The 20 Elections to Watch This April
Don’t miss a record-breaking supreme court race, mayoral contests all over the map, congressional special elections in Florida, and more.
A Democratic candidate who railed against Elon Musk and his spending cuts flipped an ancestrally Republican district in Pennsylvania’s state Senate on Tuesday, March 25. Democrats, who will now represent this area for the first time in at least four decades, hope that the same playbook can land them more downballot wins in coming weeks.
In April, a busy stretch of elections will continue testing how voters are responding to Musk’s parallel efforts to slash the federal government and boost Republican candidates. The billionaire Trump ally is pumping millions into Wisconsin’s high-profile supreme court race, and his super PAC is also spending in a pair of congressional races in Florida. His actions at DOGE have also become a campaign issue, as candidates face funding crises and public outcry over the prospect of public services collapsing and federal funds drying out.
Also on the menu in April: There are several mayoral contests in predominantly Black cities where Republican state officials have fought to preempt local policies, from Jackson, Mississippi, to St. Louis, Missouri. Wisconsinites could reshape education policy in their state with a statewide school superintendent race, in addition to dozens of local school board elections. And Barbara Lee, the progressive icon who served in the U.S. House for 27 years, is now attempting a comeback in Oakland.
Below, Bolts guides you through 20 elections to watch this month.
Our guide starts this Tuesday—April 1—with the elections in Wisconsin, Florida, and Mississippi, plus races in Alaska, Illinois, and Nebraska. Then, watch local elections in St. Louis and San Diego on April 8 and Oakland on April 15, and legislative races in Mississippi on April 15 and Connecticut on April 22. Be sure to return to this page after each Election Day as we update it with results.
And note that this guide is not an exhaustive list of all elections in April—there are hundreds of municipal and school board races in Illinois and Wisconsin alone—but our selection of some of the important elections to monitor, and why they matter. More may be added as elections come into focus.
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Statewide races
April 1: Wisconsin supreme court
| Two years after liberals flipped Wisconsin’s supreme court and then struck down GOP gerrymanders, conservatives have a chance to flip it back: A liberal justice is retiring this year, and the result will determine which side controls the court. The race is breaking judicial spending records, fueled by heavy involvement from billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk on behalf of Brad Schimel, a former Republican attorney general. Schimel faces Susan Crawford, a local judge who is running with Democratic support. Read more in Bolts’ preview of the race. Abortion and labor rights have loomed large because the court is set to decide the fate of restrictions on abortion and on collective bargaining, but the race may also decide major election law issues such as the availability of ballot drop boxes. |
| Result: Susan Crawford wins the race. |
April 1: Wisconsin schools superintendent
| Superintendent of Public Instruction Jill Underly, who is backed by the state teachers’ union, is running for reelection against Brittany Kinser, who has worked as a local executive for a national network of charter schools. (The race is ostensibly nonpartisan, but Underly is backed by Democrats, and Kinser by Republicans.) The candidates have clashed over public funding for private schools, with Underly denouncing private school vouchers as a “privatization scheme.” Kinser, meanwhile, has joined GOP lawmakers in criticizing new testing standards that Underly rolled out last year as setting too low a bar. A third candidate, a Democrat critical of Underly, lost in the February primary. |
| Result: Jill Underly wins. |
Congressional races
April 1: Florida’s First and Sixth districts
| The first federal elections of Trump’s new presidency are upon us, with two congressional races: one triggered by the resignation of Matt Gaetz during his ill-fated nomination for U.S. Attorney General, and the other by the resignation of Michael Waltz, who became U.S. National Security Advisor and is currently embroiled in controversy over inviting a journalist to a group chat to discuss military plans. The GOP is reportedly concerned as the Democratic nominees have worked to capitalize on anger toward the new administration, raising eye-popping amounts of money from small donors nationwide. Both elections are being waged in very Republican terrain: Trump carried FL-01 and FL-06 last fall by 37 and 30 percentage points, respectively. For context, the reddest district currently held by a Democrat, in Maine, went for Trump by less than 10 points. Still, watch the margins for signs of partisan movement; Democrats have done well so far in 2025 in specials for state legislative seats. |
| Result: The GOP defends both FL-01 and FL-06, winning the former by 15 percentage points and the latter by 14 percentage points. |
Ballot measure
April 1: Wisconsin Measure on Voter ID
