The top 5 races Black voters should watch in the 2026 midterms

From Texas to Georgia and Wisconsin, Black voters could play a major role in closely watched Senate and governor’s races.

The 2026 midterm election is nearly 30 days away, and Black voters have an opportunity to make or break dozens of races across the country.

There are approximately 35 million eligible Black voters in the United States, yet voter turnout has dipped in recent election cycles. Voting rights advocates and election organizers believe the upcoming Nov. 3 election could be different. Black Americans are feeling the negative impacts of job loss, major cuts to health care and education, as well as the rising costs of housing, food, gas, and other goods, as a result of policies coming from the Trump White House and the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress.

Most of all, for the first time since the Voting Rights Act was signed in 1965, Black voters have fewer protections from racial discrimination, creating a roadblock for them to elect candidates of their choice.

Stasha Rhodes, executive director at United for Democracy, tells theGrio that it brings a sense of urgency for Black voters as they decide who to cast their ballots for this November. Rhodes said they deserve elected leaders who will be “accountable to the people and capable of delivering for them.” She added, “We’re no longer pretending to be in a game with fair rules that acknowledges the existence of Black Americans, that supports and empowers our power. We want these leaders to go in with an eye toward change, and not policy change, but structural change.

As a guide for Black voters this election cycle, theGrio is highlighting the top races to watch ahead of Nov. 3. Take a look.

Texas U.S. Senate (Democrat James Talarico v. Republican Ken Paxton)

There is probably no race more closely watched than the U.S. Senate contest between Democratic nominee James Talarico and Republican nominee Ken Paxton.

For more than 35 years, Texas has elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate seat, but for the first time in decades, that could change as Talarico, a 37-year-old state representative, builds momentum in the Lone Star State.

Black voters stand to play a major role in the Texas election. At 4 million, Texas has more eligible Black voters than any other state. That is why Talarico has been heavily courting Black Texans to join his coalition.

“There is no way to win Texas without Black Texans, and there’s no way to effectively represent this state in the United States Senate without listening to and showing up for Black communities,” Talarico previously told theGrio.

Talarico is currently maintaining a small lead over Paxton, the current Texas Attorney General. For years, Paxton has been embroiled in controversy for alleged bribery, abuse of official office, and retaliation against whistleblowers. In 2023, Paxton was impeached by his own party in the Texas House of Representatives; however, he was later acquitted by the state Senate.

Talarico has made his campaign about taking on corruption in politics, pointing to Paxton and President Donald Trump as the poster children for a system that prioritizes the wealthy and self-enrichment over the needs of voters, most especially the most vulnerable: Black voters.

“We have an affordability crisis because we have a corruption crisis,” Talarico told theGrio. “We don’t have a government of, by, and for the people. We have a Government of, by, and for the billionaires. So this system is working exactly as it was intended to work.”

Georgia Governor (Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms v. Republican Rick Jackson)

Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms is seeking to make history in Georgia as the first Black woman elected governor in U.S. history.

Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, is banking on increased registration and mobilization of Black voters in her hometown city and surrounding areas to pull off a potentially historic win. However, the shifting politics of Georgia, driven by Black voter turnout, has helped elect Democratic U.S. Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, but it did not translate into the outcome of the 2022 gubernatorial election between Stacey Abrams and Governor Brian Kemp.

Bottoms is currently locked in a dead heat against Republican nominee Rick Jackson, a billionaire health care entrepreneur who has poured more than $100 million of his own money into the race. Nicknaming him “Slick Jackson,” Bottoms has pointed to Jackson’s wealth as an example of political corruption and has taken him to task for his nearly $1 billion taxpayer-funded contracts with the Georgia government.

Seizing on the growing unpopularity of President Donald Trump, Bottoms also called out Jackson for his repeated phrase that, as governor, he would be “just like Trump,” but instead with a “southern tongue.”

Bottoms is running to expand Medicaid in Georgia, which is one of only 10 states that have yet to do so, to lower health care costs. She’s also vowing to eliminate the state income tax for teachers and provide universal pre-K.

The Democratic nominee previously told theGrio that she will be a “fighter” for Georgia, arguing that defending the state and America’s democracy from the rich and powerful is what she is committed to doing.

“It may not be perfect, but I believe it’s still worth fighting for, and part of fighting for our democracy means fighting to maintain the integrity and the sanctity of our right to vote,” she said.

