Crime, Policing and Prisons

Qualified immunity for police

26 public statements from 2026 candidates

§1The range of views

Why this matters: It decides how easily people whose rights an officer violated can win money in court, and how much personal legal risk officers carry for decisions on the job.

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.

A legal rule from Supreme Court rulings that usually protects police officers and other officials from personal lawsuits over violating someone's rights, unless earlier court rulings had clearly established that such conduct was unlawful.¹

End qualified immunity for police officers
Keep qualified immunity as courts apply it now
Write qualified immunity into federal law

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.

End qualified immunity for police officers (19)

Amanda N. Pusczek AL-4
Her campaign website says she supports legislation to abolish qualified immunity for all law enforcement officers.²
Jimmy Gomez CA-34
His campaign website says he is an original cosponsor of the Ending Qualified Immunity Act and of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.³
Sarah McBride DE-AL
Her campaign website says she cosponsored the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which it says would eliminate qualified immunity for law enforcement.⁴
Mike Sell FL-4
His campaign's platform calls for ending qualified immunity and supports the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.⁵
Christopher Dennison FL-7
His campaign website says qualified immunity should end for every government employee, not only one profession, and that people whose rights are violated should get their day in court.⁶
Dean Ocean Abrams FL Governor
His campaign website says he would end qualified immunity by creating a state right to sue state and local officials for constitutional violations without that defense.⁷
Nikema Williams GA-5
An earlier issues page still on her campaign website says she supports repealing qualified immunity.⁸
Sean Casten IL-6
His campaign website lists cosponsoring the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which it says would, among other things, eliminate qualified immunity.⁹
Pete Lynch KY-6
His campaign website says he supports ending qualified immunity.¹⁰
Edward J. Markey MA Senate
His campaign website says he would end qualified immunity so people can hold law enforcement responsible in court when their constitutional rights are violated, and lists him as lead sponsor of the Ending Qualified Immunity Act and the Qualified Immunity Abolition Act of 2026.^11,12
Richard E. Neal MA-1
His campaign website says he was an original cosponsor of the Justice in Policing Act of 2020, which it says would eliminate the qualified immunity doctrine, among other changes.¹³
Mike Saliba MI-10
His campaign website says he pledges to support H.R. 7085, the Ending Qualified Immunity Act, which it says eliminates the qualified immunity defense in civil actions for deprivation of rights.¹⁴
Donavan McKinney MI-13
His campaign website lists ending qualified immunity among the changes he wants to make to the criminal justice system.¹⁵
Lydia Christensen MI Senate
Her campaign website says she would end qualified immunity so people can hold the government accountable when their rights are violated.¹⁶
Ilhan Omar MN-5
Her campaign website's record page says she and House Democrats moved to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which it says would, among other changes, end qualified immunity for police.¹⁷
Tom Schmitz MO-1
His campaign website says he supports ending qualified immunity so that individual police officers who violate others' rights can be sued in civil court.¹⁸
Matthew Laszacs NC-2
His campaign website's criminal justice page calls for ending qualified immunity so that all public officials can be held fully responsible and legally liable for unlawful acts, including those done as part of their official duties.¹⁹
Guy Meilleur NC-4
His campaign website says qualified immunity should end, and that public officials should answer and be liable for illegal actions they take while carrying out their official duties.²⁰
Ted Brown TX Senate
His campaign website says he would end qualified immunity for police officers and require officers to carry liability insurance.²¹

Keep qualified immunity as courts apply it now (2)

Mike Cargile CA-35
His campaign website says he supports qualified immunity for police officers.²²
Michael Roger Minogue MA Governor
His campaign website says he would fully fund and protect qualified immunity for law enforcement.²³

Statements that don't match one option (5)

Mai Vang CA-7
Her campaign website says qualified immunity should end for ICE agents so they can be held personally and legally accountable for civil rights violations.²⁴
Greg Lopez CO Governor
His campaign website says he would work to restore qualified immunity for all law enforcement officers in Colorado.²⁵
LaVeta Davenport MI-1
The Green Party of Michigan 2026 platform text on her campaign website, which says she fully aligns with it, calls for curbing qualified immunity.^26,27
T.P. Nykoriak MI-13
His campaign website says federal officers who knowingly violate constitutional rights should lose qualified immunity, and that he will introduce a bill to substantially reform it for federal law enforcement, including Border Patrol and ICE agents.²⁸
Matt Little MN-2
His campaign website says he would limit qualified immunity for federal agents, by amending the civil rights law’s section 1983 so that it clearly covers every federal agent and by writing the Supreme Court’s Bivens standard into law and extending it.²⁹