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NDN Collective Statement on Historic Wins in 2026 Midterm Elections

By NDN Collective • November 4, 2026

Many of us have a lot to celebrate today. Midterm election night delivered hard-fought, historical firsts: the first Black woman governor (Keisha Lance Bottoms), the first openly gay man elected to the Senate (Chris Pappas), the first Muslim senator (Dr. Abdul El-Sayed), the first Native governor (Deb Haaland), and the first Native woman senator (Peggy Flanagan), just to name a few. For the first time in over a decade, it felt like significant progress was made at the national level towards the inclusive and multiracial democracy that has long been promised.

This Victory Belongs to the People

This moment did not happen by accident. The hope many of us feel is the result of years of on-the-ground organizing work, especially across the South. The people of Texas elected Gina Hinojosa as their first Democratic governor in 35 years and James Talarico as their first Democratic senator since 1988. South Carolina elected Annie Andrews as their first Democratic senator in over 25 years. North Carolina flipped their Senate seat by electing Democrat Roy Cooper. Georgia elected Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms as their first Black woman governor. Democrat Jamie Davis narrowly lost the Senate race in Louisiana, and we are waiting for Democrat Scott Colom to be called as the Senator-elect in Mississippi. People in the South have continuously fought back against efforts to suppress their voices and votes, and this is proof of their hard work.  

We see the organizers on the ground doing the work every year, not just in election years. This win belongs to all of those who coordinated mutual aid, spoke up at community forums, signed the petitions, those who blew whistles to stop the kidnapping of their neighbors, and those who have been relentlessly knocking doors and listening to the concerns and dreams of their neighbors and finding common ground. 

This victory belongs to the people who took to the streets in resistance, who rallied in their own communities, and to the incredible Black women organizers across the South who mobilized voters. To the people of Minnesota, whose sustained organizing and resistance during and after Operation Metro Surge fueled shifts away from authoritarianism and hate rhetoric towards justice. To all of those who refused to leave power on the table and used their votes to cast a ballot for the conditions they want to organize in.

Our Work Starts Today

We must utilize this momentum and be ready to organize within these new structures. The economic hardship and dangerous legislation created by the current administration can’t be fixed in a two-year window; it will take longer than that to undo and recover from what has been done. We need to reshape our democracy to lead us towards liberation. It is our job to hold people accountable, apply pressure, and move our elected representatives on the issues our communities face. Right now, we need bold leaders who are unapologetic about fighting against the rise of authoritarianism. 

With a renewed sense of hope, we will continue the fights still happening on the ground. NDN Collective was created for this moment: to inspire bold strategic action at all levels of government to defend our lands and way of life. In this moment, we are celebrating and organizing along a fragile fault line that could still break towards authoritarianism. To ensure that we continue to move forward and not backward, we must not only support them, but hold our newly elected leaders accountable. We will use our voice to speak up if we see officials making decisions that further contribute to the rise of authoritarianism, bend toward the oligarchy, or ignore the suffering of our people. This is an opportunity for our voices to be heard in the halls of Congress, but we must be deliberate and strategic. For impactful policy to happen, it requires that the people apply external pressure to push for the world we want to build.

We know that we can overcome the odds to keep our neighbors safe, stop police brutality, shut down drilling operations, say no to our tax dollars funding genocides, wars, and conflicts across the globe, protect tribal sovereignty, stop military leases in Hawai’i, and deliver reparations to our Black relatives. It’s up to us to roll up our sleeves and continue defending Mother Earth. This is our movement.  NDN Collective will continue to stand our ground as Indigenous organizers and remain unapologetic in our fight for Indigenous sovereignty, LANDBACK, and the liberation of all people.

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