan votes.
OnTheIssues digs up past state legislative voting records when covering new candidates -- all of the records below are for newly-seated U.S. House members or Senate/Governor candidates in the previous election cycle.
OnTheIssues supports non-publication of the mass shooter's name, since one of the stated goals of the Minneapolis shooter was notoriety.
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Source: State Legislation.
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Sunday Talk Shows: July 20 - Aug. 10, 2025
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OnTheIssues excerpts the Sunday pundit shows as candidates prepare for the 2026 Senate and Gubernatorial races, as well as some 2025 Mayoral raceas and Cabinet members.
Currently, five separate "talking head" programs appear on five different TV stations every Sunday morning.
Recent sample excerpts below, for all five shows, citing their respective interviewing pundits and each pundit's political affiliation:
- ABC This Week: 9 AM - 10 AM EST: (George Stephanopoulos & Martha Raddatz; liberal)
- CNN "State of the Union": 9 AM - 1 PM EST: (Dana Bash & Jake Tapper; moderate liberal)
- Fox News Sunday: 9 AM EST; plus other pundit shows: (Shannon Bream & Sean Hannity; conservative)
- NBC Meet the Press: 9 AM EST; rebroadcast 4 AM Monday: (Kristen Welker; moderate)
- CBS Face the Nation: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM EST(Margaret Brennan; moderate)
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Democrat interviews |
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Republican interviews |
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Source: See additional Gubernatorial races and Cabinet members.
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Elon Musk breaks with Trump: June 28-July 20, 2025
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Issue coverage of Musk and The America Party (if it forms)
Elon Musk has entered electoral politics, so OnTheIssues.org will now cover his issue stances.
A rough timeline of the "Trump-Musk fued" and the birth of the America Party:
- Jan. 20: Appointed head of DOGE, Department of Government Efficiency
- May 30: Musk formally leaves DOGE to return to CEO role.
- June 5: Musk proposes "The America Party" targeting swing districts.
- June 28: Musk criticizes the "Big Beautiful Bill," Trump's landmark accomplishment.
- July 1: Musk offers to finance re-election campaign Rep. Thomas Massie who opposed the BBB.
- July 4: Trump considers deporting Musk (who was born in South Africa but is a naturalized U.S. citizen)
- July 20: Bloomberg News reports that "Tesla, SpaceX and xAI are struggling to deal with the fallout from Musk's Trump feud"
- Elon Musk sometimes agrees with Trump on the issues, and sometimes disagrees; a sampling:
Issues where Elon Musk disagrees with Donald Trump:
- New York Sun: I just don't want America to go bankrupt
- Politico: Defends H-1B program bringing in high-skilled immigrants
- Vox.com: Opposed Trump pulling out of Paris climate agreement
- The Mercury News Supported reforming cannabis criminal penalties
- Fox News: Opposed bill raising taxes on new wind and solar projects
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Issues where Elon Musk agrees with Donald Trump:
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Source: Full coverage of the Elon Musk's issue stances.
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Democratic primary for NYC Mayor: June 14 - 24, 2025
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General election for NYC Mayor cmoing November 4
The Democratic primary for NYC mayor will take place on June 24 (early voting began on June 14).
There is no Republican primary for mayor because only one candidate remained on the ballot (there is a Republican primary for City Council).
The Democratic primary will be decided by "ranked choice voting":
each voter ranks up to five candidates on a scale from 1 to 5; the vote transfers to the next-ranked candidate as each candidate is knocked out of the race.
- Andrew Cuomo (D): The former Cabinet Secretary resigned as Governor after a scandal in 2021. This mayoral race is his attempt at a comeback after his resignation.
- Zohran Mamdani (D): Member of the State Legislature and self-defined as "Pro-Palestinian" and "anti-Zionism", but claims he is not anti-Semitic.
- Curtis Sliwa (R): The founder of the Guardian Angels, an NYC vigilante group, was nominated as the Republican nominee (for the November election) when the other contenders withdrew.
- Eric Adams (I): The incumbent mayor was elected as a Democrat in 2021, but switched to Independent to avoid the Democratic primary and go straight to the November election.
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Source: mayoral contenders issue coverage.
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Upcoming Gubernatorial and Mayoral Primaries: May 31, 2025
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Only two states hold gubernatorial primaries in odd-numbered years (NJ and VA) -- all major candidates linked below.
Many cities hold mayoral races in odd-numbered years -- we cover three below (NYC, Jersey City, and Oakland CA)
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Democratic Races |
New Jersey Governor (D)
Virginia Governor (D)
Democratic June 17 primary cancelled; general election Nov. 4:
- Abigail Spanberger, U.S.Rep., VA-7 (2019-2024); Dem. nominee 2025
- Levar Stoney, VA Secretary of the Commonwealth (2014-2016);
(withdrew to run for Lt. Gov.)
NYC Mayor (D)
Democratic primary June 24, 2025:
- Adrienne Adams, speaker of the City Council
- Andrew Cuomo, former governor of New York, 2011-2021.
- Brad Lander, city comptroller since 2022.
