# The 2026 Governor races **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 3, 2026, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-governor-races/1032125 "2026-08-03T19:24:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-governor-races/1032125/21 "2026-08-09T14:18:10Z")
Josh Shapiro is running 20 points ahead of Stacy Garrity in the polling averages: [Real Clear Politics: Shapiro vs. Garrity](https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/governor/general/2026/pennsylvania/shapiro-vs-garrity) Since I like Shapiro, I should be pleased, but, as a moderate, I do see a cloud in the silver lining. The cloud is that, given two moderate candidates, if purple state voters were looking for more moderate candidates, the race should be close. It is not. Garrity is no right wing extremist. When she last ran statewide, for Treasurer in 2024, Shapiro refused to make an endorsement! While this was mostly due to the Democratic candidate being a Shapiro critic, if Garrity was a sufficiently fanatical Trumper – rather than a Republican candidate who abases themselves to the minimum degree acceptable in her party, and then competently works with Democrats after an election – Shapiro would have come out against her. So with two moderates, this year’s race should be close. Instead, it looks like just as big of a runaway as if the GOP had nominated a true extremist like Doug Mastriano. P.S. An alternative reading could be that Garrity lacks Shapiro’s name recognition and will gain on him as the race goes on. We’ll see. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-governor-races/1032125/22 "2026-08-09T15:35:50Z")
> [@ZosterSandstorm](#): > > Hong is supporting “police and prison abolition” It’s great that you removed the other untruth from your post, and now it’s time to apologize for this one. Hong is not supporting “police and prison abolition.” Your putting those words in quotes makes it sound like you’re quoting her, but you’re not: you’re massively distorting what she actually said. [What she said](https://www.wisconsinrightnow.com/francesca-hong-abolish-the-olice/#Hong_wrote_in_2021_%E2%80%9CWe_must_collectively_work_to_end_the_violence_and_abolish_the_police_state_Reform_has_never_been_the_answer_to_this_system_of_harm%E2%80%9D_Our_bold) (and I’m pulling this from a right-wing tabloid, so I’m not pulling punches) “We must collectively work to end the violence and abolish the police **state**.” (emphasis added) and “I support defunding the police as a first step toward abolishing the police.” Crucially, that last quote is from 2020. Can anyone think of anything that happened in 2020 that might have lifted tempers? Your claim is that she is **supporting** “police and prison abolition,” not that she supported it in a tweet or two six years ago. Here is what she’s saying in 2026, from a full statement on X: > [@](#): > > “Folks, let’s talk about public safety. Everyone in Wisconsin deserves to be safe. Safe from crime. Safe in their communities, in their homes. Safe from abuses of power. > > “And safe from the conditions that make communities unsafe in the first place – poverty, a lack of good jobs with good benefits, a lack of affordable housing, underfunded schools, and underfunded out of school programs for our kids. Right now, Wisconsin isn’t delivering that. > > “Our crime rates are falling, but our prison population is heading towards record highs. We keep sending people back to prison for minor rule violations while on probation often tied to substance abuse disorders not new crimes. We are sending people who need treatment into prison beds at an enormous public cost. > > “And Wisconsin incarcerates Black residents at the highest rate in the nation. > > “For more than a decade, the Republican Legislature has starved local governments of funding. Didn’t give them their fair share of revenue. So our tax dollars, that should have gone to cities and counties, to the people who actually build the things and fund the programs that prevent the crime, they don’t have adequate resources. > > “So if we’re going to talk about who defunded public safety in Wisconsin, let’s start the conversation there. > > “Now some cities in our state spend more than half their budgets on police, on tanks, drones, as if military equipment and flock cameras can solve the problems that close schools. The problems that created the affordability housing crises. Well they can’t. > > “I don’t like crime. I don’t like unsafe streets. I don’t like when someone in law enforcement abuses their power. > > “And there’s no way I’m going to cut public safety. I want to deliver it. That means investing in what the evidence shows prevents crime — affordable housing for everyone, mental health care, addiction treatment resources, good jobs with good benefits and fully funded public schools. > > “That’s not soft on crime. That’s serious about safety.” She appears to be calling toward a long-term shift to a society that doesn’t rely on police or prisons–but that’s a utopian future vision, not something she is including in her platform for her time in office. