Our Issue Campaigns
Our Issue Activism:
Where we stand on the issues and what you can do to help.
Local:
While local government is non-partisan the NDCC actively takes positions that align with core Democratic Party values.
Issues:
Get Involved in Blueprint to ‘22
Guided by Town & Ward Captains, Grassroots Organizers will participate in relational organizing and community building projects, one for every quarter leading up to the 2022 statewide election. Each quarterly project will support community partners and the groundwork they’re doing on the issues that matter most. Monthly training sessions will supplement each project, helping Organizers build and expand their personal volunteer corps. Click here to learn more about Blueprint to ‘22.
Active campaigns by States:
One of the most consequential midterm elections in modern history is now underway.
Up and down the ballot -- in gubernatorial and statewide contests, congressional, legislative and local -- people are stepping up to run, propelled by the very real threat to our democracy.
Elections up in 2026 include US House (435, DC and four territories), US Senate (33 of 100), Governors (36 of 50), and thousands more at the state and local level.
The 2026 Elections Calendar kicked off with two of the five currently scheduled congressional special elections.
In the January 31 Texas 18th Congressional District Special General Election Runoff, Harris County attorney Christian Menefee decisively defeated fellow Democrat and former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards, 68.38% to 31.62%.
Menefee will fill out the remaining term of Congressman and former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, who passed away in March 2025.
The February 5 New Jersey 11th Congressional District Special Primary Election for the seat vacated by now-Governor Mikie Sherrill (D) is too close to call.
With 93% of the vote reporting in the 13-candidate primary, progressive activist Analilia Mejia leads former Congressman Tom Malinowski, 29.1% to 27.7%, followed by former Lt. Governor Tahesha Way with17.3%.
The victor will face Randolph Mayor Joe Hathaway, who was uncontested in the Republican primary, in the April 16 general election.
Republicans hold a 220-215 majority in the House, including vacancies in two Democratic and two Republican-held seats. Democrats need a net gain of three districts to win back the lower chamber.
With a 53-47 GOP majority in the Senate, Democrats will need to flip a net four seats to retake the Senate.
The 2026 ELECTION CALENDAR
MARCH 2026
March 3: Arkansas Primary (Runoff: 03/31/2026)
March 3: North Carolina Primary (Runoff: 05/12/2026)
March 3: Texas Primary (Runoff: 05/26/2026)
March 10: Georgia's 14th Congressional District Special General Election (Runoff 4/7/26)
March 10: Mississippi Primary (Runoff: 4/07/2026). Congressional only
March 17: Illinois Primary
APRIL 2026
April 16: New Jersey 11th Congressional District Special General Election
MAY 2026
May 5: Indiana Primary
May 5: Ohio Primary
May 12: Nebraska Primary
May 12: West Virginia Primary
May 16: Louisiana Primary. Congressional only (Runoff: 6/27/2026)
May 19: Alabama Primary (Runoff: 06/16/2026)
May 19: Georgia Primary (Runoff: 06/16/2026)
May 19: Idaho Primary
May 19: Kentucky Primary. Congressional only
May 19: Oregon Primary
May 19: Pennsylvania Primary
Types of primary elections: Open Partisan Primary: may vote regardless of party registration or lack of affiliation; Semi-Closed or Semi-Open Partisan Primaries: may allow registered voters of a different party affiliation and/or unaffiliated voters to participate, with some restrictions; Closed: registered party voters only; and Nonpartisan Blanket Primary: top-two or version advance from an open primary where all candidates run on the same ballot, regardless of party affiliation, and all registered voters may participate.
JUNE 2026
June 2: California Primary
June 2: California's First Congressional District Special Primary Election
June 2: Iowa Primary
June 2: Montana Primary
June 2: New Jersey Primary. Congressional only.
June 2: New Mexico
June 2: South Dakota (Runoff: 07/28/2026)
June 9: Maine Primary
June 9: Nevada Primary
June 9: North Dakota Primary
June 9: South Carolina Primary (Runoff: 06/23/2026)
June 16: Oklahoma Primary (Runoff: 10/25/2026)
June 16: Virginia Primary. Congressional elections only.
June 16: District of Columbia Primary
June 23: Maryland Primary
June 23: New York Primary
June 23: Utah Primary
June 30: Colorado Primary
JULY 2026
No Scheduled Elections (Runoffs TBD)
A handful of states operate under a blanket or unique primary system. As of 2026, Louisiana holds a partisan semi-closed primary for federal and selected state elections, while maintaining its traditional blanket "jungle primary" for governor, state legislature, and local offices. If no candidate wins a majority vote, the top two go to a runoff. In California and Washington, the top two winners of a nonpartisan blanket primary advance to the general. Alaska operates under a nonpartisan top-four primary system followed by a ranked-choice voting (RCV) general election, and Maine is the only state to use ranked choice voting for both primary and general elections.
