Citlali Márquez-Hamil dances during a TK class at First Street Elementary School in Los Angeles, on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope) On issue after issue, red states and blue states are pulling in different directions. But as 36 states prepare for gubernatorial elections this year, there is one issue where governors from across the political spectrum are agreeing: It is time to invest in early education and care and fix the broken government systems that have been holding back providers and families.
Why is this happening? Because governors know that access to quality, affordable childcare matters to families everywhere. For the kids, it means a great place to play, learn and grow, setting them up for long-term success. For parents, it means the chance to stay in the workforce and advance economically.
But for millions of families right now, high-quality early education and care is out of reach. In many areas there aren’t enough services to reach all families with young children, and in too many cases what services are available aren’t affordable or accessible. That’s why state funding and policy are so important, and it’s why governors of both parties have made it a part of their platforms.
Look across the country and you’ll see governors leading the way. In Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp (R) recently celebrated the state’s recognition for the highest-quality universal preschool program. In California and Colorado, Govs. Gavin Newsom (D) and Jared Polis (D) supported the creation of new universal state preschool programs. And New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) signed legislation this year making her state the first to offer universal child care.
The “Southern surge” states leading the way in education reform — including Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi — have all made early childhood an essential part of their strategy for improving early literacy. Republican governors in these states are ensuring that high-quality state-funded pre-kindergarten gets kids off to a strong start.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) and Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) have hired new Cabinet-level early childhood officials, with new agencies launching July 1. And Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) supported sweeping reforms to early childhood education in the Arkansas LEARNS Act.
In some states, early childhood has been one of the few issues where governors of different parties don’t cause their constituents political whiplash.
Take Virginia, which has gone from a laggard to a national leader in less than a decade. When Democrat Ralph Northam became governor in 2018, he committed to improving the state’s support for early education and care — bringing state pre-k and subsidized childcare funding into the same state agency, adopting a new and improved approach to measure quality and ensuring the state had good data to use its resources efficiently.
When Republican Glenn Youngkin took over in 2022, he didn’t change directions, he accelerated. The state increased its funding and made important changes to how the state measures and supports provider quality. This year, Democrat Abigail Spanberger came into office, and she’s staying the course. In fact, the Virginia Department of Education deputy secretary who led the charge under Youngkin is now the secretary of Education.
But while some states are getting ahead, others are falling behind by not investing in early childhood. That means families don’t have good options for their children, providers are stuck in a maze of bureaucracy and businesses are trying to hire out of a shrunken workforce. That’s not a recipe for success in either the short or long term.
In the 2026 election, 36 states will choose a path for the next four years. Candidates for governor have every reason to champion investment in early education and care, because it’s both good policy and good politics.
Not only do families need it, voters believe in it — which has made it a winning message in red states, blue states, and purple states. And if those candidates are elected, they will have a mandate to act on their promises, building on the successes of the governors around the country who’ve been paving the way.
Elliot Regenstein is a Chicago-based partner at Foresight Law and Policy and author of the recent Harvard Education Press book “Readiness: Preparing State Early Childhood Systems for a Brighter Future.“
Add as preferred source on Google Tags Alabama Arkansas LEARNS Brian Kemp California California Gov. Gavin Newsom Colorado early childhood education education funding Gavin Newsom Georgia Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp Gov. Abigail Spanberger Gov. Jared Polis Gubernatorial races Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker Jared Polis Louisiana Michelle Lujan Grisham Mississippi New Mexico Ralph Northam Virginia Gov. Glenn YoungkinCopyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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