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-governor-races/1032125/23 "2026-08-09T17:11:37Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Crucially, that last quote is from 2020. Can anyone think of anything that happened in 2020 that might have lifted tempers? This is from six days ago: > [@](#): > > I’m a chef, and one of the first meals that I made that was for the community when i was 16 was a Thanksgiving meal. I always think my hospitality background and owning a restaurant for 7-8 years, that bringing folks around the table to share conversation and build community is always a good thing. > > But Thanksgiving is also a time that’s incredibly painful for many people in our communities. Context is that she was walking backing wanting to cancel Thanksgiving five years ago. Oppo ads can use old quotes or new. Is it really true that Thanksgiving is incredibly painful for some people? Yes. Same for Christmas. And it would be a bad reason to vote against someone because they said it. But it does give an impression of progressive extremism. In the past I would say she is unelectable in a purple state. Now, I don’t really know. Maybe the center no longer holds. This November will be a good test. A good-to-me center-left (albeit more center than left) case against Francesca Hong is in the middle of this article: [Noah Smith: Are the Democrats going to save us this time?](https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/are-the-democrats-going-to-save-us) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-governor-races/1032125/24 "2026-08-09T17:27:07Z")
Center-left? Really? Pure center, to me. Take this quote: > Francesca Hong demonstrates that anti-American ideas have become fully mainstreamed and accepted within the Democratic Party I’m not a huge fan of Hong, but it isn’t “anti-American” to point out how Americans can do better. Quite the opposite. Especially during these times when every single Republican can’t go one minute without doing or saying something truly anti-American, it’s reckless and false to use that phrase to critique Democrats. Furthermore, whatever the phrase you want to use about the Hong ideas that he notes, they have not become “fully mainstreamed and accepted within the Democratic Party.” So he’s wrong about that, too. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-governor-races/1032125/25 "2026-08-09T20:41:40Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > A good-to-me center-left (albeit more center than left) case against Francesca Hong is in the middle of this article: > > [Noah Smith: Are the Democrats going to save us this time?](https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/are-the-democrats-going-to-save-us) That’s an interesting article. Here’s a part that really stood out to me. > [@](#): > > Compared to some other DSA types, though, Piker can seem downright moderate. Strident anti-American rhetoric is now standard among that faction: > > [Bad Hombre on X: "Some recent quotes from leftists: “I am Guatemalan before I am American.” - Delia Ramirez “America is a fucking disgrace.” - Darializa Avila Chevalier “America is a shithole built on slavery and genocide and rape and oppression.” - Rashida Tlaib - “I am ashamed of the U.S." / X](https://x.com/Badhombre/status/2084390342875332955) I didn’t recognize most of those names, but Tlaib I definitely recognize. The formatting is weird here: the quote attributed to her is the “America is a shithole” quote. Which, as near as I can tell, is a total fabrication. All cites for it go back to a single rightwing source, and that one doesn’t have any cite. More in-depth articles about the controversies around Tlaib omit this entirely. For what little it’s worth, Google’s AI prefaced my search results by denying that Tlaib ever actually said that. And that casts the entire article in a new light. On the one hand, we have the actual fascists trying to destroy America’s democratic institutions. On the **same** hand, we have those same actual fascists making up fake quotes to attribute to the left. And this Noah asshole is using those fake quotes to “both sides” the issue. He even criticizes Mehdi Hasan for taking “both-siders” to task. But both sides ARE bad! he insists. Trump wants to end the right to vote as we know it, and Hong has reservations about the history of Thanksgiving! Republicans endorse masked thugs killing Americans in the street, and they also lie about what progressives say! Give me a fucking break. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2026, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-governor-races/1032125/26 "2026-08-09T22:29:02Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I didn’t recognize most of those names, but Tlaib I definitely recognize. The formatting is weird here: the quote attributed to her is the “America is a shithole” quote. That is indeed a misquote. I was just recommending the part about Francesca Hong’s gubernatorial run. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2026, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-governor-races/1032125/27 "2026-08-10T01:00:48Z")
