The 40 Elections to Watch This September
It’s already the final primaries of 2026—and we are watching elections in six states.
The 2026 primaries are reaching the end: The four remaining states that have yet to hold theirs are taking center stage in September.
A pair of statewide elections—Seth Moulton’s challenge to Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey, and Helena Foulkes’ challenge to Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee—are likely to draw the most eyeballs, but there are plenty of downballot races to watch.
Most notably, Democratic primaries will determine the balance of power within three state legislatures. In Massachusetts, progressive challengers are taking aim at lawmakers who have opposed recent laws expanding abortion rights. In Rhode Island, the roles are mostly flipped, with progressive insurgents who won in past cycles battling to keep their seats. In Delaware, the left is targeting five Democrats who sided with a deregulatory bill championed by Elon Musk.
Also on September’s menu: New Hampshire voters will decide primaries for open congressional seats. A Delaware advocate wants to oust the state attorney general he has repeatedly sued. Massachusetts will settle contentious primaries for prosecutor. And voters in a Missouri city will decide whether to recall a city official who supported a data center.
It’s all in Bolts’ guide to the 40 elections to watch in September, below.
The month starts on Sept. 1 with primaries in Massachusetts, plus a Missouri recall. Then, New Hampshire holds its primaries on Tuesday, Sept. 8, followed by Rhode Island the following day, on Wednesday, Sept. 9. On Sept. 15, Delaware is hosting the final primaries of 2026; plus, school bonds are on the ballot in New Jersey.
Return on and after each Election Day; we’ll update this page as the results are known.
As always, this guide is just our selection of races to monitor, those with striking stakes, and not an exhaustive list of all elections in September.
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September 1: Massachusetts and Missouri
FEderal Government
U.S. Senate
| Massachusetts Dem primary Ed Markey is in the same place he was six years ago, when he faced Joe Kennedy, a high-profile, younger, and more moderate challenger. Markey, who defeated Kennedy by 11 points, chose to seek reelection at age 80, and he now faces U.S. Representative Seth Moulton, who is the nation’s latest Democrat to run on a call of generational change. Their face-off has clear ideological fault lines: Markey is one of the most left-leaning senators and a frequent legislative partner to Squad members like Massachusetts’ Ayanna Presley, who supports him. (Elizabeth Warren, the state’s other senator, does as well.) Moulton, who ran a struggling presidential campaign in 2020 and often criticizes progressives, for instance on trans rights, has support from the moderate wing. | ||
| Result: Stay tuned after Sept. 1. | ||
U.S. House
| Massachusetts’ 1st and 8th districts Dem primaries Two longtime Democratic congressmembers, Richard Neal and Stephen Lynch, face challenges from their left. That’s a dynamic they’ve each survived before against higher-profile opponents, though progressive candidates are performing well this summer. In the 1st District, in Western Massachusetts, Neal faces high school teacher Jeromie Whalen, who was a toddler when Neal first won this seat 36 years ago. In the 8th District, in the eastern part of the state, 25-year incumbent Lynch faces voting rights attorney Patrick Roath, who is taking issue with some of the instances in which Lynch broke with his party—most notably, his notorious vote against the Affordable Care Act under President Barack Obama. Lynch also faces criticism from some constituents for not doing enough to fight President Trump’s agenda. | ||
| Result: Stay tuned after Sept. 1. | ||
| Massachusetts’ 6th District Dem primary Seth Moulton’s decision to run for Senate has sparked a crowded race to replace him, with the winner of this Democratic primary very likely to go on to Congress. Dan Koh, a former staffer in the Biden White House, has drawn heavy establishment endorsements and national support, including from Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. He faces five Democrats, including John Beccia, a first-time candidate who is using his own fortune to fuel his bid, and state Representative Tram Nguyen, who is endorsed by Progressive Mass, a group that backs left-leaning candidates. | ||
| Result: Stay tuned after Sept. 1. | ||
State Governments
Governors
