The Democratic Governors Association is launching its first dedicated fund for difficult gubernatorial contests as Democrats defend competitive seats and seek Republican-held governorships across a 36-state election map.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
The Democratic Governors Association is creating a new fund aimed specifically at expanding the party’s gubernatorial battlefield beyond the states where Democrats traditionally compete, opening another front in the fight over 36 governors’ races appearing on ballots Nov. 3.
The DGA announced its Expand the Map Fund on Monday, describing it as its “first-ever direct no-overhead fund solely dedicated to further changing the playing field and how Democrats think about what states we can compete in.”
The organization said the additional money would be available for Democratic candidates running in states that might ordinarily receive less national investment but become competitive as Election Day approaches.
“I’m living, breathing proof that Democrats can compete and win anywhere, and that’s what the DGA’s Expand the Map Fund is all about,” DGA Chair and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said. “With strong Democratic candidates running in competitive races across the country, the DGA must be ready to make a difference if we see opportunities in states that people might not expect.”
Beshear has frequently pointed to his own victories in Republican-leaning Kentucky as evidence that gubernatorial candidates can outperform the national political alignment of their states.
The DGA says Democrats held only 15 governorships in 2017 compared with 24 today. The current national balance is 24 Democratic governors and 26 Republicans, according to the Cook Political Report. The association says seven Democratic governors currently lead states Donald Trump carried in a presidential election, citing states including Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina.
The new fund is designed to supplement, rather than replace, the DGA’s spending in races it has already identified as top priorities.
Democrats are defending Gov. Katie Hobbs in Arizona while trying to retain open governorships in Michigan and Wisconsin. At the same time, the organization is targeting Republican-held or Republican-controlled open seats in Georgia, Iowa, Nevada and Ohio.
“At the same time, strong candidates are making really challenging races competitive all over the country and the new Expand the Map Fund is launching to make sure the DGA is doing even more to be prepared to make a difference if there are real opportunities down the stretch,” the organization said.
Independent race handicappers currently identify many of those contests as among the most competitive gubernatorial elections in the country.
As of Sept. 10, the Cook Political Report categorized Arizona, Iowa and Michigan as leaning Democratic, while Georgia, Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin were listed as toss-ups. Alaska and Kansas were categorized as leaning Republican, while Florida, New Hampshire and Texas were rated likely Republican.
The general-election matchups are now largely set.
In Arizona, Hobbs is running against Republican Rep. Andy Biggs.
Michigan’s open race pits Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson against Republican Rep. John James.
In Wisconsin, Democratic Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley faces Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany for the open seat being vacated by Gov. Tony Evers.
The pickup opportunities highlighted by the DGA include several states where Republicans currently hold the governor’s office or where a Republican incumbent is leaving.
In Georgia, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is running against Republican businessman Rick Jackson.
Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand faces Republican businessman Zach Lahn in the race to succeed Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds.
Nevada Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford is challenging Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo.
Ohio’s open race features Democrat Amy Acton against Republican Vivek Ramaswamy.
Kansas presents Democrats with a different challenge. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly is term-limited, leaving Democrat Cindy Holscher and Republican Ty Masterson competing to succeed her. Cook currently lists the race as leaning Republican.
Alaska has also become more competitive. Cook moved the state from likely Republican to lean Republican on Sept. 10 after the primary produced a general-election field featuring Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins alongside Republicans David Bronson, Treg Taylor and Bernadette Wilson.
The DGA’s decision to broaden the map comes as President Trump becomes increasingly involved in several of the closest contests.
Trump pledged his support this month to James in Michigan, Biggs in Arizona and Tiffany in Wisconsin, telling them, “I will be with you 100% all the way to November.”
DGA Communications Director Sam Newton responded by tying the Republican nominees directly to Trump and his administration’s policies.
