Three Swarthmore alumni won races for public office in the 2026 midterm elections last Tuesday. Josh Green ’92 H’22 won a second term as governor of Hawaii, Phil Weiser ’90 became governor-elect of Colorado, and Will Lawrence ’13 won Michigan’s contested seventh Congressional District. All three ran as Democrats.
Josh Green ’92 H’22, Governor of Hawaii
Green won a second term as governor of Hawaii, beating Republican challenger Gary Cordery by a record margin of 54 percentage points, the largest in a Hawaii governor’s race in the state’s history.
Green graduated from Swarthmore with a degree in biology and anthropology in 1992 and went on to attend medical school at Penn State University. He worked as an emergency room doctor and physician on Hawaii’s Big Island and entered politics in 2004 when he was elected to Hawaii’s state house of representatives. He later served as a state senator and lieutenant governor before winning his first term of governorship in 2022. That year, the college awarded Green with an honorary degree at its 150th commencement ceremony.
This election cycle, Green ran alongside Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami, who will become lieutenant governor. Green has made the cost of living the focus of his second term. He has pledged to protect middle-class tax relief, build more housing, and lower electricity bills. Since Hawaii governorship term limits prevent him from running a third campaign, he will leave the office in 2030.
Phil Weiser ’90, Governor of Colorado
Having served as Colorado’s attorney general for eight years, Phil Weiser ’90 won his first term as the state’s governor. Weiser defeated Republican Victor Marx with a sweeping 85% of the vote, compared to his opponent’s 12%. Considered a “political underdog” by some and even Colorado’s “accidental governor,” Weiser won the race by a historic margin of more than 27 percentage points.
Weiser will replace Democratic Governor Jared Polis, who is leaving gubernatorial office early next year due to controversy arising from his decision to reduce the prison sentence of a local county politician over an election security breach.
Weiser graduated from Swarthmore with a degree in political science in 1990. After earning a law degree from New York University, he served as dean of the University of Colorado Law School and became Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Weiser returned to Swarthmore in the fall of 2021 to deliver the annual Constitution Day Lecture. His lecture was titled “Our Aspirational Constitution.”
While Weiser entered the general election as an overwhelming favorite, earlier competition against established U.S. Senator Michael Bennet in the democratic primary was challenging. A massive political heavyweight, Bennet already commanded significant name recognition, fundraising networks, and institutional backing. Weiser executed an aggressive, grassroots strategy to win by visiting all 64 Colorado counties in his campaign for the primary. In June, he won the Democratic primary against Bennet. He will succeed term-limited Governor Jared Polis as Colorado’s 44th governor and will take office on January 12, 2027.
In his first press conference after this month’s election, Weiser differentiated his leadership approach from his predecessor, saying Polis did not listen to constituents enough when making tough decisions.
Will Lawrence ’13, U.S. Representative for Michigan’s 7th District
Will Lawrence ’13 won Michigan’s seventh congressional district, defeating Republican Representative Tom Barrett in one of the most closely watched “toss-up” House races in the country. Barrett won the Lansing-area seat in 2024 with 50.3% of the vote. In his victory this fall, Lawrence defeated Barrett winning 51% of the vote. The Associated Press called the race on Wednesday afternoon.
Lawrence, 36, is a Lansing native. He graduated with a degree in sociology and anthropology in 2013. Lawrence was involved in climate activism and organizing during his time at the college, later co-founding the youth-led environmental action organization the Sunrise Movement in 2017. His platform strongly opposed the construction of data centers, an increasingly topical issue among climate activists.
Lawrence’s grassroots campaign did not receive any financial support from corporate political action committees. According to Lawrence, his supporters knocked on more than 250,000 doors during the lead-up to the general election.
Further Alumni Elections
The alumni will join the ranks of one other alumnus in congress, Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen ’83. A segment of the progressive and activist wing of the democratic party are proposing Senator Van Hollen to run for senate majority leader, challenging New York Senator Chuck Schumer. Despite the progressive pushback, Chuck Schumer is heavily favored to keep his seat as majority leader.
Outside of the gubernatorial and congressional races, four more alumni won seats. In Michigan, Daniel Korobkin ’02 won a six-year term on the Michigan Court of Appeals. He originally joined the bench in 2025. Michael Dixon ’95 won a seat in the Maine House of Representatives. Tanya Byker ’94 won a seat in the Vermont House. In Boulder, Colorado, Aaron Brockett ’05 secured a third term as mayor.