| Massachusetts GOP primary Mike Minogue, a wealthy businessman, spent heavily in 2024 to help Trump get elected. Now he wants to bring his MAGA politics to one of the nation’s bluest states, a tough sell against incumbent Democrat Maura Healey. Minogue romped at the GOP convention in May but he still faces Brian Shortsleeve, a man who emerged from the more moderate wing of the Republican Party but is now running a hard-line campaign that includes ending state protections for immigrants. Healey has criticized ICE and recently signed into law new immigration protections; but Bolts has also reported that, under Healey, Massachusetts is the only blue state with a state agency that contracts with ICE’s 287(g) program, and the new law she just signed allows that partnership to continue. | ||
| Result: Stay tuned after Sept. 1. | ||
Other state officials
| Massachusetts: Three seats on the Governor’s Council Dem primaries An elected seven-member body called the Governor’s Council must confirm a Massachusetts governor’s nominees for judge, parole board and other state bodies. And while the council has approved nearly all nominees in recent history, a contentious fight this year may signal a new era: After Governor Maura Healey named prosecutor Vincent DeMore to join the state’s parole board, the council in May voted 4 to 3 against confirmation, with opponents arguing the board was skewed toward people with law enforcement backgrounds. Two of the four councilors who opposed DeMore now face a primary challenger. In District 8, in Western Massachusetts, Councilor Tara Jacobs faces Mike Fenton, who told WAMC he disagrees with the incumbent’s vote. In District 3, in the Boston region, Councilor Mara Dolan faces Margie Palladino, founder of the organization Mass Family Advocacy Coalition. Dolan is a public defender who won a seat in 2024 while vowing to demand more progressive appointments. She voted against DeMore, telling Bolts that she has seen many incarcerated people be denied parole even though they are rehabilitated and that she did not trust that DeMore would be sufficiently open to granting people release. Palladino says she is challenging Dolan because of her support for Mary Ferriter, another Healey nominee—this time to a judgeship. Palladino and other domestic violence advocates denounced Ferriter because she ran a court-designed program in which some survivors were mandated to take a class with their abuser. Palladino told Bolts she did not understand why Dolan listened to “concerns raised by prisoners’ rights advocates” against DeMore but not to the “serious concerns raised by survivors and domestic violence experts” against Ferriter; she said she did not know how she’d have voted on DeMore because she does not have access to all the materials council members received as part of his nomination. Dolan responded to Palladino’s criticism of Ferriter’s confirmation by saying she “did of course listen to the concerns voiced by the advocates” and that this is an issue she takes very seriously “as a survivor of intimate survivor violence myself.” She says she determined after vetting Ferriter that she was “superb” and “compassionate.” Also watch District 6. Councilor Terrence Kennedy, a moderate who voted to approve nearly all appointments made by Republican Governor Charlie Baker and voted in favor of DeMore, faces immigration attorney Diann Slavit Baylis. (Baylis did not return a request for comment.) | ||
| Result: Stay tuned after Sept. 1. | ||
State legislatures
| Massachusetts: Two Senate districts Dem primaries Boston Mayor Michele Wu has clashed with the Massachusetts legislature over parts of her agenda that required legislative approval, most notably her proposal to shift some property taxes from homeowners to commercial properties. Now, Wu is looking for revenge against two Democratic senators who foiled her: Nick Collins and William Brownsberger. Wu has endorsed primary challengers Latoya Gayle and Daniel Lander against Collins and Brownsberger, respectively. Gayle and Lander also have the support of left-leaning organizations like the Working Families Party and Progressive Mass. (These state senate districts are known as the First Suffolk District, and the Suffolk and Middlesex District.) | ||
| Result: Stay tuned after Sept. 1. | ||
