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.
These endorsements should not be read as a general-election endorsement of the Democratic Party. CIVPAC includes members with different views about which party should control Congress. But we are united in believing that, when Democratic primary voters have a choice between practical center-left candidates and far-left or DSA-aligned candidates, the practical center-left candidate is usually more consistent with CIVPAC’s principles.
The three races are different. Missouri’s 1st District is a safe Democratic district, where the central question is what kind of Democrat should represent the district. Wisconsin’s 3rd District is a competitive, Republican-held district, where Democratic primary voters should give serious weight to breadth of appeal and practical governing judgment. New Hampshire’s 1st District is a competitive open seat in a politically independent state, where the Democratic nominee will need to appeal beyond the activist base.
In each race, CIVPAC believes Democratic primary voters have a better center-left alternative to far-left or DSA-aligned politics.
CIVPAC endorses Wesley Bell, Rebecca Cooke, and Stefany Shaheen in their respective Democratic primaries.
CIVPAC has posted several new primary and runoff endorsements in Georgia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. The races are different, but the standards are the same.
CIVPAC is looking for candidates who show practical judgment, respect for democratic institutions, willingness to govern beyond slogans, and some understanding of how policy actually works. We are trying to identify candidates who strengthen the governing center.
That sometimes means endorsing a Democrat. Sometimes it means endorsing a Republican. Sometimes it means making no endorsement.
Georgia Republican Runoffs
In Georgia, CIVPAC endorses Derek Dooley in the Republican primary runoff for U.S. Senate and makes no endorsement in the Republican primary runoff for Governor.
The Senate runoff presents a clear comparative judgment. Derek Dooley is not a perfect CIVPAC candidate. He is new to politics and has not yet built a public record that allows a full assessment of his governing philosophy. But his opponent, Representative Mike Collins, represents a more confrontational and performative style of politics that CIVPAC has consistently rejected.
Dooley is the more plausible choice for Republicans who want to move Georgia politics back toward a responsible center-right tradition.
The Governor runoff is different. CIVPAC supported Brad Raffensperger in the Republican primary because he demonstrated institutional courage in defending the integrity of Georgia’s 2020 election. With Raffensperger eliminated, the remaining candidates do not present a clear CIVPAC choice. CIVPAC is not obligated to choose between unsatisfactory alternatives merely to appear balanced.
In Maryland, CIVPAC endorses Rushern Baker in the Democratic primary for Maryland’s 5th Congressional District and Representative April McClain Delaney in the Democratic primary for Maryland’s 6th Congressional District.
In Maryland’s 5th District, the race to succeed Steny Hoyer includes several candidates with real strengths. Harry Dunn has a powerful January 6 story and deserves respect for his service. Harry Jarin also deserves respect for his public-service background and support for Ukrainian first responders. Adrian Boafo has the support of Representative Hoyer and a plausible continuity argument.
But CIVPAC’s endorsement is ultimately about who appears best prepared to serve effectively in Congress. Rushern Baker has the strongest governing-experience case in the field. His service as Prince George’s County executive gives him direct experience with budgets, administration, public safety, economic development, and the practical tradeoffs of governing.
Read the full Baker endorsement here: [CIVPAC Endorses Rushern Baker in Maryland’s 5th Congressional District Democratic Primary]
In Maryland’s 6th District, CIVPAC endorses April McClain Delaney over former Representative David Trone. This is not because the two candidates differ sharply on every major issue. They do not. Both are mainstream Democrats.
But in a race with limited policy distance between the leading candidates, CIVPAC gives weight to incumbency, continuity, and whether the challenger has made a persuasive affirmative case for replacing the incumbent. Representative McClain Delaney is the sitting member of Congress. She won a competitive general election. She has begun doing the job. In the absence of a compelling policy or performance-based reason to replace her, CIVPAC favors continuity.
CIVPAC also supports Kenyan McDuffie in the Democratic primary for Mayor of Washington, D.C.
CIVPAC does not ordinarily involve itself in local races outside its core geographic focus. But Washington, D.C. is not an ordinary local jurisdiction. It is the nation’s capital, a regional economic center, and a city whose governance affects many people who live and work throughout the Washington metropolitan area.
This race presents a familiar question: pragmatic governance or ideological ambition?
D.C. voters want more affordable housing, improved public safety, a local government that deserves their confidence, protection of home rule, and a strengthened economy that cannot take federal employment, downtown office demand, or private investment for granted. These problems require practical judgment, not slogans.
Housing is a central example. CIVPAC is skeptical of down-payment subsidies in supply-constrained housing markets because they can raise demand rather than supply and make homes more expensive for unsubsidized buyers. The stronger case for McDuffie is his greater emphasis on permitting reform, construction capacity, housing preservation, and working with private and nonprofit builders to expand supply.
CIVPAC also rejects threats of federal overreach against D.C. home rule. But opposition to President Trump should not become a substitute for judgment. The answer to federal overreach is not local overreach. It is steady, serious self-government.
These endorsements are not about party loyalty. They are about judgment.
In Georgia, that means supporting a Republican Senate candidate who appears more connected to a responsible center-right tradition while declining to endorse in a Governor runoff where neither remaining candidate meets CIVPAC’s standard.
In Maryland, it means supporting Democratic candidates who offer governing experience, continuity, and institutional seriousness.
In Washington, D.C., it means supporting a mayoral candidate whose approach is more pragmatic, market-compatible, and realistic about housing, public safety, home rule, and economic growth.
CIVPAC’s general view is that public policy should be economically sound, fair, respectful of individual freedom, politically realistic, and grounded in strong democratic institutions. These endorsements apply that standard across different races and different parties.
The country does not need more political performances aimed at ideologically extreme bases. It needs more serious governing.
