The Landscape of Election Denial in America

At ElectionDeniers.org, we track the candidates for statewide office who oversee elections—governors, attorneys general, and secretaries of state. These are the players who determine election policies, administer the voting process, and defend election results. These state officials also serve as a crucial check on federal power.

ElectionDeniers.org additionally tracks races for Congress because members of the House and Senate certify final election results.

At States United, we define an Election Denier as someone who participated in spreading Donald Trump's lie about the 2020 election, refused to certify the results of that election, or attempted to overturn the results. Someone who took these actions in a subsequent election cycle meets our criteria as an Election Denier, too. You can read our full methodology here.

Since we started tracking in 2022, we have counted 525 candidates for statewide and congressional office who are Election Deniers.

While there are fewer Election Denier candidates running for statewide or congressional office in 2026 compared to 2024 or 2022, it's important to keep tabs on this issue. We'll be tracking how the new candidates fare—before, during, and after the November elections.

States United Action research shows that election denial is not a winning campaign strategy. In 2022, Election Denier candidates received 2.3-3.7 percentage points less of the vote than they would have if they weren't running on election denial. In 2024, only 30% of Election Deniers were successful in their campaigns across statewide and congressional races. In other words, our research finds that voters reject Election Deniers.

But even though Election Deniers lose more often on the campaign trail, the anti-democracy movement's strategy of casting doubt on election outcomes they don't like remains an important piece of their playbook. Election denial is a threat after the polls close and during the post-election phase, too.

This year, the threat of election denial looms large, having spread from fringe activists all the way into the federal government.

Watch this space for updates during the 2026 midterms as more candidates proceed through primaries, general elections, and post-election certification.