| Massachusetts: Seven House districts Dem primary Incumbent Jeffrey Turco, a former Trump supporter, is facing a more progressive challenger, paramedic LeeAllen Meyer, in the Democratic primary for the 19th Suffolk District. Turco this summer attacked the state’s new law lifting certain restrictions on abortion as “barbaric.” Other Democratic representatives who have opposed abortion rights legislation—either the law that passed this summer, or a 2020 law that codified abortion access in the state—also face primary challengers. They include Francisco Paulino, who faces Celina Reyes in the 16th Essex District; Bud Williams, who faces Nicole Coakley and Johnnie McKnight in the 11th Hampden District; and Angelo Puppolo, who faces Michael Lachenmeyer in the 12th Hampden District. These primaries are part of a broader, and longstanding, power struggle between moderates and left-wing insurgents in the Massachusetts legislature. Lachenmeyer, for instance, has been active in various left-leaning groups, while Puppolo has frustrated progressives with his votes opposing the millionaire’s tax, and against a bill allowing trans people to use bathrooms that match their gender identity. The organization Progressive Mass is backing challengers in the four districts above—Lachenmeyer, Meyer, Reyes, and McKnight. Plus, they hope to oust two other Democratic incumbents: John Lawn, who faces Newton city councilor Alison Leary in the 10th Middlesex District, and Marjorie Decker, who faces a rematch against organizer Evan MacKay in the Cambridge area in the 25th Middlesex District. Inversely, at least one Democrat in the House’s left-wing is on the defensive. In the 18th Middlesex District, Tara Hong, a 26-year old progressive who ousted an incumbent in 2024, now faces a challenge from Sokhary Chau, Lowell City Councilor. Chau in 2022 became the first Cambodian American mayor in the U.S.; he says he is better equipped to get along with legislative leaders and members across the legislature. | ||
| Result: Stay tuned after Sept. 1. | ||
Local Governments
City official
| Independence, Missouri Recall The local pushback against the construction of data centers is hitting Independence, Missouri’s fifth most populous city. The city council earlier this year approved a large data center and gave a 90 percent tax abatement to the tech company planning to build it. Voters already ousted two of the councilors who approved the deal in April; but not every council member was on the ballot then. So opponents of the data center also launched a recall petition against Councilor John Perkins. McKenna Cobb, a resident behind the recall effort, called her effort “the opportunity to have a vessel for that frustration, and to organize and demand better.” Organizers collected enough signatures to force this recall vote, though supporters of Perkins are still suing to knock it off the ballot. | ||
| Result: Stay tuned after Sept. 1. | ||
Prosecutors
| Middlesex County, Massachusetts Dem primary Over more than a decade in office, Middlesex County DA Marian Ryan has occasionally aligned with progressives and broken ranks with other DAs who were fighting proposed criminal justice reforms. Her challenger David Solet, a former prosecutor in her office, says she is not attentive enough toward victims, and argues that she should be pressuring lawmakers to make it easier to keep defendants accused of serious crimes in jail pretrial. Solet is backed by many police unions; some of the tensions between Ryan and local police stem from her decision to maintain a far more extensive watchlist of police officers accused of misconduct than other state DAs. | ||
| Result: Stay tuned after Sept. 1. | ||
| Norfolk County, Massachusetts Dem primary The conversations around this open DA race have centered on high-profile cases, most notably the retrial of Karen Read, who was found not guilty of murdering her boyfriend last year, and outgoing DA Michael Morrissey’s decision to initially treat the death of a 23-year-old pregnant woman as a suicide, before federal law enforcement arrested and charged a local police officer of strangling her to death. Seven Democrats are now running to replace Morrissey, who is retiring, and debating just where they think the DA went wrong in those cases. The field includes several career prosecutors such as Greg Connor, who was part of the office’s leadership until he resigned to run; Adam Deitch, a former federal prosecutor who investigated how the county handled the Read case and who has attacked Morrissey for being too deferential to local law enforcement; and Jim Barakat, a public defender making the progressive case for systemic reforms to lower incarceration. “What happened in those cases happens in every single case I’ve had my hands on,” Barakat said at a recent forum. | ||
| Result: Stay tuned after Sept. 1. | ||
