Environment and Public Lands

Selling or transferring federal lands

44 public statements from 2026 candidates

§1The range of views

Why this matters: It decides who owns and manages these lands, which affects housing and development, state and local budgets, and public access for hunting, hiking and other uses.

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 the federal government should sell some of the land it owns, such as for housing near growing towns, or hand large areas over to state governments.

  1. Transfer large areas of federal land to the states
  2. Sell limited amounts of federal land, such as near towns for housing
  3. Keep federal lands in federal ownership

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.

Transfer large areas of federal land to the states (1)

  • Pro-Life ID Governor
    His campaign website says the Constitution does not authorize Congress to own land within states and that the Idaho Legislature should authorize state ownership of those lands in Idaho.1

Sell limited amounts of federal land, such as near towns for housing (4)

  • Stephanie M. Vargas CA-33
    Her campaign website says she would use empty or surplus federal land to build new, affordable neighborhoods for young families.2
  • Kevin E. Martin GA-6
    His campaign website says Congress should make unused federal land available for housing, with incentives for individuals rather than only large developers.3
  • Aaron D. Ford NV Governor
    His campaign website says he would work with Nevada's congressional delegation and federal agencies so federal land sales prioritize affordable housing, with part of any released land set aside for conservation.4
  • Joseph Lombardo NV Governor
    His campaign website says he will keep working with federal partners to release more federal land for attainable housing.5

Keep federal lands in federal ownership (25)

  • Mai Vang CA-7
    Her campaign website says she will vote against any legislation that opens federal lands to sale or privatization.6
  • Scott Wiener CA-11
    His campaign website says he would protect public lands, coastlines and national parks from being sold off.7
  • Randy Villegas CA-22
    His campaign website says selling off national parks should end immediately.8
  • Gil Cisneros CA-31
    His campaign website says he would keep public lands public rather than auction them off.9
  • John Hickenlooper CO Senate
    His campaign website says public lands should never be for sale and that he helped stop a plan to sell off public lands.10
  • Dwayne L. Romero CO-3
    His campaign website says he opposes efforts to sell or transfer public lands to private interests.11
  • Jessica Killin CO-5
    Her campaign website says she would oppose efforts to sell off federal public lands and make sure the National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management have the resources to protect open spaces.12,13
  • Jason Crow CO-6
    His campaign website says he is fighting to keep public lands from being sold off or damaged by irresponsible drilling and mining.14
  • Phil Weiser CO Governor
    His campaign website says he would fight federal efforts to sell off public lands.15,16
  • Kelly Kirschner FL-16
    His campaign website says he would keep public lands in public hands and oppose efforts to privatize state and federal lands for uses such as golf courses, development and more resource extraction.17,18
  • Todd Achilles ID Senate
    His campaign website says he opposes the sale or transfer of any of Idaho's public lands.19
  • Kaylee Peterson ID-1
    Her campaign website says Idaho's public lands should be permanently preserved, and its public lands plan says she opposes out-of-state corporate lobbying efforts to privatize, sell off or close down access to federal lands.20,21
  • Sarah Zabel ID-1
    Her campaign website says selling federal land to private developers is the wrong answer, and that she supports the Public Lands in Public Hands Act or a durable solution like it.22
  • Ellie Gilbreath ID-2
    Her campaign website says public lands should be kept public and that she opposes the sale or transfer of public lands to private or political interests.23
  • Emre Houser ID-2
    His platform page says he will not allow public lands to be sold to the highest bidder.24
  • Erik Osberg MN-7
    His Environmental Stewardship priority says public lands should stay public and open for recreation.25
  • Alani Bankhead MT Senate
    Her campaign website says public lands should never be sold and that she backs the Public Lands in Public Hands Act to bar their sale or transfer without an act of Congress.26
  • Seth Bodnar MT Senate
    His campaign website says he will oppose any sale or transfer of public land.27
  • Brian J Miller MT-2
    His campaign website says he will do everything he can to keep public lands in public hands forever.28
  • Michael D Eisenhauer MT-2
    His Voter Contract page says he will oppose any sale of federal public lands made just to balance the budget, and his Issues page also opposes selling public lands.29,30
  • Richard N. Ojeda II NC-9
    His campaign website's Environment page says he opposes privatizing national lands and would vote against attempts to sell public land.31
  • Jamie Ager NC-11
    His campaign website says public lands in the region, including the Blue Ridge Parkway, Great Smoky Mountains National Park and national forests, must be protected and that he will not allow them to be sold.32
  • Paul Barringer NC-13
    His priorities page says federal public lands should not be sold or privatized.33
  • Gabriel Vasquez NM-2
    His campaign website says he led the successful bipartisan effort that stopped a sell-off of New Mexico's public lands and founded the Bipartisan Public Lands Caucus.34,35
  • Tina Kotek OR Governor
    Her campaign website says she has opposed attempts to sell off public lands.36

Statements that don't match one option (14)

  • Peter Coe Verbica CA-19
    His 25-point federal plan proposes repurposing surplus federal land for housing.37
  • Cristian Morales CA-43
    His campaign website's platform calls for making federal land available for housing where appropriate.38
  • Michael Gist FL-6
    His campaign website said the plan would place designated federal real property and the federal share of oil, gas and mineral proceeds from public lands in a trust portfolio that funds the accounts, with public access continuing until Congress authorizes closure or transfer.39
  • Eliott Rodriguez FL-27
    His campaign website lists among his priorities identifying underused federal land and converting it into affordable mixed-use housing.40
  • Brenton Awa HI-2
    His campaign website proposes reclaiming available federally controlled land for local workforce housing and offering counties long-term federal leases at $1 per year.41
  • Jim Risch ID Senate
    His campaign website says he led the effort in the Senate to stop a proposal to sell some of Idaho's public lands.42
  • Terri Pickens ID Governor
    Her campaign website says public lands must stay in public hands rather than be privatized, with access kept for recreation, hunting and fishing.43
  • John R. Stegner ID Governor
    His campaign website says Idaho's public lands must stay in public ownership and are not for sale.44,45
  • Paul Sand ID Governor
    His campaign website says he opposes any effort to privatize public lands.46
  • Aaron Flint MT-1
    His campaign website lists the Public Lands in Public Hands Act, which it says keeps federal land from being sold or handed over in large amounts, among the steps in his public lands plan.47
  • Afzal "Bobby" Khan NV-1
    His campaign website says he supports transferring surplus federal land to state and local authorities so Nevada can build more affordable housing.48,49
  • Teresa F. Benitez-Thompson NV-2
    Her campaign website says federal land sales should happen only with input from local and tribal stakeholders, citizens and conservation groups and not through budget amendments authorizing large sales, and says she will resist selling off public land.50
  • James Byrd WY Senate
    His campaign website says he would oppose efforts to sell or privatize Wyoming's public lands and would keep them open for hunting, fishing, grazing and recreation.51,52
  • Eric Barlow WY Governor
    His campaign website says he strongly supports keeping public lands in public hands and opposes efforts to sell off Wyoming's public lands.53