Nurses Are Running for Congress in 2026 — Here's What It Means

Registered nurses have moved from the bedside to the ballot in the 2026 midterms, with candidates filing in U.S. House and Senate races across both parties and as independents.

Nurse.org's candidate reporting includes original interviews, campaign fundraising figures, and a documented data methodology, which gives nursing educators a rare primary-source window into how our own workforce issues become federal policy.

For students in ADN, RN to BSN, MSN, and DNP programs, these campaigns are not distant politics. They put staffing ratios, scope of practice, and education funding directly on a congressional ballot.

Who's Running: The 2026 Nurse Candidate Field

This snapshot of publicly reported 2026 nurse candidates is not a verified list. Before relying on a name, search FEC.gov for federal campaign filings, check your state secretary of state or election office, and cross-check the candidate on Ballotpedia. For race competitiveness, look up each House or Senate contest directly on Cook Political Report, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and Inside Elections, and verify nursing credentials through state boards of nursing, nursing school pages, and endorsements from the American Nurses Association or state nurses associations.

Republican, Democratic, and Independent Nurse Candidates

Are the nurses running for Congress in 2026 mostly Democrats, and what changed on the Republican side? Democrats still make up the largest share of the candidate field, but Republican nurse candidates are running in more visible and competitive races than in past cycles.

The partisan shape of the field

Historically, registered nurses who ran for federal office leaned Democratic. That pattern continues in 2026, but the Republican nurse candidates are no longer a token group. The Nurse.org candidate review shows a two-party field where Democratic nurse candidates hold the numerical edge, while Republican nurse candidates appear in targeted suburban and rural districts where healthcare access and workforce shortages are top local issues.

What is different in 2026 is not just the number of Republican nurse candidates. It is that many are leading with nursing as a central campaign credential rather than a biographical footnote. They are talking about NP independent practice, rural hospitals, and barriers to continuing nursing education through a conservative policy lens.

Cross-party races to watch

A handful of races feature nurse candidates from both major parties, creating a direct ballot contrast on how to address staffing ratios, scope of practice, and nursing school capacity. The most competitive cross-party contests tend to be in districts where hospitals and clinics are among the largest employers, making nursing policy a practical voter concern.

Independents and third parties

Independent and third-party nurse candidates remain a small part of the 2026 field. A few nurses may appear on ballots outside the two major parties, but none have emerged as a leading contender in a high-profile race as of late September 2026. For nursing students and educators, the practical takeaway is that the two major parties are carrying the clearest nursing policy agendas into the fall campaign.

Campaign Fundraising: How Nurse Candidates Compare

The table below shows the most recent Federal Election Commission figures reported for selected 2026 nurse congressional candidates and their opponents in the same races. Complete cash-on-hand comparisons are not available for every contest, so missing values are marked N/A. Opponent cash on hand reflects the cash on hand of the candidate's direct opponent in the same race where available.

Where Nurse Candidates Stand on Staffing Ratios, Scope of Practice, and Nursing Education Funding

Heading into the 2026 cycle, the clearest signal from nurse candidates is that nurse staffing ratios have moved from a workplace grievance to a federal campaign issue. Kimberly Berman supports what she calls "non-negotiable" evidence-based, unit-specific staffing ratios. Tim Peck's campaign similarly advocates legislation for safe nurse-to-patient ratios in hospitals and healthcare facilities. Neither candidate is documented as endorsing H.R. 3415 or S. 1709 by name, but their positions align with the bills' push for minimum RN-to-patient ratios, required staffing plans, public notices, and civil penalties.

Nurse practitioner scope of practice remains quieter

Public positions on expanding nurse practitioner scope and prescriptive authority are thinner in this candidate set. A 2026 federal bill, H.R. 1317, the ICAN Act, would allow NPs and PAs to practice to the full extent of their training under Medicare and Medicaid. However, the available material did not tie that position to a specific nurse candidate. That gap matters because NP prescriptive authority shapes what graduates can do in federally funded clinics and telehealth settings. For APRN students tracking licensure and reimbursement questions, the NP vs PA scope of practice debate is live but not yet candidate-by-candidate.

Education funding and workforce shortages

On nursing education, Catherine Thomas's campaign is the most specific. She says she would press Congress to fund college-level nursing programs, expand the nursing workforce, support loan repayment for nurses returning to their hometowns, and increase rural hospital funding. Thomas has also signaled support for nursing unions. Berman has called workforce development key, though her campaign has not attached a dollar figure. Faculty shortage programs also remain a talking point, but specific candidate commitments beyond Thomas's general support for college-level nursing programs are not yet available. Meanwhile, nursing organizations are asking for major Title VIII increases: at least $530 million for fiscal 2026 and at least $610 million for fiscal 2027, with 60 nursing groups in the coalition. Those are sector requests, not individual candidate pledges.

Overlap and open questions

The early overlap is clear: nurse candidates who have gone on record treat staffing and education funding as nursing-first issues, not partisan accessories. But because other nurse candidates, including Jen Kiggans, have not yet published detailed positions across all three areas, the field remains incomplete. Students and educators can use those blanks as a classroom exercise in policy tracking before the primary calendar fills in.

Questions to Ask Yourself

How Nurse Legislators Have Shaped Prior Healthcare Legislation

Nineteen laws signed by Presidents Biden and Trump list Rep. Lauren Underwood, a registered nurse from Illinois' 14th District, as a sponsor or co-sponsor.¹ That total gives a concrete signal of the legislative footprint nurse members can leave.

