While national politics dominates the headlines, the 2026 midterm elections will decide control of 39 state governorships, and those races may be more important for trans rights than ever before. Governors wield extraordinary power to protect or harm trans people, especially through the veto pen.

How governors are standing up for trans rights

Five states have found themselves in a position where voters chose Democratic governors even as they sent Republican legislatures to the statehouse: Arizona, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. In each of these red-leaning states, Democratic governors have repeatedly vetoed anti-trans bills that would have restricted gender-affirming care, bathroom access, and sports participation. Tony Evers in Wisconsin recently vetoed five such bills in a single session. Laura Kelly in Kansas rejected a bathroom bill, and Andy Beshear in Kentucky has vetoed anti-trans legislation multiple times. Meanwhile, in states like Michigan and Pennsylvania where one chamber remains Republican-controlled, Democratic governors Gretchen Whitmer and Josh Shapiro have pledged to veto any anti-trans bills that reach their desks.

The stakes of November's elections

The contrast is stark. When a governor vetoes a bill, the legislature must secure a supermajority to override it or reintroduce the legislation knowing it faces the same fate. That process slows and often stops anti-trans measures in their tracks. Republican Governor Joe Lombardo in Nevada is trying to bypass this dynamic altogether by pushing a ballot initiative to ban trans women from sports, aware that his state's Democratic legislature blocks such efforts through normal channels. A shift from Democratic to Republican governors in these swing states would remove the last protection many trans residents have against their legislatures' bills.

Protecting trans lives between now and 2028

The federal picture is grim, with the Trump administration actively working to restrict gender-affirming care and trans rights nationwide through executive orders and agency actions. But governors can carve out spaces of safety within their own borders. States like Minnesota, where Governor Tim Walz has positioned the state as a trans refuge, show what is possible when leadership is committed. The 2026 midterms will determine whether that protection expands or shrinks across America's statehouses over the next crucial years.

Source: LGBTQ Nation

Cover photo: An Vuong / Pexels

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