Equating her with the actual fascists, because she recognizes that the Thanksgiving story is problematic, is sloppy and ridiculous. That article is interesting, not because it is high-quality, but because it exemplifies the foolishness of moderates who are so willing to engage in sloppy thinking to justify their moderation. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2026, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-governor-races/1032125/28 "2026-08-10T22:49:55Z")
There seems to be a _chance_ that the Dems could unseat Abbott in Texas. > **[Democrats gain ground on Republicans in 3 key Texas statewide races](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/08/10/texas-2026-poll-abbott-hinojosa-patrick-goodwin-middleton-johnson-statewide-races/91240871007/)** > > Recent polling shows Democratic candidates closing gaps or pulling ahead in key Texas statewide races this November. Here's what to know. > The [Aug. 7 poll](https://reconmr.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Texas-Pulse-August-Release-August-7-2026-Final.pdf) from Texas Pulse showed Republican Gov. Greg Abbott leading Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa by 1 percentage point — 46% to 45%. That is a 5-point shift from Texas Pulse’s June poll, which showed Abbott at 49% and Hinojosa at 43%. ---
**Author:** ![ZosterSandstorm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e0b2c6/32.png) [@ZosterSandstorm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZosterSandstorm)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2026, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-governor-races/1032125/29 "2026-08-11T13:20:35Z")
The rambling, confused, self-contradictory word vomit from Hong that you posted is _exactly_ what “supporting police abolition” is - shouting radical slogans to one group while crying to imaginary referees that it’s unfair for your opponents to quote the things you said to other groups, redefining words such as “police” and “abolish” and “defund” to mean things they have never meant in English, claiming that “saying something in 2020” doesn’t count as “saying it,” explaining that your political platform’s “utopian future visions” have nothing to do with what you “support” or want to do if elected governor, etc. This is what everyone involved in that silly bumper sticker of an idea always does and the fact that Hong is still doing it in August 2026 is just more proof that she is, indeed, part of the movement that she keeps saying she is part of. Claiming to want “mental health care and addiction treatment” while the signature public decay policy that makes voters hate Democrats more than anything else they do is an absolute refusal to provide mental health care or addiction treatment to anyone is the cherry on top, and of course Hong is going to keep getting hammered on this until she inevitably concludes her three-month quest to do everything possibly to lose badly running as Democrat in a swing state in a heavily anti-Trump election year. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2026, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-governor-races/1032125/30 "2026-08-11T15:31:03Z")
> [@ZosterSandstorm](#): > > The rambling, confused, self-contradictory word vomit from Hong that you posted is _exactly_ what “supporting police abolition” is > [@ZosterSandstorm](#): > > redefining words I’ll just leave this irony here–that you’re having to redefine what “supporting” means in the very same sentence in which you accuse her of “redefining words.” ---
**Author:** ![JDYanYan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jdyanyan/32/21663_2.png) [@JDYanYan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JDYanYan)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2026, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-governor-races/1032125/31 "2026-08-11T20:05:14Z")
Abbott/Hinojosa is my threshold of wave vs tsunami. That would almost certainly correspond to a D+15 election. (And somewhere around 54-56 D senate seats with a real chance at a supermajority in 2028) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-governor-races/1032125/32 "2026-08-12T02:59:41Z")
In Wisconsin, Hong (more leftist, though not quite as much as some have portrayed her) is neck-and-neck with the more establishment/moderate choice, Crowley. We might not know the result for several hours. Hong might pull out a victory because of absentee ballots still to be counted, many of those ballots filled out weeks ago, when the field of candidates was more crowded. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-governor-races/1032125/33 "2026-08-12T04:52:11Z")