| Wisconsin has long had stringent rules on requiring photo IDs at the polls, blocking thousands from casting ballots. But Republicans this year said they were worried that state courts could strike down these rules, as Bolts reported, and they put a measure on the ballot to enshrine them in the state constitution. The measure wouldn’t change the status quo but would make it much harder to ever roll back the state’s strict voter ID rules. Democrats have complained that Republicans chose to schedule this referendum for April 1 in an attempt to drive up turnout among their base for the supreme court election that was already scheduled for that day. The candidates in that race have a long record on voter ID: The liberal candidate, Crawford, helped lead a lawsuit against it in court a decade ago, while the conservative, Schimel, has praised the rules for clinching the state for Trump. |
| Result: The ‘yes’ wins. |
County executives
April 1: Dane County, Wisconsin
| After winning a special election last fall to lead Dane County, which is home to Madison, Melissa Agard is now seeking a full term. While the race is ostensibly nonpartisan, Agard is a former Democratic lawmaker while the local GOP supports challenger Stephen Ratzlaff (although Ratzlaff says he is an independent). Agard says she wants to make the local government a “safety net” for residents to provide the sort of public services that are threatened by the Trump administration’s massive funding cuts, while Ratzlaff is proposing further cuts to local human services. Ratzlaff is also taking issue with some of the local sanctuary policies and wants officials to collaborate with ICE more closely. |
| Result: Melissa Agard wins. |
April 1: Winnebago County, Wisconsin
| This swing county within a swing state is electing its chief executive—and while the race is ostensibly nonpartisan, the partisan lines are clear. Joe Doemel, the first-term incumbent executive, has the support of the local GOP. Challenger Gordon Hintz is a former Democratic lawmaker who served as the state House’s minority leader earlier this decade. The campaign has captured the impact of the DOGE cuts on local governments as the candidates are scrambling to answer how they will make up cuts to federal grants and to Medicaid funding. |
| Result: Gordon Hintz wins. |
Mayors
April 1: Omaha, Nebraska
| As she seeks a fourth mayoral term, Republican Jean Stothert faces a crowded field of challengers. They include Mike McDonnell, a former state senator who switched parties to join the GOP last year and is now running on ramping up policing with the support of the local police union, and two Democrats, Douglas County Treasurer John Ewing and criminal justice reform advocate Jasmine Harris. The April 1 primary will decide which two candidates move on to the May runoff, and tensions are high as the Democrats have blamed the state Democratic Party for seemingly favoring McDonnell over them. |
| Result: Stothert and Ewing will face off in a runoff in May. |
April 1 and 22: Jackson, Mississippi
| Chokwe Antar Lumumba, a self-described socialist whose left-wing politics put him on the national map, has been mayor of Jackson since 2017. But he is running for a third term this spring under the cloud of federal corruption charges that were unveiled last fall; the indictment alleges that Lumumba accepted bribes in exchange for favors on a development deal. Lumumba faces no less than 11 challengers in the April 1 Democratic primary, which is likely to decide the election in this staunch blue city. The election is taking place as state officials keep trying to preempt self-governance in this majority-Black city, and Mississippi Today reports that the candidates disagree on how much of the blame for that dynamic can be put on the local leadership. |
| Result: On April 1, Chokwe Antar Lumumba and John Horhn advanced to a runoff. On April 22, Horhn won the runoff. |
April 1: Aurora, Illinois
| Aurora, the second most populous city in Illinois after Chicago, is electing its mayor. Incumbent Richard Irvin, a former Republican candidate for governor who has aligned himself with Trump, faces a challenge from alderperson and frequent critic John Laesch. Among their disagreements: Laesch says he supports adopting a local sanctuary ordinance to help protect immigrant residents from the Trump administration. |
| Result: John Laesch wins. |
April 1: Evanston, Illinois
| Daniel Biss, the progressive mayor of Evanston, Chicago’s northern suburb, was once of J. B. Pritzker’s main opponents in Pritzker’s march to the Illinois governorship. But the two have become allies and Pritzker is supporting Biss’ reelection bid this spring. Biss faces Jeff Boarini. The candidates’ positions on upzoning and development have been major issues in the race, echoing some of the housing debates that have agitated national Democrats in recent weeks. |
| Result: Dan Biss wins. |
April 8: St Louis, Missouri
| Mayor Tishaura Jones faces tough odds against challenger Cara Spencer, who received twice as much support as the incumbent in the March primary. Jones and Spencer already faced off four years ago, when both ran on promoting alternatives to policing and closing the city’s notorious Workhouse jail, though Jones went further in her reform promises. (Bolts reported last year on community planning around the future of the Workhouse complex after it closed under Jones.) Since then, Missouri’s GOP leaders have repeatedly cracked down on St. Louis, including this month with a bill to end local control over its police department; the candidates are clashing over whether Jones could have done more to appease state officials, a dynamic that mirrors the debates in Jackson’s mayoral race (see above). |
| Result: Cara Spencer wins. |
April 15: Oakland, California