| Suffolk County, Massachusetts Dem primary Once one of the more recognizable reform prosecutors in the country, Rachael Rollins resigned as Boston’s DA in 2021 to become U.S. Attorney under President Joe Biden; Kevin Hayden was appointed to replace her, and then defeated a progressive challenger to keep his post in 2022. Months later, Rollins resigned as U.S. Attorney over allegations that she had abused her power to swing the election for Hayden’s challenger; Hayden was also found to have violated ethics rules in that campaign. That deeply personal history is now on the ballot as Rollins runs to win her seat back from Hayden. But the fault lines on policy and ideology are harder to parse than they were four years ago. Michelle Wu, Boston’s progressive mayor, tried to oust Hayden in 2022 but now she has endorsed him. Rollins says she would make changes to hold police more accountable and she is also attacking Hayden for losing the trust of local police. Over his tenure, Hayden made high-profile decisions related to local police, including not prosecuting some police officers for use of force and, earlier this year, charging a police officer for killing an unarmed man. Police unions are now supporting the third candidate in the race: Linda Champion, a former prosecutor in the office who says both of her opponents have displayed failed leadership. | ||
| Result: Stay tuned after Sept. 1. | ||
September 8 and 9: New Hampshire (on the 8th) and Rhode Island (on the 9th)
FEderal Government
U.S. Senate
| New Hampshire Dem and GOP primaries Democrat Jeanne Shaheen’s retirement after nearly two decades has left an open seat, one that’s a must-win for Democrats if they hope to flip the Senate. But first, both parties are choosing their nominees. Chris Pappas, who has represented half the state in the House since 2019, is the heavy favorite on the Democratic side but faces a candidate to his left in Karishma Manzur. The GOP frontrunner is John Sununu, a former senator who is mounting a comeback 18 years after being ousted by Shaheen in 2008. GOP leaders hope his family ties—he’s the brother and son of former governors—help him contest a state that has grown reliably Democratic in federal elections. Still, he first faces Scott Brown, the short-lived senator from Massachusetts who then moved to New Hampshire and narrowly lost to Shaheen in 2014. | ||
| Result: Stay tuned after Sept. 8. | ||
U.S. House
| New Hampshire’s 1st District Dem and GOP primaries Pappas, the incumbent, is running for Senate and both parties are choosing their nominees to replace him. On the GOP side, Trump chose to support Anthony DiLorenzo, an autodealer who is using his own fortune to campaign, even though DiLorenzo was being attacked by opponent Hollie Noveletsky, a state representative, for not being sufficiently devoted to the MAGA cause. A close attachment to Trump could be a problem for either candidate in a district the president narrowly lost two years ago. On the Democratic side, Stefany Shaheen, daughter of U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, faces Maura Sullivan, a former vice-chair of the state party. Both have the backing of establishment heavy-hitters and extensive financial support from outside groups. Also running is Carleigh Beriont, chair of the Hampton Select Board, who is running on the progressive lane; in late August, state Representative Heath Howard dropped out of the race and endorsed Beriont, saying she wanted to avoid splitting left-leaning votes. | ||
| Result: Stay tuned after Sept. 8. | ||
State Governments
Governor
| Rhode Island Dem primary Governor Dan McKee barely survived the Democratic primary for governor four years ago, eking out a win with just 33 percent, compared to 30 percent for his closest rival, Helena Foulkes. Foulkes, a former executive at CVS, is now seeking a rematch. She is challenging McKee’s governing competence, with a focus on voters’ frustration over the abrupt shutdown of the state’s Washington Bridge that happened on his watch, with critics questioning whether lapses by his administration led to structural issues that triggered the shutdown. McKee, meanwhile, has attacked Foulkes for her ties to the pharmaceutical industry. The state’s progressive wing backed its own candidate in the 2022 primary, but not this year. If McKee loses, it would be the first primary defeat for a sitting governor since 2018. | ||
| Result: Stay tuned after Sept. 9. | ||
State legislatures
| Rhode Island Senate: Districts 5, 15, 16, 36 Dem primaries Rhode Island’s Democratic Party leadership is one of the nation’s most moderate, but local progressives have made gains in recent cycles. Those gains are in play this summer, and a group called the League of R.I. Businesses is looking to oust some progressive lawmakers. In the state Senate, Bolts is watching the reelection bids of four progressive senators who’ve frequently clashed with the chamber’s leadership, Sam Bell in District 5, Meghan Kallman in District 15, Jonathon Acosta in District 16, and Alana DiMario in District 36. These lawmakers have been among a crew of Democrats who have repeatedly challenged the chamber’s leaders, angered that they were blocking reforms like stricter greenhouse gas emissions limits, higher taxes for the wealthy, or expanded access to abortion. | ||
| Result: Stay tuned after Sept. 9. | ||
