Policy
What the 2026 Election Means for Rural Tourism
About 21 states will have new governors, 11 legislative chambers changed hands, and voters decided local tax measures that shape tourism funding. Here is what rural DMOs should watch, and what to do before March.
Rural Tourism Network
8 min read
A note on the numbers: this article reflects results reported from November 4 to 9, 2026. Several races, including U.S. Senate seats in Alaska and Mississippi, were still being counted, and final results may differ.
The November 3 midterm election changed leadership at almost every level of government. Rural tourism organizations have an opportunity to ensure that shift works for them rather than around them as new leaders are building budgets, naming agency heads and choosing priorities right now.
This is not only a story about which party won. It is about how many new people now hold power, and the strong mandate for change they bring with them. More than 100 new members of Congress (Kyle House Group), about 21 new governors (Ballotpedia) and more than 1,000 new state legislators (Ballotpedia) take office in the coming months, along with new majorities in several statehouses. These counts are early estimates, and the final numbers are likely to change.
That much turnover, backed by a clear message from voters, makes real shifts in policy and spending likely. The biggest shifts may come at the state and local level, where leaders have more room to act on their own priorities than members of Congress, whose agendas are shaped by national party leadership. Most of what rural destinations need, from outdoor recreation funding to visitor promotion, has long had support from both parties. What has changed is who sets the agenda, and new agendas are written early. The DMOs that show up first with clear, local evidence will help shape them.
What Changed
Congress. Democrats won control of the House, flipping more than 40 seats (CBS News). As of November 11, the Associated Press had Democrats at 255 seats and Republicans at 168, with several races still uncalled. Democrats also won the Senate, flipping seats in Iowa, Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas for at least 54 seats (Duane Morris State Capital Lobbyist).
Two Senate races were still open as of November 11. In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom led Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by about 2,600 votes with 97% counted. In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola led Sen. Dan Sullivan by about 600 votes, and ranked-choice tabulation begins November 18 if no one tops 50% (AP via Yahoo News).
Governors. Democrats flipped governorships in Georgia, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio and Texas, and Republicans flipped none. Democrats will hold at least 28 governorships in 2027 (AP via WITN). Alaska’s open seat had not been called as of November 6 (Duane Morris State Capital Lobbyist). In Kansas, where Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly is term-limited, Democrat Cindy Holscher led Republican Ty Masterson by about 7,600 votes, and MultiState reported an AP projection for Holscher on November 8.
Governors-elect in the states where the office changed party (MultiState):
Georgia: Keisha Lance Bottoms
Iowa: Rob Sand
Nevada: Aaron Ford
Ohio: Amy Acton
Texas: Gina Hinojosa
Alaska: Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins (not yet called by AP)
Legislatures. Democrats flipped 11 legislative chambers and Republicans flipped none, as of November 6 (Duane Morris State Capital Lobbyist). They include both chambers in Arizona, New Hampshire and Wisconsin, the Pennsylvania Senate, and the House in Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina and Texas, where Republicans had held the House since 2003 (AP via WITN). Democrats also broke the Republican supermajority in Florida’s House (Stateline via CT Mirror). Some seats, including several in the Texas House, were still being counted.
Likely Impacts on Rural Tourism
None of these are certain. They are the areas where RTN expects the new leadership to matter most for rural destinations.
Affordability becomes the frame for everything. Incoming House leaders have named lowering costs and “delivering for working families” as top priorities (CBS News). Travel fits that frame better than most DMOs realize. The U.S. Travel Association projects travel prices will rise 7.2% in 2026 against 3.4% overall inflation, even as Americans take a record 2.44 billion domestic trips (U.S. Travel via Hospitality Net). Rural, drive-to destinations are the affordable option, and the money visitors spend there supports local jobs and small businesses. That is a story new leaders want to tell.
International visitor promotion gets a second look. U.S. Travel forecasts international visitor spending will fall nearly $11 billion in 2026, a 6.3% drop, and does not expect arrivals to return to 2019 levels until 2030. Its top asks of the new Congress are to reauthorize Brand USA at full funding and to fix visa processing. Most rural destinations draw few international visitors, but gateway regions near parks, borders and major airports feel this directly.
Federal spending priorities shift in 2027. Democrats will chair the committees that write next year’s spending bills. Rural DMOs should expect more attention to programs that fund tourism projects indirectly: USDA Rural Development, the Economic Development Administration, National Heritage Areas, the arts and humanities endowments, and outdoor recreation grants. None of these are new, and most have support from both parties, but funding levels and grant rules are decided in the next few months.
Public lands staffing gets more scrutiny. Communities next to national parks and forests have felt staffing and service cuts. RTN expects the new congressional majority to use its oversight power here. Gateway DMOs have the local data, on visitor complaints, closures and business impacts, that committee staff will be looking for.
State tourism offices change hands. In the roughly 21 states with new governors, the state tourism director is usually a political appointee, and new budgets are proposed in January and February. That means new people, new priorities and an open door for the first few months.
State and Local Changes: Where Rural Tourism Will Feel It Most
Most rural DMOs are funded by state tourism budgets and local lodging taxes. That makes statehouse and ballot results more important to their day-to-day work than anything in Washington.
