2026 Elections

The 2026 U.S. midterm elections will take place on Nov. 3, 2026. All 435 House seats and 33 Senate seats are up for election.

Recognizing Movements and Watching Elections: How We Build Lasting Political Power

PUBLISHED 1/9/2026 by

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation in politics, sports and entertainment, judicial offices and the private sector—with a little gardening mixed in!

This week:
—New York City’s council speaker Adrienne Adams offers an account of what changes when representation reaches governing power.
—2026 elections across the globe will be a big year for the health of democracy.
—Ohio joins the growing national effort to honor women’s political history.

… and more.

Letter From the Editor: Welcome to 2026! Women Are Shaping What Comes Next.

PUBLISHED 1/1/2026 by

Welcome to 2026!

Here at Ms., we’re looking forward to the new year, and are prepared for the battles that are in store for us, from Capitol Hill and the Supreme Court to statehouses and ballot boxes, workplaces and classrooms and in our day-to-day lives.

And if 2025 taught us anything, it’s that women will play a decisive role in the outcomes of these decisions—whether in their roles as lawmakers on Capitol Hill, in statehouses and mayors’ offices across the country; in media and in newsrooms; or as a powerful voting block.

As we enter this new year, with so much at stake, know that you can depend on Ms. to keep providing the thoughtful feminist reporting and analysis you count on to stay informed—and ready to fight back.

Here’s to another year of reporting, rebelling and truth-telling. We’re so glad you’re with us!

It’s Been a Hell of a Year for Feminists

PUBLISHED 12/24/2025 by

Since Trump’s inauguration in January, we’ve seen a barrage of attacks on the rights of women, immigrants and undocumented people, people of color and LGBTQ+ people. The cruelty that the administration has shown has been astounding to witness.

But the resistance to this cruelty has been just as astounding. Millions taking to the streets, again and again. Neighbors stepping in and preventing ICE from kidnapping neighbors they may not even know. Democracy defenders taking to the courts, fighting the onslaught of unconstitutional executive actions. Courageous networks of doctors, nurses, midwives and regular people distributing abortion pills into red states and ensuring women have access to safe abortion no matter where they live. And of course, the major feminist victories in November’s elections—in which women made a decisive difference for our democracy. 

The Ms. Q&A With Democracy Defenders Norm Eisen, Skye Perryman and Jennifer Rubin

PUBLISHED 12/6/2025 by

In the middle of an accelerating democratic crisis, and a year defined by sweeping attacks on women’s rights, the Feminist Majority Foundation, publisher of Ms. magazine, gathered in Los Angeles to honor some of the most formidable leaders on the front lines of resistance. At the Nov. 18 Global Women’s Rights Awards, journalists, lawyers, artists, organizers, litigators, community activists and movement strategists came together to celebrate what I call the “essential trifecta” for defeating authoritarianism: the law, the press and culture.

We recognized The Contrarian’s Jennifer Rubin and Norm Eisen for building an independent media platform willing to call out authoritarianism plainly; Democracy Forward president and CEO Skye Perryman for her organization’s record-breaking wave of legal challenges against the Trump administration; and the creative team behind the Broadway hit Liberation—playwright Bess Wohl, director Whitney White, and former Ms. writer and editor Lisa Cronin Wohl—for reminding audiences that storytelling is itself a democratic act.

“The number one tool that autocratic actors use to try to consolidate power and take away power from the people, is to convince people that they have no power,” said Perryman. “Their toolbox is one of isolation. They want you to feel alone.”

“I grew up miles from here, family hamburger stand,” said Eisen, “and now to be here, to have this opportunity with my colleagues to fight for this democracy that took my country, and my parents. … When my mother was living, she loved to say the Nazis took us out of Czechoslovakia on cattle cars, and my son flew back on Air Force One. So, how can I not be hopeful?”

Sex, Power and Impunity: Epstein’s Legacy in Historical Perspective

PUBLISHED 12/3/2025 by

The scandal that has preoccupied much of mainstream U.S. politics has, been, at one level, delightful: We have seen extremist Republicans—Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Thomas Massie and Nancy Mace—break with their party and its president in an effort to force into light the U.S. Department of Justice files on convicted sex trafficker and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. 

