6 overlooked midterm races Black voters should be watching

Several contests across the South and beyond feature Black candidates seeking to make history on Nov. 3.

There are many races to watch in this midterm election, particularly those where Black voters can tip the scales. While some races have gained significant national media attention and institutional support from political groups, others are flying under the radar.

In this round-up of races, mostly across the South, theGrio spotlights the midterm election contests that are most overlooked but where Black voters have a chance to have their voices heard and where some Black candidates have an opportunity to make electoral history.

Here are six overlooked races we think Black voters should be closely watching ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

Florida U.S. Senate – (Democrat Angie Nixon v. Republican Ashley Moody)

After shocking the Democratic establishment in the primary election, Florida U.S. Senate Democratic nominee Angie Nixon‘s national profile has been rising, but it hasn’t been matched by the kind of financial and political backing most Democratic nominees have typically received in years past.

The 42-year-old Florida state representative is challenging Republican U.S. Senator Ashley Moody for her appointed seat, which became vacant after President Trump tapped Marco Rubio as U.S. Secretary of State. Nixon’s affiliation with the Democratic Socialists of America has become a major focus in the race, particularly among conservatives.

Vice President JD Vance recently said the Democrat “doesn’t belong in America,” to which Nixon replied, “The most ordinary man imaginable came to my home state to tell me to ‘get out of America’ while he & Absent Ashley enjoyed the comfort of buildings my ancestors helped build.”

Nixon previously told theGrio that she doesn’t ascribe to labels, and had only recently joined DSA in support of some of its policy platform; however, she noted she is also a member of the Working Families Party.

“This political moment shouldn’t be defined by labels because it really should be defined by people’s needs,” she explained to theGrio. “I joined these organizations because they care about the needs of people. They want to make sure that people have the most basic rights, which are access to quality healthcare, access to quality housing, access to universal child care, and a very good public education.”

If elected, Nixon would make history as the first Black American elected to the U.S. Senate from Florida. While she faces an uphill battle in a state that hasn’t elected a Democratic senator since 2012, Nixon told theGrio that regardless of the lack of financial backing, “As someone who is a former single parent, I know how to make a dollar stretch. And so I’m gonna make it do what it do.”

Mississippi U.S. Senate (Democrat Scott Colom v. Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith)

U.S. Senate Democratic nominee Scott Colom hopes to do what no Black American has done in Mississippi since 1870. If successful in November, the state district attorney would become the first Black senator from Mississippi since the Reconstruction era.

Mississippi is rarely at play for Democrats in statewide elections. But in the race for the U.S. Senate, Colom is closing in on Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (as close as 6 points) in a state that President Donald Trump carried by 21 points in the 2024 presidential election.

Colom sees Mississippi as the sleeping giant of the 2026 midterm elections, telling theGrio that as he travels across the state, voters are sharing their frustrations with the cost of living. The Democrat says Trump and Hyde-Smith have “betrayed” the state in exchange for enriching themselves and their allies.

“They promised lower grocery prices. Grocery prices are higher. They promised no more endless wars. Well, we’re in another war with no end in sight, costing each and every one of us in Mississippi at the gas station,” he told theGrio.

The 43-year-old Democrat says that, as a result of the Republican Party’s signature budget and lax law, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act–which made historic cuts to Medicaid–200,000 Mississippians lost their health insurance, and another 100,000 are expected to lose insurance in 2027.

If elected to the U.S. Senate, Colom vowed to work with other members of Congress to end Trump’s tariff policies that have driven up costs for businesses and consumers, and to end the president’s war in Iran, which is driving up gas and oil costs.

On whether the national Democratic Party is doing enough to support his campaign, Colom told the Grio, “I think everybody can do more.”

He explained, “They have to understand that Mississippi matters. You look at the math in Mississippi; it makes sense that you have to compete in a state like this, with such a high percentage of African Americans and a percentage of white voters that vote Democrat.” Colom added, “For me, it’s my job to make the argument to make the case.”

Kentucky U.S. Senate (Democrat Charles Booker v. Republican Andy Barr)

The seat of longtime U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell will be vacant after more than 40 years, as he is set to retire when his term ends next year. U.S. Rep. Andy Barr is seeking to take the seat in the traditionally Republican state, but Democratic nominee Charles Booker is hoping to flip the seat for the first time since 1992.

Booker previously ran for U.S. Senate in 2022, but was defeated by U.S. Senator Rand Paul. However, this time, Booker believes the tide is changing in the Bluegrass State as voters grow frustrated with the cost of living under the second Trump presidency.

“I believe that winning this race is not only something that Kentuckians need; the country needs to see us win this way,” Booker told theGrio.

The self-identified preacher’s kid said his childhood experience of poverty in one of Kentucky’s poorest zip codes, and in a majority-Black community, has given him a lens into the best path forward in a country that is struggling with two crises he knows well: lacking affordability and racial inequality.

“It gave me an appreciation for struggles that transcend,” said Booker, a 41-year-old former Kentucky State Representative, said of his upbringing in Louisville as a multi-generation descendant of enslaved Black Kentuckians.