I haven’t seen it mentioned yet. New Mexico with Lujan Grisham term limited out and the race is between the Democrat (and former 1st congressional district rep and interior secretary) Deb Haaland and the Republican (and former mayor of Rio Rancho) Gregg Hull. Generally I’d say Haaland is likely to win, though New Mexico has kept flipping governors after two terms going back decades. I don’t particularly like Haaland but I think demographics and sheer dislike of everything going on federally will make it an easy win for her. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-governor-races/1032125/34 "2026-08-12T04:59:47Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > In Wisconsin, Hong (more leftist, though not quite as much as some have portrayed her) is neck-and-neck with the more establishment/moderate choice, Crowley. As of this point (around midnight Central), Crowley has a lead of about 3,200 votes, with 93% counted. He’s carrying the Milwaukee area, while Hong is leading in Madison (not surprising) and Green Bay. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-governor-races/1032125/35 "2026-08-12T04:59:50Z")
In Wisconsin, Crowley is half a point ahead of Hong at this moment, with 93% of expected votes counted. That’s impressive for Crowley, who had dropped out of the race a month ago and then re-entered it just two weeks ago. Especially if he ekes out the win (but even if he doesn’t), this is a victory for practical, moderate “electability,” over Democratic Socialist-hued progressivism. At least, it will be construed as such. (ETA: what kenobi\_65 said). Hong will surely end up within the 1% allowed for a recount. I hope she doesn’t call for one – I’m exhausted from my poll work all day today! (I doubt she would bother paying for a recount – she’s already spoken tonight of unity and support whatever happens). ---
**Author:** ![ZosterSandstorm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e0b2c6/32.png) [@ZosterSandstorm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZosterSandstorm)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-governor-races/1032125/36 "2026-08-12T08:49:03Z")
Electable Democrat and normal person David Crowley has defeated socialist lunatic Francesca Hong for the Democratic nomination in the Wisconsin governor’s race. This is good news for people who want Democrats to win the general election and people who are done with catering to the needs-to-be-chased-with-a-giant-butterfly-net wing of the party. It’s bad news for Francesca Hong’s biracial son, who will get to spend more time hearing his mother lament that being near him puts her in “proximity to whiteness.” It’s also bad news for the pollsters, who have missed big for the second time in a week. After overpredicting El-Sayed’s performance in Michigan by 15% but avoiding too much scrutiny as he squeaked out a 1% win, this time they had Hong with a 20% lead and she lost outright. There is clearly something going on causing the far-left to massively overpoll their performances at the ballot box. Possibly some of it is that mainstream Democrats are better at identifying who is actually going to vote and a lot of the poll response is noise from people who are not eligible or can’t be bothered. Possibly some of it is people coming to their senses and realizing that a vote for Abdul El-Sayed or Francesca Hong is a vote for a Republican win in November. There are likely other, undiscovered factors at work as well. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-governor-races/1032125/37 "2026-08-12T09:03:22Z")
> [@ZosterSandstorm](#): > > Electable Democrat and normal person David Crowley has defeated socialist lunatic Francesca Hong for the Democratic nomination in the Wisconsin governor’s race Bitter-sweet for me. I’m pleased to see Democratic voters haven’t completely lost their minds in Wisconsin (yet​😉). But Hong would have been much easier to defeat for a, IMHO, weak Republican candidate who kissed Trump’s ass on almost everything. ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-governor-races/1032125/38 "2026-08-12T11:08:22Z")
No mention of Lindell losing by 12 points and claiming voter fraud? Because he lost by 12 points and is, not surprisingly, claiming voter fraud. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-governor-races/1032125/39 "2026-08-12T11:09:14Z")
Unless he mounts a write-in campaign (which I would not put past him), Mike “My Pillow” Lindell will not not be the next Governor of Minnesota. Lisa Demuth wins the GOP primary with 179,546 (43.44%) with possibly not legally eligible\* Lindell with 134,198 (32.47%). Guess this proves a Trump endorsement is not a guarantee. Amy Klobuchar got 614,354 (89.68%) of the DFL vote. Brian \* He is not registered to vote in MN – there is some question on whether he met the one year residency requirement ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2026, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-governor-races/1032125/40 "2026-08-12T11:26:36Z")
> [@mozchron](#): > > No mention of Lindell losing by 12 points and claiming voter fraud? > > Because he lost by 12 points and is, not surprisingly, claiming voter fraud. I was typing when you posted – but I had not heard the voter fraud claim and can’t find it in a quick search. It wouldn’t surprise me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-governor-races/1032125.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2026-governor-races/1032125.md?page=3)