Washington, DC – Today, LCV Victory Fund’s state affiliates announced the 2026 Dirty Dozen in the States. Modeled after LCV Victory Fund’s federal Dirty Dozen, the Dirty Dozen in the States highlights 12 of the worst candidates in the nation at the state and local level. Members of the Dirty Dozen in the States have consistently voted to raise energy costs, kill clean energy jobs, and take funding from corporate polluters. These candidates are chosen regardless of party affiliation and are running in races prioritized by LCV state affiliates in the Conservation Voter Movement. 

This year’s Dirty Dozen in the States (more details on each candidate here):

• • Arizona candidate for Corporation Commission – Ralph Heap
  • California candidate for  State Assembly District 58 – Leticia Castillo
  • Georgia candidate for Public Service Commission – Fitz Johnson
  • Michigan candidate for Governor – John James
  • Minnesota candidate for Governor –  Lisa Demuth
  • New York candidate for Governor – Bruce Blakeman
  • North Carolina candidate for Supreme Court – Sarah Stevens
  • Oregon candidate for Governor – Christine Drazan
  • Ohio candidate for Governor  – Vivek Ramaswamy
  • Pennsylvania candidate for Senate District 6 – Frank Farry
  • Utah candidate for House District 39 – Ken Ivory
  • Wisconsin candidate for Governor – Tom Tiffany

“From Governors all the way to utility commissions, these state and local positions will make critical choices for every day people’s lives,” said Nate Fowler, LCV Victory Fund Vice President of Campaigns. “Across the country we have all seen our energy bills skyrocket. We’ve watched as massive data centers take over our communities. And we’ve seen too many Republicans make the problem even worse by attacking new affordable clean energy projects. These state and local offices are critical to lowering costs and getting communities back on track. But this list of candidates have proven time and again they won’t stand up to Big Tech and data center developers, monopoly utility companies, or the polluters raising costs. They are perfectly willing to prop up their billionaire donors and leave the rest of us holding the bill.”

LCV Victory Fund believes voters concerned about data centers and rising energy costs will be a critical voting block for 2026 in both federal and state and local elections. The Cook Political Report released a new analysis that identifies the “doubly disenchanted” voter as a crucial voting bloc that could determine the outcome of the Midterms. These voters are defined as being under the age of 35, Republican-leaning Independents and lower income/education. According to Cook, “they draw the line on lowering gas prices and energy costs, giving Democrats a 37%-27% advantage – suggesting it’s the one critical pain point that could ultimately cause them to defect.” 

See why we nominated each candidate with their full description here. 

The over 30 state Conservation Voter Movement partners worked to determine the 2026 “Dirty Dozen in the States.” The candidates named are some of the most anti-affordability, anti-environment, and anti-democracy politicians running in competitive state-level races from governor to city officials and everywhere in between.

The “Dirty Dozen in the States” is modeled after LCV Victory Fund’s “Dirty Dozen,” which has targeted candidates for federal office (with occasional exceptions)— regardless of party affiliation — who consistently side against the environment, and are running in races in which LCV Victory Fund has a serious chance to affect the outcome. 

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Paid for by LCV Victory Fund, www.lcvvictoryfund.org, and not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.