Courts, Rights and Civil Liberties

Number of Supreme Court justices

12 public statements from 2026 candidates · 1 related bill

§1The range of views

Why this matters: The number of seats decides how many justices a president and Senate can add and how quickly the court's majority can change.

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.

How many justices sit on the Supreme Court, a number set by Congress rather than the Constitution, which has been nine since 1869.1

  1. Add justices to the court
  2. Keep nine justices under current law
  3. Fix the number at nine in the Constitution

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.

Add justices to the court (8)

  • Scott Wiener CA-11
    His campaign website says he would expand the Supreme Court.2
  • Lateefah Simon CA-12
    Her campaign website says she supports expanding the number of Supreme Court justices and creating new federal judgeships.3
  • Angela Gonzales-Torres CA-34
    Her campaign website says she supports expanding the Supreme Court.4
  • Henry "Hank" Johnson, Jr. GA-4
    His campaign website says he proposed the Judiciary Act, legislation to expand the Supreme Court.5,6,7
  • Tia LeBrun LA-3
    Her campaign website's Policy Plans page lists expanding the Supreme Court from 9 to 13 justices.8
  • Ilhan Omar MN-5
    It says the Supreme Court should be expanded.9
  • Ashley Bell NC-10
    Her campaign website lists expanding the Supreme Court among the policies she supports.10
  • Adam Hamawy NJ-12
    His campaign website says he supports expanding the Supreme Court.11

Keep nine justices under current law (1)

  • Michael "Dr. Mike" Katz DE Senate
    His campaign website says he would oppose any partisan attempt to add justices to the Supreme Court.12

Fix the number at nine in the Constitution (1)

  • Michelle Fischbach MN-7
    The record page lists co-sponsoring a proposed constitutional amendment that would fix the Supreme Court at nine justices.13

Statements that don't match one option (2)

  • Alani Bankhead MT Senate
    Her campaign website says she would defend judicial independence and opposes court-packing.14
  • Analilia Mejia NJ-11
    Her campaign issues page says she supports enlarging the courts if that proves necessary to restore balance.15

§3Related bills

Why this matters: Bills from 2023–2026 that bear on this issue, with how Congress handled them.