Illinois U.S. Senate (Democrat Juliana Stratton v. Republican Don Tracy)

The U.S. Senate race in Illinois could mark a historic moment for Black female representation, as Democratic nominee Juliana Stratton runs against Republican nominee Don Tracy.

If elected in November, Stratton, the current lieutenant governor, would become only the second Black woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Illinois and only the fifth Black woman elected to the Senate in the nation’s 250-year existence.

What’s more, if Stratton is elected, which is very likely in Illinois, a pretty solidly blue state, she would join U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland and Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware as the first three Black women to serve concurrently in the U.S. Senate. That number could grow if other Black women are successful, such as Angie Nixon, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Florida, and N’Kiyla “Jasmine” Thomas in Oklahoma.

Stratton has run a progressive campaign heavily focused on fighting back against President Trump and his policies, most notably his immigration policies that rocked her hometown, Chicago. She has even run an ad titled “F–k Trump.”

“We’re going along as if this is a normal president, a normal president that I say, is not even a normal person,” Stratton previously told theGrio of Trump. She is calling for Congress to abolish ICE and is a proponent of Medicare For All and raising the minimum wage to $25 an hour.

After Black and brown communities in Chicago suffered the impacts of Trump’s immigration enforcement, resulting in Black residents, who are U.S. citizens, being detained and racially profiled.

“We saw up close and personal people getting snatched off the streets by masked agents stuffed into unmarked vehicles. No due process, no warrants, nothing…they were terrorizing our community,” said Stratton. The Senate candidate said she would like to see federal agents and President Trump held accountable for actions she believes broke the law. She called on them to be “investigated and prosecuted.”

Wisconsin Governor (Democrat David Crowley v. Republican Tom Tiffany)

After a crowded and very messy primary victory that came after initially dropping out of the race only to jump back in days later, David Crowley could make history as the first Black governor in the state of Wisconsin.

The Democratic nominee and current Milwaukee County Executive is running against Republican nominee U.S. Congressman Tom Tiffany in a closely watched race that currently stands at a statistical tie. The outcome not only determines state leadership but also offers a bird’s-eye view of how voters in battleground states feel about the Republican Party led by President Trump, who won Wisconsin in the 2024 presidential election by just 1%.

Having grown up in Wisconsin’s poorest zip code, Crowley, 37, previously told theGrio that he is squarely focused on affordability and pushing agenda that focuses on the “future” of the state.

“I know that there’s so much more that we could be doing for working families, making sure that we’re tackling the affordability crisis, lowering utility prices, housing prices, creating greater access to childcare and to healthcare,” said Crowley. “We need a governor who’s going to be steady, who’s going to be responsible, who’s going to be focused on getting things done.”

Georgia U.S. Senate (Democrat Jon Ossoff v. Republican Mike Rogers)

U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff‘s re-election contest is one that is being closely watched by national media. Ossoff’s historic 2021 election was made possible because of the historic turnout of Black voters in Georgia, and he is hoping to replicate that winning formula in November.

Ossoff, 39, is the only Democratic U.S. Senator up for reelection in a state Trump won, which his campaign said makes it “the most important Senate race in the country.”

Senator Ossoff’s has often nationalized his race against Rogers, repeatedly calling out President Trump for what he decribes as “corruption” that is purposely designed to not work for “ordinary people.” He argues that Rogers, who inherited his father’s lucrative trucking business, is simply a “rubber stamp” for Trump’s pro-billionaire agenda.

“This fight isn’t just about politics. It isn’t just about one man or one party. It’s about power – who has it, and who our system serves,” Ossoff said in a campaign ad. “It isn’t just about one man or one party. It’s about power – who has it, and who our system serves. If we can break the grip of corruption, our politics can meet the people’s needs instead of serving the wealthy and powerful.”

Ossoff has also called out the Trump administration’s “overtly racist anti-diversity crusade,” and called out Trump’s Republican “allies” in the U.S. Supreme Court and state legislatures for gutting the U.S. Supreme Court and subsequently redrawing voting maps to dilute the political power of Black voters.

Ossoff also accused his opponent Mike Rogers of being a “known bigot,” calling out his praise of young men mocking a Black woman with monkey sounds on a college campus and voting to honor Confederate pro-slavery generals.

The Democratic nominee’s is also being closely watched as his national profile rises and insiders suggest he could be a solid candidate for U.S. president in 2028.