Six more states now have one party in full control. By the Associated Press count, Democrats now hold the governorship and both legislative chambers in at least six states where they previously shared power: Arizona, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin (AP via WITN). In Pennsylvania, Democrats flipped the state Senate for the first time since 1993, and Arizona has its first Democratic trifecta since 1966. In Texas, Democrats won the governorship and the House while Republicans kept the Senate, so power there is now split. When one party controls the governor’s office and both chambers, budgets pass faster and priorities can shift quickly. Tourism office funding, grant programs and rural development plans in those states are open for discussion in 2027.
Property tax limits will squeeze county budgets. Voters passed several measures that reduce or cap local property tax revenue (Kiplinger):
Florida Amendment 3 raises the homestead exemption from non-school property taxes from $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028.
North Carolina approved, with about 60% of the vote, a constitutional amendment requiring the legislature to limit how much local property tax levies can grow (Ballotpedia).
Louisiana approved new property tax exemptions for older homeowners that local governments can choose to adopt.
When property tax revenue shrinks, counties look for other money. RTN expects pressure in these states to redirect lodging tax revenue from tourism promotion to general county needs. DMOs in Florida and North Carolina should know exactly what their state law allows lodging tax revenue to be used for, and be ready to show what that spending returns.
Voters are using lodging taxes to fill local budget gaps. In Los Angeles and Orange counties, 11 hotel tax measures passed, most raising rates by 1 to 5 percentage points (LAist). In California’s Central Valley, early returns showed Madera County’s increase leading and Fresno County’s new rural lodging tax trailing (The Business Journal). Fresno County’s measure, for example, would send its estimated $4.5 million a year to the general fund, not to tourism.
Rural voters are not automatically on board. In Montezuma County, Colorado, home to Mesa Verde National Park, nearly 59% of voters rejected raising the county lodging tax from 2% to 5%, and a Cortez measure to raise the city’s rate also appeared to fail, in early results (KSJD). The Cortez increase, from 2% to 6%, would have funded tourism marketing, economic development and arts events (Kim Monson voter guide). In Dunes City, Oregon, voters rejected a ban on new short-term rentals (Strisker). Rural residents are weighing tourism’s costs and benefits for themselves. DMOs that have not made the case to residents, not just to elected officials, are exposed.
County boards and city councils set next year’s budgets now. Many rural counties adopt budgets in the next few months. With property tax limits, rising costs and possible federal cuts, the DMO line in the county budget will get a harder look.
What It Does Not Change
The rules on political activity. Publicly funded DMOs and their staff often face limits on political activity. Nonprofit associations can advocate on policy but cannot support candidates. Briefing a transition team on tourism’s economic role is fair game. Celebrating an election result in a member newsletter is not.
Budget pressure. Congress faces a December 11 funding deadline before the new members are even sworn in, and several incoming governors inherit tight budgets. New leadership means new priorities, not new money by default.
The bipartisan core of tourism policy. Brand USA, outdoor recreation and heritage programs have long drawn support from both parties. The fastest path to results is still a case both sides can vote for.
What Rural DMOs Should Do
Start local. Your county budget and lodging tax matter more to your organization this year than anything in Congress. Our free Election Toolkit for Tourism Organizations has templates for each step below.
Get your numbers in one place. Visitor spending, jobs, lodging tax collections and the number of small businesses tourism supports in your county. Pull from your state tourism office’s economic impact study where one exists. One page, sourced, no adjectives. Share it with your county board and city council first, before their budgets are set, and include what your lodging tax pays for and what it returns.
Find the transition team. In states with new governors, transition teams are forming now. Send a short brief on what rural tourism contributes and what it needs, through your state tourism association if you have one, so it arrives as one voice.
Meet your new members of Congress. New House members, including several in rural districts, are hiring district staff and looking for local projects they can point to. A visit and a one-page fact sheet in their first month gets remembered.
Watch the governor’s budget. New governors propose budgets early in the year. Know your state tourism office’s current funding and grant programs so you can respond quickly to changes. In Florida, North Carolina and other states with new property tax limits, watch for bills that change how local lodging tax revenue can be spent.
Say it the same way every time. Rural tourism means local jobs, small business income and visitor dollars that ease the tax load on residents. That message works with every elected official in your county, whatever their party.
Election Toolkit for Tourism Organizations
RTN has two resources to help rural DMOs use this window. The toolkit is free on our site now, and the brief is coming soon.
The Election Toolkit for Tourism Organizations is free on our site. Enter your details once and it writes personalized letters to your governor, U.S. senators, U.S. representative and state legislators, based on your office address, and emails you a copy. It also includes a fact sheet template, talking points that work across party lines, and a calendar of the budget dates that matter through spring 2027.
Sources
All figures are early returns and projections reported November 4 to 11, 2026, and are subject to change. Counts of new officials are based on pre-election estimates of open seats. Several races and ballot measures were still uncalled.
AP via WITN: Arizona Democrats gain trifecta for first time in 60 years
Duane Morris State Capital Lobbyist: 2026 midterm elections, where things stand
Stateline via CT Mirror: Democrats win majority of governorships for the first time in 16 years
Ballotpedia: newcomers are guaranteed 17% of this year’s state legislative races
Hospitality Net: U.S. Travel forecast and policy asks for the new Congress
Kiplinger: 2026 election results deliver a split verdict on taxes
Ballotpedia: North Carolina Property Tax Levy Limit Amendment
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