| Oaklanders in November ousted several left-leaning officials, including Mayor Sheng Thao, as their critics charged that they were responsible for increased crime in the city. Now voters are choosing Thao’s replacement. One of the frontrunners is Barbara Lee, the former U.S. representative and staunch progressive, who says she’ll explore a basic universal income program for homeless residents while advocating for more policing. Her chief opponent Loren Taylor, a former member of Oakland’s city council, says he wants to create a new police unit for property and retail crime, expand police surveillance, and take a more aggressive approach to encampment sweeps, Oaklandside reports. |
| Result: Barbara Lee wins. |
Legislative races
April 15: Mississippi
| Democrats have enjoyed some large swings in their favor in the 14 legislative races that have taken place so far in 2025, and they’re eager to continue those gains. April hosts two legislative specials, according to Ballotpedia’s calendar. On April 15, voters in Mississippi’s 18th Senate district will replace Republican Jenifer Branning, who was elected to the state supreme court in November. This is a very conservative area and the leading candidates are both Republican (the race is ostensibly nonpartisan). |
| Result: Republican Lane Taylor wins. |
April 22: Connecticut
| Then, on April 22, Democrat Michael Duncan and Republican Amy Romano will face off in Connecticut’s 113th House district. This GOP-held seat is one of the reddest districts in all of Connecticut, and Democrats didn’t even field a candidate in the last two cycles. (The Downballot calculates that Trump won the district 55 to 43 percent in November.) Note: Since the publication of this guide, two additional special elections have been scheduled for April 29 in Iowa‘s 78th House district to replace a Democrat and in Minnesota‘s 6th Senate district to replace a Republican. |
| Result: Amy Romano wins by 5 percentage points. |
City council
April 8: Rolla, Missouri
| Members of the LGBTQ+ community in Rolla, Missouri, have spoken up recently against recent efforts by city councilors to restrict their rights, including through censorship at the local library, proposed restrictions on drag performances, and an effort to stop a Pride Parade. Three of these councilors are up for reelection on April 8, including the incumbent who proposed restricting drag performances. Two of the three also sided with the majority in a 6-5 vote earlier this year that started the process of ending fluoridation of the city’s water. Each faces an opponent backed by the local group LGBTQ+ Rolla. |
| Result: The challengers win against the three incumbents (in Wards 1, 2, and 6). |
County board
April 8: San Diego Board of Supervisors
| Democrats lost their majority in the local government of the nation’s fifth most populous county, San Diego County, when the chair of the Board of Supervisors unexpectedly resigned in January. This has left the county board equally divided between the two parties, stymying Democratic efforts to ramp up local protections for immigrants in the face of the Trump administration’s crackdown. The special election to replace Chair Nora Vargas begins in April, with seven candidates vying for her seat. But if no candidate receives more than 50 percent, then the election will head to a July runoff that will keep the seat vacant and the board tied for months longer. |
| Result: Stay tuned after the April 8 election. |
School boards
April 1: Anchorage, Alaska
| A school board candidate posted “Ban trans kids” on social media, among other statements in which he endorses right-wing positions on LGBTQ rights and other issues. Alexander Rosales is challenging Anchorage school board member Margo Bellamy. That’s one of two school board elections taking place in Anchorage. In a separate race, challenger Mark Anthony Cox also talks about his opposition to inclusive policies for trans kids, though he has distanced himself from Rosales’ rhetoric. Cox faces board member Kelly Lessens. These two elections are taking place in the context of budget crises for Anchorage schools. The incumbents, Margo Bellamy and Kelly Lessons, have pressured the state government to increase funding for public schools, while their two challengers, Rosales and Cox, have proposed deeper cuts and want to condition state funding on performance. |
| Result: Bellamy and Lessons, the incumbents, win. |
April 1: Kenosha and Green Bay, Wisconsin
| Conservatives in recent years have tried to gain ground in Wisconsin school boards and push policies like restricting LGBTQ-themed books in school libraries. Some of the focus on these elections has quieted this year. In Eau Claire, for instance, incumbent school board members received death threats three years ago for supporting LGBTQ rights but managed to defeat a slate of right-wing candidates; this year, they’re running for reelection unopposed. Still, watch the cities of Green Bay and Kenosha: They have the two biggest school districts with multiple school board seats at play. While each of their boards has more members who’ve won with Democratic support, they’ve grabbed attention recently for more conservative decisions that included Kenosha’s choice to remove some LGBTQ-themed books from the local library, and Green Bay’s choice to remove DEI language from job descriptions. Democrats and Republicans are supporting competing slates of candidates in both places. |
| Result: Democratic-backed candidates win both seats in Kenosha, and two of three seats in Green Bay. |