Here are the three races to watch: 

Indiana

In Indiana, Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) is not seeking reelection to the Senate in order to run for governor. He was expected to waltz into the governor’s office but has encountered more resistance than expected.

The popular senator ran into early campaign trouble when the state Republican delegates selected his running mate Micah Bedwith, a self-proclaimed Christian nationalist, against Braun’s wishes. Bedwith’s spot on the ticket for lieutenant governor has given Braun’s Democratic challenger an unexpected boost. 

Jennifer McCormick, the Democrat, is a former Republican and a former state school superintendent. Her campaign has focused on preserving abortion rights, and she has received a cash infusion from the Democratic Governors Association. 

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In addition to saying Jan. 6 rioters were sent to the Capitol by God, Bedwith was criticized last month for saying his Democratic opponents have a “Jezebel spirit.”

At the state’s gubernatorial debate, McCormick pressed Braun to apologize for the “Jezebel spirit” comment from his running mate.

“I don’t like that,” Braun said. “You don’t see that out of me, and he’s been pretty good at avoiding that.”

While it is unlikely Democrats could win this statewide race in red Indiana, former President Barack Obama did win the state of Indiana in 2008, which could indicate not all Democratic sentiment is lost among Hoosiers. Obama’s candidacy had record-high enthusiasm, and Braun previously warned that enthusiasm surrounding Vice President Kamala Harris could create issues for Republicans in Indiana.

“Voters focus so much on the top of the ticket,” Braun said in September. “They vote for the rest because they’re there, but they went to vote for president.”

New Hampshire

New Hampshire’s gubernatorial race is expected to be the tightest contest in the country, with retiring Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH) leaving an open space for fresh candidates after eight years of his leadership. Former Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Democrat Joyce Craig will face each other. 

While Ayotte has better name recognition, Craig is the former mayor of Manchester, the state’s largest city and population center, as well as the state’s former attorney general. As Democrats look to abortion to help them in down-ballot races, Craig has used Ayotte’s abortion stance to her advantage, criticizing her vote as a senator to defund Planned Parenthood and her support of the 2022 Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.

A poll from the University of New Hampshire released in September found no clear leader between Ayotte and Craig.

In federal elections, the state has been trending in Democrats’ favor with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton having won New Hampshire by less than half a point in 2016, but President Joe Biden easily winning it by 7 points four years later. 

North Carolina

In North Carolina, Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R-NC) faces the state’s Attorney General Josh Stein, a Democrat. While Robinson was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, Trump has attempted to distance himself from Robinson.

While Robinson had made many questionable comments in the past, including calling victims of school shootings “spoiled, angry, know it all CHILDREN,” “spoiled little bastards,” and “media prosti-tots.” Many of his traits were known before he won the state’s GOP primary. He truly came under fire, however, after a CNN report that found that he had called himself a “Black NAZI.”

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“Some people need to be slaves. I wish they would bring it (slavery) back. I would certainly buy a few,” Robinson said on an online forum, according to the report. 

Robinson has denied that he wrote the comments and sued CNN as a result of the report. Stein has since been polling with a double-digit lead over Robinson, and Democrats are hoping a Stein win will boost the top of the ticket and hand Harris a win there.