AUGUST 2026
August 1: Guam Primary
August 1: Virgin Islands Primary
August 4: Arizona Primary
August 4: Kansas Primary
August 4: Michigan Primary
August 4: Missouri Primary
August 4: Washington Primary
August 4: California's First Congressional District Special General Election
August 6: Tennessee Primary
August 8: Hawaii Primary
August 11: Connecticut Primary
August 11: Minnesota Primary
August 11: Vermont Primary
August 11: Wisconsin Primary
August 18: Alaska Primary
August 18: Florida Primary
August 18: Wyoming Primary
SEPTEMBER 2026
September 1: Massachusetts Primary
September 8: New Hampshire Primary
September 8: Rhode Island Primary
September 15: Delaware Primary
OCTOBER 2026
No Scheduled Elections (Runoffs TBD)
NOVEMBER 2026
November 3: General Election Nationwide
DECEMBER 2026
December 12: Louisiana General Election
Runoffs are required in 11 states -- in either the primary or general election -- when no candidate achieves a required vote threshold, sending the top-two finishers to a second election. In Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas, a majority, or over 50%, is required to avoid a runoff. In North Carolina, candidates must win by at least 30%. In South Dakota the threshold is 35%, but only in congressional and gubernatorial primaries; and Vermont, only in case of a tie.
Note: Some dates are subject to change. Runoffs will be posted as they are called. Please let us know of any updates!
For more on all the races of 2026, go to DemList/DemDaily.
Pass on. Signup for the Dailys on policy, politics and the players.
DemList will keep you informed.
DemList
Connecting You to The Party
Connecting You to Each Other
Resolved campaigns:
"Yes" on changing the name of the local legislature from "Board of Aldermen" to "City Council". This campaign succeeded.
"Yes" on the Welcoming City Ordinance to protect immigrants and all Newton residents from the Republican President's attack on American values. The campaign succeeded.
"Yes" on updating the City of Newton Human Rights Ordinance to include protections for transgender individuals. This campaign succeeded.
State Party Platform
NDCC endorsements on issues that impact Massachusetts.
The Party Platform & Results
Delegates voted to accept the 2021 Massachusetts Democratic Party Platform with all 24 proposed amendments! Click here to view the results. The 2021 platform is a bold, progressive statement of values that contextualizes the challenges we face and meets the current moment with the urgency it deserves. Led by Co-chairs Sheriff Steve Tompkins, Jay Gonzalez, and Shannon Liss-Riordan, the Platform Committee solicited input from Massachusetts Democrats during seven official hearings and through hundreds of pieces of written testimony and crafted an ambitious document to guide us for the next four years. Read the final 2021 Massachusetts Democratic Party Platform here.
Watch convention again
Click here or the button below to watch the Convention again on YouTube.
Call Gov. Healey:
888-870-7770
State Senator
Cindy Creem (1st Middlesex & Norfolk)
State Representative
Greg Schwartz (12th Middlesex)
State Representative
Amy Sangiolo (11th Middlesex)
State Representative
John Lawn (10th Middlesex)
Active campaigns:
"Yes" on the RaiseUp MA Campaign for $15 minimum wage, paid family medical leave for all and the Fair Share Amendment. Learn more at www.raiseupma.org.
"Yes" on The Safe Communities Act S.1305/H
Update: This bill has come up in the Senate and House before but has not moved forward. More grassroots support is needed.
What YOU Can Do: Newton state legislators support this bill. You can contact our Representatives and thank them for their support. You can also contact friends in other parts of Massachusetts to ask them to contact their legislators about this bill.
"Yes" on MA Senate Bill S.1747 "An Act Combating Climate Change."
Update: This bill has come up in the Senate and House before but has not moved forward. More grassroots support is needed.
What YOU Can Do: Newton state legislators support this bill. You can contact our Representatives and thank them for their support. You can also contact friends in other parts of Massachusetts to ask them to contact their legislators about this bill.
"No" on any 2018 ballot measure that would roll back civil rights protections for transgender people.
Update: Opponents of a recent statewide bill that protects transgender people from discrimination have secured enough signatures to put a measure to roll back the protections on the ballot in 20`18. We will work to actively oppose this ballot question.
What YOU can do: follow NDCC updates on this campaign and get involved once the 'no' campaign is organized.
"Yes" on MA Senate Bill S.365 "An Act restoring financial transparency in presidential elections (all)."
Update Would require all candidates to release their tax returns as a requirement to get on the Presidential ballot in Massachusetts.
"Yes" on S. 373 / H. 2091 - An Act automatically registering eligible voters and enhancing safeguards against fraud (Creem sponsor, all)
Update Would enfranchise large numbers of new voters by registering them when they interact with state agencies, while at the same time safeguarding against fraud, including by promptly updating voter lists when voters move away.
Resolved Campaigns:
"No" on 2016 MA Ballot Question 2 - charter school expansion. This campaign was successful..
"Yes" on 2016 MA Ballot Question 3 - animal welfare - this campaign was successful.
"Yes" on updating the City of Newton Human Rights Ordinance to include protections for transgender individuals. This campaign succeeded.
Federal:
Read the Newton Dems Resistance Resolution here which calls for the following:
Investigation of Trump
Defend civil rights
Support Medicare/Medicaid for all and oppose repeal of the ACA
Right to peaceable protest
A $15 minimum wage
Modernize the Voting Rights Act and improve voting systems
Free college and debt relief
Paid medical and family leave
Campaign finance reform
The Newton Dems have endorsed a US Constitutional Amendment to overturn Citizens United.