| Rhode Island House: Districts 9 and 61 Dem primaries It’s a similar story in Rhode Island’s House, where progressive insurgents who came into office earlier this decade are now battling to keep their seats. Watch the reelection bids of Enrique Sanchez in District 9 and Leonela Felix in District 61. Both ousted more centrist incumbents to enter the House, and now face challengers of their own; Sanchez is up against Santos Javier, and Felix is set to face Mark Theroux. Bolts reported in 2022 how Felix has emphasized her experience with incarceration—she was convicted and jailed over a drug-related felony—as central to her job as lawmaker. Interestingly, her twin sister Gena is now running for a legislative seat as well; she is challenging state Senator Lori Urso in District 8 with the backing of the Rhode Island Working Families Party. | ||
| Result: Stay tuned after Sept. 9. | ||
Local Governments
Mayor
| Providence, Rhode Island Dem primary After New York City, Seattle, and D.C., can a socialist win the mayorship of Providence? The national left has rallied behind state Representative David Morales, who is challenging Mayor Brett Smiley. Morales is focusing on housing, promising to support rent stabilization policies, which Smiley vetoed as mayor. Smiley, meanwhile, has nicknamed his challenger “Defunding David” over his past support for decreasing police budgets. (The primary winner will be heavily favored in November in this Democratic city.) | ||
| Result: Stay tuned after Sept. 9. | ||
September 15: Delaware and New Jersey
FEderal Government
U.S. Senate
| Delaware Dem primary Don’t expect this race to be competitive, but it will top Delaware’s ballot: As U.S. Senator Chris Coons runs for reelection in this Democratic primary, he faces none other than Eric Hansen, the GOP’s failed nominee for Senate just two years ago. Hansen received 40 percent in the general election in 2024, and then filed to run as a Democrat this year. He will appear on the ballot as “E. No-Trump Hansen” after legally changing his name to include “No-Trump.” Adding to this odd game of partisan musical chairs: One of the two candidates running in the GOP primary, Michael Katz, is a former Democratic state senator who then ran for U.S. Senate in 2024 as the Independent Party nominee; he got 4 percent. | ||
| Result: Stay tuned after Sept. 15. | ||
State Governments
Statewide official
| Delaware attorney general Dem primary Dwayne Bensing, legal director of the ACLU of Delaware, is challenging Attorney General Kathy Jennings, arguing that the office should be more aggressive in protecting civil rights. Bensing has litigated several lawsuits against Delaware agencies, including claims that police practices or prison healthcare standards were violating people’s constitutional rights. Bensing has repeatedly clashed with Jennings’ office as part of this litigation, whether by naming her as a defendant in litigation, or because her office repeatedly wrote to Bensing to reject his contention that government agencies like the prison system were violating FOIA laws. Bensing now pledges increased transparency if he is elected. | ||
| Result: Stay tuned after Sept. 15. | ||
State legislature
| Delaware: Three House districts, and two Senate districts Dem primaries Will Democrats’ frustration with Elon Musk topple lawmakers in Delaware? Musk and other wealthy corporate leaders pressured the state last year to pass a major deregulatory bill that shields companies from shareholder lawsuits and limits the information shareholders can obtain if they suspect wrongdoing by the corporate leadership. Five Democratic lawmakers who voted for the measure now face progressive challengers. The incumbents are receiving financial support from the business interests behind the bill. The contests to watch are Shané Darby’s challenge to Nnamdi Chukwuocha in House District 1; Pamela Salaam’s challenge to Frank Cooke in House District 16; Will Imbrie-Moore’s challenge to Kim Williams in House District 19; Adriana Bohm’s challenge to Dan Cruce in Senate District 1; and Shay Frisby’s challenge to Ray Seigfried in Senate District 5. (A sixth incumbent facing a similar challenge, Debra Heffernan, ended up retiring.) | ||
| Result: Stay tuned after Sept. 15. | ||
Local Governments
Local ballot measures
| Morris School District, New Jersey Some localities in New Jersey are holding elections on Sept. 15 to decide school bond measures. By far the largest that Bolts has identified is in the Morris School District, which covers Morristown and Morris Township. If passed, it would unlock $158 million for infrastructure and classroom improvements. (Other localities voting on school bonds include Cedar Grove and Cinnaminson.) | ||
| Result: Stay tuned after Sept. 15. | ||