Crime, Policing and Prisons

Death penalty

16 public statements from 2026 candidates

§1The range of views

Why this matters: It sets the harshest punishment the law allows for the worst crimes, and people weigh justice for victims, costs and the risk of mistakes differently.

Drafted by AI, then checked for neutral wording in a separate AI review. It describes the question and the main positions, not any candidate's view. Facts link to their sources.

Whether people convicted of the most serious crimes, such as murder, can be sentenced to death, which federal law and about half the states allow.1

  1. Use it more often or for more crimes (for example, child rape or drug trafficking)
  2. Keep it as current law allows
  3. Pause executions (a moratorium)
  4. Abolish it

These options describe policies, not people. The order is not a ranking.

§2What candidates have said

Why this matters: Statements candidates made publicly, summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Candidates who haven't spoken publicly on this issue aren't listed.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Use it more often or for more crimes (for example, child rape or drug trafficking) (2)

  • Andrew Gerena TN Senate
    His campaign website says the death penalty should be available, by jury decision only, for people convicted of child sex offenses or child trafficking.2
  • Marsha Blackburn TN Governor
    Her campaign website says she supported Tennessee legislation making people convicted of child rape eligible for the death penalty.3

Abolish it (12)

  • Lateefah Simon CA-12
    Her campaign website says she would support legislation to end the federal death penalty and require resentencing of people now on death row.4
  • Gaylon Kent CO-2
    His campaign website says innocent people have been executed and that it is time to abolish the death penalty.5
  • Christopher Dennison FL-7
    His campaign website, under the heading The State Should Not Decide Who Dies, says courts convict innocent people and that he would rather see many guilty people live out their sentences than see one innocent person put to death.6
  • Jonathan L. Jackson IL-1
    His official biography says he supports H.R. 4633, the Federal Death Penalty Prohibition Act.7
  • Drew Cranmer KS-4
    His campaign website says he will advocate for abolishing the federal death penalty, citing human dignity and the risk of executing an innocent person.8
  • Richard E. Neal MA-1
    His campaign website says he has fought against the death penalty, voting repeatedly to end the practice.9
  • Ayanna S. Pressley MA-7
    Her campaign website says she has advocated for an end to the federal death penalty.10
  • Jamie Raskin MD-8
    His campaign website lists abolition of the death penalty among his accomplishments in the Maryland State Senate.11
  • Lydia Christensen MI Senate
    Her campaign website says she opposes the death penalty.12
  • Michael Dublin NC Senate
    His platform supports abolishing the death penalty.13
  • Ted Brown TX Senate
    His campaign website says he does not trust government officials with the power to execute people and that people convicted of premeditated murder should instead face life in prison without parole.14
  • Pat Dixon TX Governor
    His campaign website says he opposes the death penalty and would support repealing it, because the government should not have the power to make an irreversible mistake.15

Statements that don't match one option (2)

  • George E. McDermott MD-4
    A 2010 statement posted on his campaign website says he objects to executions on unsigned Supreme Court orders, distrusts the courts to protect citizens' rights, and names 30 years of hard labor as the alternative.16
  • Chris Dardzinski MI-13
    His campaign website says he supports the death penalty.17