The story is almost irresistible for critics of the current national administration, feminists among them: Will we finally get to items from Epstein like the CD labeled “girl pics nude book 4”? What might these materials reveal? And whose misbehavior might they reveal?  

Fire the starting gun on analyses from every liberal, left, critical corner. Claims abound of shifting coalitions, changing tides, pages turned, a president’s authority shredded. 

But there are still as many questions stirring in the Epstein pot as there are answers. Why did these particular Republicans break from the pack? Is this a contemporary Republican version of feminism? 

And beneath them all: What good does it actually do us—or Epstein’s particular victims, or the scads of other victims of sexual coercion, trafficking and other mistreatment—to raise the heat so high on this particular scandal?

Prop 50’s Resounding Victory Shows Activism Can Be Transformed Into Voting

PUBLISHED 11/4/2025 by

California voters have rebuked Republican-led efforts to gerrymander future elections by passing Proposition 50, the Election Rigging Response Act, a temporary redistricting measure designed to create five additional Democratic seats in Congress.

If Democrats secure control of Congress next year, they will choose the House speaker, who appoints all committee chairs. Those chairs could issue subpoenas to members of the Trump administration and launch oversight investigations, which can be broadcast live for the press and the public. Democrats could pass legislation reversing the budget bill enacted by Republicans and signed by Trump on July Fourth. They could also pursue measures to rebuild and expand social and economic protections, and begin the work of healing the country.

Buoyed by this and other victories, grassroots movements are proving that the power of the people is resilient … and growing.

Activating Art for Women’s Rights and Democracy: Tiffany Shlain’s Feminist Monument Makes it to the Midwest in Advance of Pivotal Elections

PUBLISHED 10/29/2025 by

For three years running, artist and activist Tiffany Shlain has created calls to action around her feminist history tree ring sculpture in advance of U.S. elections where women’s voting rights, reproductive rights and long held democratic principles face historic setbacks. The milestones and tribulations of women’s history seared onto its surface are particularly resonant now, as many records of women’s presence and accomplishments are disappearing from public view.  

Women Confront GOP Attacks in Statehouses and Demand Transparency in Congress

PUBLISHED 9/8/2025 by

As Texas escalates its war on women, survivors of Jeffrey Epstein take the fight to Congress.

There is a simple truth at the core of the current Republican agenda, and our current moment: It is unsafe to be a woman in today’s America. And that situation is by design—whether through abortion restrictions, questioning the safety of the most effective forms of contraception, or RFK Jr.’s targeting of safe and effective vaccines, and other proven public health interventions that save lives. We will all suffer the consequences—regardless of our politics. 

Keeping Score: Democrats Fight Republican Redistricting; Periods Make College Students Miss Class; Costco Refuses to Sell (Safe, Legal) Abortion Pills to Appease Antiabortion Politics

PUBLISHED 8/25/2025 by

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.

This week:
—“I am deeply alarmed by news reports that Costco is refusing to sell safe, effective, and legal medication for no other reason than to appease the politics of antiabortion fanatics,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.).
—The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee called for Democrat-led state legislatures to pursue redistricting: “The DLCC refuses to allow Republicans to rig the maps to keep themselves in power.”
—“A troubling shift is underway: Women are leaving the U.S. workforce in unprecedented numbers. But this isn’t a choice; it’s a consequence,” warned Catalyst president and CEO Jennifer McCollum after a report showed 212,000 women have left the workforce since January.
—A third of college students have missed class because of their period.
—The Trump administration is planning to restrict coverage of abortion care for veterans in almost all circumstances.
—RFK Jr. takes aim at antidepressant use during pregnancy, despite American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ approving of their usage.
—Texas’ abortion ban has made miscarriages more dangerous.
—A federal court blocked the Trump administration’s restrictions on grants from the Office on Violence Against Women. Seventeen states had challenged the restrictions, and the order is a temporary win for organizations supporting survivors of domestic and sexual violence. 

… and more.