It’s crazy to think we are less than two weeks away from Election Day. So it’s even crazier to think that we are already thinking ahead to 2026! But, it’s not so crazy when you think about the timelines of it all
One of our biggest gripes about campaigns is that they never start early enough. Campaigns are more likely to succeed if they start planning right after a major election. Why? Well, think about it in terms of timelines.
For many campaigns, two years isn’t a lot of time. Year one is primarily focused on building. You are building your campaign, fundraising, raising name ID, and finding volunteers and supporters for conventions, campaigns, and the primary.
The second year is when campaigns transition from building to action: this is where they deal with conventions, primaries, debates, retail politicking, and eventually Election Day. While this is a mere 30,000 ft overview of the timeline, it’s one candidates, campaigns, and consultants are starting to work out right now.
So, who is affected? Here’s what we know:
- 435 members of the House will be up for re-election or will choose to retire.
- 33 U.S. Senate seats will be up for grabs in Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota, Iowa, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Illinois, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and New Jersey.
- 36 states and three (3) territories will also have gubernatorial seats (and other statewide offices) up for election.
It’s a lot of races that will require a lot of help – and if we’ve learned anything in the last two years: Good communicators are hard to come by. Great communications teams are even more rare.
Luckily for you, a great communications team is right at your fingertips. K2 & Company’s political communications department has decades of combined experience working on races from the State House to the White House.
With our combined experience in dozens of states, we’re prepared to put together a plan that will take you from launch day to election day.
Check out our states of experience below and reach out today if you’re planning ahead to 2026.
-Preya Samsundar, Communications Director