Booker slammed Trump and Republicans, like McConnell, for voting to make historic cuts to health care subsidies, resulting in the looming closures of Kentucky hospitals, the war in Iran, and Trump’s tariff policies that are driving up the cost of gas, utilities, home mortgages, groceries, and everyday goods and services.

Though Trump won the state of Kentucky in the 2024 presidential election by more than 30% against Kamala Harris, Booker tells theGrio he believes those voters “know that things can’t go on this way.”

“This moment gives us the chance to bring people together, and we can’t miss it,” he said.

South Carolina Governor (Democrat Jermaine Johnson v. Republican Alan Wilson)

South Carolina has not elected a Democratic governor since 1998, and Jermaine Johnson is hoping to break that decades-long losing streak for Democrats in the Palmetto State. The 41-year-old former professional basketball player and state lawmaker would become South Carolina’s first Black governor if elected in November, telling theGrio that his victory could usher in a “new America.”

Johnson is running against former South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson in November’s general election.

Johnson is framing his candidacy as someone who will, unlike Republicans, refuse to “carry the White House’s water,” telling theGrio, “I’m here to do what’s right for the people of South Carolina.”

While The Cook Political Report has marked South Carolina’s governor’s race as solid Republican, Johnson isn’t listening to conventional political wisdom. The Democratic candidate says he is feeling good about his chances due to turnout trends during the primary election, in which he garnered more votes than his Democratic opponents and the top two Republican candidates. 

Johnson said he’s met voters of all ages who said they registered to vote just to support his campaign. The Democrat also touted that 31,000 newly registered voters cast their ballots in June.

As a nod to South Carolina’s Black voters, the Democratic National Committee recently selected the state to lead the 2028 Democratic presidential primary election cycle. Black voters will be critical to Johnson’s chances of winning in South Carolina. He said his candidacy is meaningful for Black South Carolinians, who especially see themselves in him.

“They can see what’s possible. They can see the hope. They can see the future, and that’s why a lot of elder African Americans in South Carolina are protecting me with everything they have,” he told theGrio. Ultimately, he believes all kinds of South Carolinians will support his campaign for governor, declaring, “They want to see something different, and I’m just proud to be on this ride with them.”

Oklahoma U.S. Senate (Democrat N’Kiyla Jasmine Thomas v. Republican Kevin Hern)

N’Kiyla Jasmine Thomas is running as the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Oklahoma against Republican nominee U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern. The two will face off on Nov. 3 to fill the vacant seat left by Markwayne Mullin, who was nominated by Trump to be U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security.

Thomas brings a unique background as a Senate candidate. She is a nurse, active-duty military spouse, and mother to a child with autism. And as a multiracial woman, she is Black, Native American, and white; she aims to bring a coalition of communities to victory in November. If elected, she would become the first Black woman from Oklahoma to be elected to the U.S. Senate.

“Being on that spectrum and on that diaspora of being a woman, being Black, being Native, and even being white, shows that I can understand every part of what an Oklahoman is coming through,” Thomas told theGrio.

The progressive Democrat says Trump and the Republican Party’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act is critically hurting Oklahomans, many of whom make less than $85,000. “We’re all one paycheck away from losing it all,” she said. “This was a self-serving, fulfilling interest, so they could line their pockets with the corporation money that they’re bought out by, by Kevin Hern.”

Thomas said of her candidacy, “When people know that you actually walk their walk and not just talk their talk, they’re going to believe in something bigger than themselves.” She added, “This campaign is not about me; it’s about we.”

Nevada Governor (Democrat Aaron Ford v. Republican Joe Lombardo)

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford is challenging incumbent Joe Lombardo to be the next governor of Nevada, where the cost of living has been a central issue for the Silver State, which is one of the nation’s top state economies.

Ford, who would become Nevada’s first Black governor if elected, is running on cutting costs and has been on a “Stuff Costs Too Much” tour, in which he is talking with Nevadans from all walks of life, including students, union leaders, workers, small business owners, and undecided voters. Ford says he will lead Nevada out of what he has described as the “failed Lombardo-Trump economy.”

“Nevadans need a Governor who will stand up to Trump and his cost-raising agenda, not bow down to his every whim. Lombardo clearly isn’t up to the task, but that’s the Governor I’ll be,” Ford has previously said.

Ford’s campaign notes that the average Nevada family has paid $3,300 more for goods and services as a result of Trump’s policies and Governor Lombardo’s inability to intervene. The campaign has particularly called out Lombardo for saying he is unable to “control” the affordability crisis impacting Nevadans and even complaining that he doesn’t “get paid very much” despite a $182,000 salary as governor and just under $200,000 in retirement from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department–in a state where the average resident earns just under $60,000.

Ford also points out that, as governor, Lombardo blocked legislation to lower housing costs, expand paid family leave, guarantee free school meals, and cap prescription drug costs. If elected, Ford promises to declare a state of emergency on costs on his first day in office.

“We’ll stop utilities and insurance companies from jacking up prices. And we’ll get serious about lowering costs,” Ford says in a campaign ad. “That’s the kind of Governor you deserve.”