- Zohran Mamdani, state Assemblyman District 36
- Zellnor Myrie, state Senator District 20
- Jessica Ramos, state Senator District 13
- Scott Stringer city comptroller, 2014-2022; candidate for mayor 2021
Oakland CA Mayor (D winner)
Non-partisan special election April 14, 2025:
- Barbara Lee, U.S.Rep CA-12 (1998-2025)
- Loren Taylor, Oakland City Council (2019-2023), lost general election
- Sheng Thao, Oakland Mayor, lost recall election Nov. 5, 2024
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Republican Races |
New Jersey Governor (R)
Republican primary June 10, 2025:
- Jon Bramnick, State Senator (2022-present); Assembly Minority Leader (2012-2022)
- Jack Ciattarelli, State Assemblyman (2011-2018), nominee for governor (2021)
- Edward Durr, State Senator 3rd district (2022-2024); withdrew and endorsed Bill Spadea
- Mario Kranjac, former mayor of Englewood Cliffs (2016-2024)
- Bill Spadea, nominee for NJ-12 congressional district in 2004
Virginia Governor (R)
Republican June 17 primary cancelled; general election Nov. 4:
- Winsome Earle-Sears, Lt. Gov. since 2022; GOP nominee 2025
- Amanda Chase, State Senate District 11 (2016-2023); failed to make ballot
- Dave LaRock, House of Delegates District 33 (2014-2023); failed to make ballot
- Denver Riggleman, U.S.Rep. (R-VA-5); exploratory committee as Independent
- Merle Rutledge, freelance investigative reporter; failed to make ballot
- Glenn Youngkin, Incumbent Governor , (2022-2025), term-limited
NYC Mayor (R) and (I)
Republican June 24 primary cancelled; general election Nov. 4:
- Eric Adams, incumbent Democratic mayor running as an independent
- Jim Walden, Independent; Former assistant U.S. Attorney
- Curtis Sliwa, Republican; CEO of the Guardian Angels
Jersey City Mayor (Non-partisan)
Non-partisan general election Nov. 4:
- Mussab Ali, former president of the Jersey City Board of Education
- Bill O'Dea, Hudson County commissioner (since 1997)
- Jim McGreevey, former N.J. Governor (2002-2004)
- James Solomon, city councilor (since 2017)
- Joyce Watterman, president of the Jersey City Council (since 2023)
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Source: See additional Gubernatorial races and Mayoral races .
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State of the State Speeches: March - April 2025
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Excerpts from Governor's late State of the State addresses
| Governors' State of the State addresses finish up in March and April.
As with the early SOTS round, we highlight differences between the "left" and "right" stances on key issues -- with Democrat-vs-Republican indicated whether they're on the left or the right, and a non-partisan concluding set of quotes....
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| Left-leaning stance | Description of the stances | Right-leaning stance |
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Gov. Tim Walz (DFL, MN): April 23:
Close loopholes the wealthy use to avoid paying taxes |
Cut tax loopholes or cut taxes? |
Gov. Kevin Stitt (R, OK): Feb. 3:
Cut incomes taxes now, follow a path to zero income tax |
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Gov. Mike DeWine (D, OH): March 12:
Encourage employers to hire ex-offenders after incarceration |
Rehabilitation vs. incarceratrion? |
Gov. Greg Abbott (R, TX): Feb. 2:
Deny bail to violent criminals & illegal immigrants |
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Gov. JB Pritzker (D, IL): Feb. 19:
Authoritarians say blame people who don't look like you |
DEI: Promote it or ban it? |
Gov. Mike Braun (R, IN): Jan. 29:
Replaced political DEI ideology with MEI based on merit |
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Gov. Josh Stein (D, NC): March 12:
We need to put our public dollars toward our public schools |
Fund public schools or fund school choice? |
Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R, AK): Jan. 28:
School choice is public schools, not private schools |
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Gov. Janet Mills (D, ME): Jan. 28:
It's the government's responsibility to prevent gun violence |
More gun laws or more guns? |
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R, FL): March 4:
A Second Amendment summer for the purchases of firearms |
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Gov. Bob Ferguson (D, WA): Jan. 15:
Looking for strategies for protecting reproductive freedom |
Reproductive rights or reproductive alternatives? |
Gov. Mike Kehoe (R, MO): Jan. 28:
Support alternatives to abortion with $4M in new funding |
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Gov. Mark Gordon (R, WY): Jan. 15:
Increase Medicaid funding to providers of OB services |
Increase or cut Medicaid? |
Gov. Tate Reeves (R, MS): Jan. 29:
Now is the worst possible time to expand Medicaid |
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Gov. Josh Shapiro (D, PA): Feb. 4:
Legalized cannabis will bring in $1.3 billion in new revenue |
Focus drug topic on legalization or punishment? |
Gov. Mike Kehoe (R, MO): Jan. 28:
Charge fentanyl dealer with first degree murder if user dies |
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We found one topic on which governors expressed a bipartisan consensus: banning cellphones in schools.
This was deemed an important enough topic to get into at least 13 State of the State addresses that we found
(Janet Mills and JB Pritzker and 7 other governors too, not listed below).
Presumably that means it will become law this year -- certainly at the state level and perhaps at the federal level.
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D, MI): Feb. 26:
Let's pass bipartisan legislation to limit phones in class |
Ban cell phones in school classrooms? |
Gov. Kay Ivey (R, AL): Feb. 5:
Supports a bill to put a ban on cell phones in schools |
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Gov. Matt Meyer (D, DE): April 10:
Work to get cell phones out of classrooms |
Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R, WV): Feb. 12:
Allow schools to ban cell phones in the classroom |
Source: See additional State of the State speeches.
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State of the Union, March 5, 2025 |
President's Trump's address
to Joint Session of Congress:
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Democratic Response, March 5, 2025 |
Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI-8)
Democratic Party response:
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Source: See additional SOTU excertps and Trump's previous SOTU .
Reproduction of material from any OnTheIssues.org pages without written permission is
prohibited. Copyright
1999-2025 by Jesse Gordon, OnTheIssues.org , all rights reserved.
OnTheIssues.org 1770 Massachusetts Ave. #630, Cambridge MA 02140
E-mail: submit@OnTheIssues.org, Jesse Gordon, editor-in-chief
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