The first nurse elected to Congress

Eddie Bernice Johnson, a registered nurse from Texas and an African American nurse, is generally credited as the first nurse elected to Congress.² She won her House seat in 1992 and served until her death in 2023. Over that span, she sponsored more than 300 laws³ and chaired the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.⁴ Her National Nurse Act of 2011 would have created a National Nurse for Public Health in the Office of the Surgeon General. The bill did not become law, but it helped frame the profession's public health responsibilities.³

Recent nurse members and their healthcare work

Rep. Lauren Underwood has focused on maternal health and treatment access. Her NIH IMPROVE Act passed the House unanimously and targeted maternal mortality and disparity research, a field where nurse scientists often lead.⁵ She also introduced the Primary and Behavioral Health Care Access Act of 2026, which would cover three primary care visits and three behavioral health visits each year without copays, coinsurance, or deductibles.⁵

Rep. Jen Kiggans, a Republican nurse from Virginia's 2nd District, has sponsored the Nursing is a Professional Degree Act⁶ and the Enhancing Skilled Nursing Facilities Act.⁷ The available record does not confirm whether either became law, but both reflect a workforce and long-term care agenda. Kiggans and Underwood also introduced an October 2025 resolution recognizing the first nurse elected to Congress.

Cori Bush, a registered nurse and former Representative from Missouri, brought a clinical, community health perspective to policy debates. Her specific sponsored bills are not detailed in the source material reviewed here, but her presence in the chamber added to the nurse bloc.

Has a nurse ever served in the Senate?

Historical records reviewed here do not establish that any nurse has served in the U.S. Senate. The title "first nurse elected to Congress" belongs to Eddie Bernice Johnson, and that milestone occurred in the House of Representatives in 1992.²

Why These Nurses Say They're Running for Office

Many of the nurses running for Congress in 2026 describe their campaigns as an extension of problems they saw in patient care, not as a simple career pivot. Nurse.org's original reporting on candidate interviews and campaign statements shows a recurring theme: staffing crises, burnout, and policy gaps at the bedside are pushing nurses toward federal office.

Frontline Staffing vs. Broader Health System Reform

Nurse candidate priorities tend to fall into two groups. Some focus on clinical working conditions. Matt Dunlap, endorsed by National Nurses United in Maine's 2nd Congressional District, named Medicare for All, safe staffing levels, safe workplaces, and fair contracts as his campaign priorities. That emphasis is grounded in direct patient care and labor protections. Other candidates widen the lens to health care access, cost, and democracy, issues the 2025 Commonwealth Fund Health Scorecard tracks state by state. National Nurses United described Patty Garcia in Illinois's 4th District as focused on health care justice, immigrant rights, and an economy valuing workers over billionaires. Daniel Biss in Illinois's 9th District and Juliana Stratton in the Illinois U.S. Senate race were endorsed with reference to Medicare for All and reducing corporate money in politics. That broader frame connects nursing concerns to affordability and voter power.

Who Is Backing Nurse Candidates

Labor-aligned nursing organizations are the most visible endorsers in 2026. National Nurses United has backed candidates including Garcia, Junaid Ahmed, Daniel Biss, Matt Dunlap, Justin Pearson, Claire Valdez, Juliana Stratton, and Angie Nixon. New York State Nurses Association joined NNU for Valdez, Brad Lander, and Darializa Avila Chevalier.¹ Maine State Nurses Association endorsed Graham Platner alongside NNU. The California Nurses Association endorsed Tom Steyer for governor. In available 2026 reporting, the American Nurses Association does not appear in congressional endorsements, which suggests union-affiliated groups are currently driving nurse candidate visibility.

What Students and Educators Can Watch For

Because many campaign positions appear in endorsement statements rather than long candidate interviews, students and faculty, including Nurse Faculty Fellowship participants, should treat them as starting points, not settled platforms. The clearest throughline is that nurse candidates are motivated by policy gaps they saw in practice, whether at the bedside or in the larger health system.

What This Means for Nursing Students, RNs, and Educators

Bedside staffing and classroom policy may seem like separate conversations, but for nurses watching the 2026 congressional races, they are the same debate. Nurse candidates are turning state-level fights over ratios and authority into federal campaign issues, and nursing programs can treat those positions as direct extensions of course material. This is not merely an election-year sideshow. It is a direct preview of the policy environment graduating nurses will enter.

From Platform Promises to Class Assignments

RN-to-BSN students can compare how candidates describe safe staffing ratios against workforce data and quality metrics. Master of Science in Nursing and DNP leadership courses can analyze campaign language around nurse retention, while health policy seminars can map nurse candidates' scope-of-practice positions to existing federal and state authority. Nurse faculty can use candidate platforms as live case studies in ethics, leadership, and policy analysis without waiting for a textbook update.

Scope of Practice Is a Licensure Issue

For APRN students, these debates are not theoretical. Whether a future Congress expands or restricts full practice authority will influence prescriptive authority, reimbursement eligibility, and telehealth roles after graduation. Students in NP, CRNA, CNM, and CNS tracks can trace how a candidate's federal stance aligns with the state boards where they plan to apply for licensure, making the 2026 races a preview of their own professional boundaries.

Funding Outcomes Hit Faculty and Clinical Slots

Federal nursing education funding is another quiet stake. If candidates prioritize nursing workforce grants, schools may expand faculty hiring, loan repayment, and clinical placement capacity. If those proposals stall, graduate nursing programs could face tighter clinical sites and fewer preceptors. For students and educators, the nurse candidates on the ballot are not just a political story. They are a planning signal for the next academic year.

Questions to Ask Yourself

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