Centrist Independent Voter has endorsed Senator Chris Coons in Delaware’s September 15 Democratic primary for the United States Senate.
Coons has built the kind of record we would like to see more often in Congress: serious about American leadership abroad, willing to work across party lines and prepared to confront difficult fiscal and institutional questions rather than simply repeat his party’s preferred talking points.
He has been a strong supporter of Ukraine and America’s alliances, while supporting Israel’s security without treating support for Israel as an endorsement of every decision made by its government. He has also joined bipartisan efforts to address Social Security’s long-term finances and has opposed tariffs that raise costs for American consumers and businesses.
On immigration, Coons combines support for secure borders and enforcement with comprehensive reform and due-process protections. That approach is much closer to Centrist Independent Voter’s view than treating enforcement and humane immigration policy as opposing choices.
Coons faces three Democratic challengers, but none has made a persuasive case for replacing an experienced senator with his record of bipartisan and institutionally serious governing.
Centrist Independent Voter has endorsed Representative Maggie Goodlander in the September 8 Democratic primary for New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District.
Goodlander has served in Congress only since January 2025, but she has already demonstrated the institutional seriousness and willingness to work across party lines that Centrist Independent Voter looks for in candidates.
Her background includes service as a Navy Reserve intelligence officer, constitutional-law professor, Justice Department official and adviser to Senators John McCain and Joseph Lieberman. In Congress, she has worked on government transparency, Pentagon accountability, fiscal responsibility and ethics reform.
Goodlander also supports Ukraine, favors immigration reform that combines secure borders with a legal path for long-established undocumented residents, and has signed the Promise to America, whose principles include capitalism, fiscal responsibility, free speech, secure borders and continued American leadership abroad.
We do have an important disagreement with Goodlander over her vote to end $3.3 billion in annual direct military assistance to Israel. But she continues to support Israel’s security and American assistance for Israeli air defense. Her primary opponent, Paige Beauchemin, takes a considerably more restrictive position on American support for Israel and is also challenging Goodlander from the party’s ideological left on several other issues.
No candidate will agree with us on everything. Goodlander offers the stronger combination of experience, institutional judgment, political realism and bipartisan potential.
Centrist Independent Voter has endorsed Brian Shortsleeve in Massachusetts’s Republican primary for governor.
Shortsleeve is a conservative on fiscal matters but considerably more moderate than many Republicans on social issues. In a state as heavily Democratic as Massachusetts, we think that combination gives him a better chance to govern effectively and work with a legislature that will almost certainly remain controlled by Democrats.
Shortsleeve’s record in business and public administration, his fiscal seriousness and his willingness to depart from Republican orthodoxy make him the stronger choice in the primary.
We do not agree with Shortsleeve on every issue. The full endorsement discusses those differences as well as the reasons we believe they are outweighed by his experience, pragmatism and ability to govern across partisan lines.
Centrist Independent Voter has endorsed Gentner Drummond in Oklahoma’s August 25 Republican runoff for governor.
Drummond is a conservative Republican, and we disagree with him on several important issues. But his record as Oklahoma attorney general demonstrates something we increasingly value in elected officials: a willingness to exercise independent judgment even when doing so puts him at odds with powerful members of his own party.
That independence has appeared repeatedly. Drummond challenged Oklahoma’s proposed publicly funded religious charter school, sought a new trial for death-row inmate Richard Glossip after concluding that his original trial was unfair, pursued a more cooperative relationship with Oklahoma’s tribal nations, and has continued opposing the proposed Inola aluminum smelter despite President Trump’s support for the project.
We do not necessarily agree with every decision Drummond has made. What matters is that the evidence suggests those decisions are based on his understanding of Oklahoma’s interests and the law rather than simply on presidential or party preference.
That makes him the stronger choice in the Republican runoff.
Centrist Independent Voter has endorsed Lisa Kinney in Wyoming’s August 18 Democratic primary for the U.S. House of Representatives.
Kinney served ten years in the Wyoming Senate, including two years as minority leader. What most distinguishes her for us is her record of working across party lines and her explicit interest in finding a small group of moderate members of Congress who can cooperate and exercise meaningful influence.
We do not agree with Kinney on everything. We have reservations about some of her tax proposals, and we have not found a clear statement from her on continued American assistance to Ukraine. Her explicit support for NATO is reassuring, but voters should watch for further clarification on Ukraine and related foreign-policy questions before the primary.
Those reservations do not outweigh her experience, independence and demonstrated willingness to work with Republicans. In a Congress increasingly organized around partisan loyalty, those qualities deserve support.
Wyoming voters now have CIVPAC-endorsed candidates in both House primaries: Lisa Kinney in the Democratic primary and Kevin Christensen in the Republican primary.
CIVPAC has endorsed two Democratic congressional candidates in Michigan: Bridget Brink in the 7th Congressional District and Callie Barr in the 1st Congressional District.
The districts are different, and neither candidate should be treated as a generic national Democrat. Both bring experience particularly relevant to the people they seek to represent.
Bridget Brink — Michigan’s 7th District
Bridget Brink is a career diplomat and former United States ambassador to Ukraine. She served under presidents of both parties and represented the United States in Kyiv during Russia’s invasion. She resigned from government after concluding that the Trump administration was placing pressure on Ukraine while accommodating Russia.
Brink brings seriousness, integrity and extensive national-security experience to a competitive central Michigan district. At a time when American alliances and democratic values are under pressure, Congress needs members who understand both the human consequences of aggression and the strategic importance of resisting it.
