ROUNDUP: Democratic Governors Have “Unified Focus on Affordability” and Winning Playbook Heading into 2026

ROUNDUP: Democratic Governors Have “Unified Focus on Affordability” and Winning Playbook Heading into 2026

This weekend, with Governors Andy Beshear and Gretchen Whitmer beginning their terms as Chair and Vice Chair of the DGA, Democratic Governors presented a “unified focus on affordability” as they continue to show the path forward for the Democratic Party in 2026.

With this November’s landslide victories in New Jersey and Virginia, the DGA and Democratic Governors have a winning playbook focused on lowering costs and the biggest issues facing Americans and are working to “expand the map into red and swing states” ahead of next year’s 36 critical governors races.

Read more about Democratic governors’ winning playbook:

AP: Democratic governors say the party’s midterm strategy must focus on voters’ pocketbook concerns

• The plan is to focus intently on making life more affordable, a message they hope will work even in some conservative-leaning states.

• “We have to be laser focused on people’s everyday concerns and how hard life is right now for the American people,” said Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, the new chairman of the Democratic Governors Association and a possible candidate for president in 2028. “Everybody wants the economy of tomorrow, but paying the bills today is absolutely critical.”

• A dozen candidates and sitting governors all said they plan to talk extensively about the costs of housing, child care, utilities and groceries during Trump’s second term.

• But Democrats are talking about expanding the field by competing in states such as Iowa or Ohio, where the party used to be competitive but has struggled in the Trump era.

Newsweek: Democratic Governors Share 2026 Plans to Counter MAGA and Trump

• With both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate under Republican control, Democrats remain relatively powerless to counter the administration in Washington, which has positioned governors as de facto leaders of the left’s counter strategy. At the forefront of that effort is the Democratic Governors Association (DGA).

• The DGA leads the Democratic Party’s nationwide electoral strategy and played a key role in the 2025 victories of candidates Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia that helped the party unify around the message of promoting affordability.

• Beshear named Iowa, Georgia, and Nevada as three of the 36 governor races next year that the DGA plans to prioritize flipping. At the start of next year, Democrats will control 24 of America’s 50 governorships, and Beshear predicted that by this time in 2026 the party will have clinched a majority.

CBS: Kentucky’s Andy Beshear takes on national role as Democrats eye governors as their way back to the White House

• Heading into what could be a favorable national political environment in the 2026 midterms, Beshear is leading the Democratic Governors Association as it tries to win in states where his party has either lost ground or are hoping to hold on to critical seats.

• “[A] signing in the Rose Garden isn’t real to people anymore,” Beshear said in an exclusive interview with CBS News during a party gathering in Arizona. “The vote on the resolution, on the amendment, much less a bill, isn’t real to people anymore. What Democratic governors do is produce tangible results that you can see and touch and feel.”

• “As we look to where we are as a country, what we need going forward, the solutions are being driven by the governors,” Whitmer, who is working alongside Beshear for the midterms as a vice chair for the Democratic governors’ political outfit, exclusively told CBS News.

New York Times: Inside a Gathering of Top Democrats Filled With Hope, Nerves and ’28 Buzz

• But as they look to next year’s midterm contests, Democratic leaders expressed fresh hope of expanding their ranks in key federal and state offices around the country. They argued that as Mr. Trump’s approval rating declines, Democrats can capitalize by focusing on affordability and attacking what they see as the corruption and chaos of his administration.

• The key for Democrats, many of the governors said, is to embrace a message focused predominantly on pocketbook issues and bringing down the high cost of living…

National Journal: Q&A with Andy Beshear

• I’ve had to win races in tough places. I’m in a Trump +30 state but won reelection by 5 percent, and have now won three straight elections in that state with a margin increasing each and every time. I think what it means is I know how to go into the reddest of red places, which is what the Democratic Party needs to do. We need to go to places that we haven’t been in far too long, because what we’re seeing right now is that those places, primarily rural America, are getting hit harder by Trump’s policies than anywhere else.
• Are there any states that you see the DGA investing in during the midterms that might not have been seen as flippable or playable before?

• I think you’re going to see us certainly competing in Georgia and in Nevada, but I also think you’re going to see us competing in places like Iowa. So I think that we have a number of places that people may think of as red states, but we’re going to be there. But the other places we’re going to be are places that people aren’t expecting, where we have a really good candidate coming out of a great primary, and/or the other side puts up someone crazy.

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