“Republicans running for governor in battleground states cannot distance themselves from Trump’s toxic, cost-raising agenda,” Newton said. “They’re glued to it all — the reckless war that has kept gas prices sky-high for months, the deep health care cuts that make it harder for people to see a doctor, and the rising prices on everyday items caused by chaotic tariffs. Working families in Michigan, Arizona, and Wisconsin, and other swing states across the country, are paying the price and see clearly how their Republican candidate for governor has put loyalty to Trump first — no matter how much it hurts the people in their states.”
Republicans are countering with their own national effort to define Democratic gubernatorial candidates as too closely aligned with national party leaders.
The Republican Governors Association attacked Sand after Beshear campaigned with him in Iowa in June.
“National Democrats, from Gavin Newsom to JB Pritzker, are lining up behind Rob Sand because they know Sand will do their bidding,” RGA Communications Director Kollin Crompton said.
“Sand wants to change Iowa’s safe, secure election system into California’s, base the state budget on marijuana, and raise taxes on working families. Iowans won’t be fooled.”
Sand responded at the time by noting that Democrats supporting a Democratic nominee was unsurprising and pointing to Republican contributors to his own campaign.
The RGA has also moved aggressively into Michigan after James secured the Republican nomination.
“James is a combat veteran, job creator, and a leader who can deliver results, clean up corruption, lower costs, and bring transparency to healthcare,” RGA Chair and Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said following the August primary.
The RGA simultaneously attacked Benson over her record as Michigan secretary of state. Those allegations represent the Republican organization’s campaign arguments rather than independent findings about the Democratic nominee.
Ohio has become another major battleground.
The RGA-affiliated Right Direction PAC began airing its first general-election advertisement Sept. 12 against Acton, focusing on her refusal to debate Ramaswamy and personal allegations derived from past police reports.
“Amy Acton is too afraid to debate because she knows that her record of incompetence will be on full display,” Crompton said. “Ohio families were destroyed by Acton when she was the COVID Czar, schools were closed and livelihoods were ruined.”
Acton’s campaign has said she will not participate in a debate with Ramaswamy because it accuses him and allied groups of spreading false personal attacks.
“Dr. Acton’s focus is talking with Ohioans, not platforming a scam artist who spreads baseless lies about her and her family, uses AI to falsely paint her as someone with a substance abuse problem, and shames Dr. Acton for being sexually abused as a child while Vivek stands with predators and abusers,” campaign manager Phil Stein said.
The substance-abuse allegations referenced in campaign advertising have not been established as fact, and Acton’s campaign has described the ads as deceptive.
The increasingly aggressive spending reflects the unusual scale of the 2026 gubernatorial map.
Thirty-six states are electing governors, meaning most Americans will have a gubernatorial contest on the ballot this fall.
The DGA’s strategy is not simply to concentrate money on races already considered toss-ups.
Beshear has argued that favorable candidates and state-specific political conditions can create late opportunities even in places where the party begins at a disadvantage.
That is the purpose of the Expand the Map Fund: create a pool of money capable of moving quickly if polling, fundraising or political developments turn an unexpected state into a serious contest.
The organization has not publicly announced a total fundraising target for the new fund. Beshear previewed it several days before the formal launch, describing it as an effort to “changing the playing field and changing the states that we’re competing in.”
The Republican Governors Association, meanwhile, is spending to defend GOP-held states and challenge Democratic candidates in states including Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Iowa and Kansas.
That leaves both organizations fighting over an unusually broad group of states as the campaign enters its final seven weeks.
For Democrats, the calculation behind the new fund is rooted partly in their gains since 2017: The party believes victories by governors in Republican-leaning states demonstrate that national voting patterns do not always determine gubernatorial outcomes.
Republicans are making the opposite argument — that Democratic nominees in those states remain tied to a national party whose policies voters may reject.
The Expand the Map Fund is designed to test which argument carries more weight.
With 36 governorships on the ballot and competitive races stretching from Arizona and Nevada to the Midwest and Southeast, the DGA is signaling that it does not intend to limit its investments only to the states that looked winnable at the beginning of the election cycle.
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