Her career also demonstrates that public service need not begin with partisan ambition. She spent decades representing the United States before seeking elective office.
Callie Barr is a military spouse, veteran advocate, teacher and attorney seeking to represent northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. Her campaign emphasizes affordability, health care, housing, energy costs and the practical needs of families who often feel overlooked by Washington.
Barr’s understanding of military families is particularly relevant in a region with a strong tradition of service. She also offers Democrats an opportunity to compete in a difficult district with a candidate whose biography and priorities are grounded in the community rather than in national ideological politics.
An endorsement is not merely a prediction about who is most likely to win. Sometimes it is also a statement that a serious candidate is making the right kind of argument in a place where that argument needs to be heard.
Brink and Barr represent two important forms of public service: international leadership in defense of American interests and practical advocacy for families at home. CIVPAC is pleased to endorse both.
Kansas has repeatedly demonstrated that a Republican-leaning state can elect pragmatic leaders who appeal beyond a narrow partisan base.
CIVPAC has endorsed three Kansas candidates in 2026: Ethan Corson for governor, Adam Hamilton for the United States Senate and Representative Sharice Davids for reelection to Congress.
Ethan Corson for Governor
State Senator Ethan Corson offers Kansas voters an opportunity to continue the practical, results-oriented style of leadership that has allowed Democrats to compete successfully for the governorship.
Corson emphasizes public education, economic opportunity, individual rights and making it possible for younger Kansans to build their lives in the state. His campaign presents a mainstream alternative to ideological government from either the right or the left.
Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab deserves credit for defending the integrity of Kansas elections, rejecting unsupported fraud claims and resisting demands for sensitive voter information. However, his opposition to even limited abortion rights and enthusiastic support for the expanded federal SAVE voter-screening system leave too much distance between his positions and CIVPAC’s for us to offer an endorsement.
Adam Hamilton for the U.S. Senate
Adam Hamilton is an unusual political candidate. As the founding pastor of a large United Methodist congregation, he has spent decades speaking to people with different political, religious and cultural perspectives.
Hamilton considered running as an independent before entering the Democratic primary and describes himself as an independent-minded Democrat. His candidacy offers the party an opportunity to nominate someone capable of reaching voters who would not ordinarily consider supporting a Democrat.
CIVPAC does not expect Hamilton to fit neatly into every conventional Democratic position. That is part of his potential value in a state such as Kansas.
Representative Sharice Davids has demonstrated that a pragmatic Democrat can win and govern effectively in the Kansas suburbs. She is seeking reelection in the 3rd Congressional District.
Davids has already shown that she can assemble a durable coalition without adopting the language or priorities of the ideological left. She remains one of the most important examples of the Democratic Party’s ability to compete in places it once routinely lost.
These endorsements reflect a common idea: candidates should fit the people and political culture they seek to represent. Kansas Democrats will not succeed by importing the politics of the most progressive parts of the country. They can succeed by offering capable, practical and independent-minded leadership rooted in Kansas itself.
CIVPAC has endorsed former Representative Elaine Luria in Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District.
Luria brings an unusual combination of military experience, legislative experience and demonstrated commitment to constitutional government. Before entering Congress, she served for 20 years as a Navy officer. In the House, she developed a reputation for seriousness on national security and later served on the committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol. She is now seeking to reclaim the district she represented from 2019 through 2022.
CIVPAC does not expect to agree with Luria on every issue. We would, of course, prefer a true centrist, but she represents the kind of center-left leadership the country needs: pragmatic, experienced, internationally engaged and willing to place constitutional responsibility ahead of immediate political convenience.
Virginia’s 2nd District includes a large military and veteran population and deserves a representative who understands both national defense and the obligations that accompany public power. Elaine Luria has demonstrated that understanding.
CIVPAC’s endorsements are not offered as kingmaking exercises. We recognize that we do not have that kind of influence. They are public markers: statements about the kind of politics we believe deserves support and the kind of politics we believe should be resisted.
CIVPAC has endorsed three Democratic members of Congress in Washington state: Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Adam Smith and Marilyn Strickland.
They represent different districts and different styles of leadership, but all three demonstrate that Democratic politics need not be dominated by its most ideological voices.
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez — Washington’s 3rd District
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez represents a politically difficult district in southwest Washington. A small-business owner with roots in the skilled trades, she has developed a reputation for independence, practical problem-solving and a willingness to depart from her party when she believes her district requires it. She won a Republican-leaning district in 2022 and expanded her margin in 2024.
CIVPAC does not endorse every departure from party leadership merely because it is independent. We endorse Gluesenkamp Perez because her independence generally reflects the interests of the people she represents.
Adam Smith is an experienced legislator and one of the Democratic Party’s most knowledgeable voices on national security. He has represented Washington in Congress since 1997 and currently serves as the leading Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.
Smith combines a broadly center-left domestic outlook with a realistic understanding of alliances, military power and America’s international responsibilities. At a time when parts of both parties are tempted by isolationism or ideological simplification, that experience matters.
Marilyn Strickland brings executive experience, practical judgment and close attention to the military families, veterans, workers and businesses of Washington’s South Sound. She is seeking a fourth term in Congress.
Strickland is a pragmatic Democrat who understands that public programs must deliver visible results. Her attention to infrastructure, economic opportunity and the quality of life of servicemembers and their families makes her a strong fit for her district.
These three endorsements do not suggest that the candidates are identical or that CIVPAC approves every vote they cast. They reflect our belief that the Democratic Party and the country need experienced national-security voices, pragmatic representatives of competitive districts and legislators focused on making government work.
