Transportation, public safety and housing become top issues for candidates in 2025
Introduction
At BallotReady, our research team gathers the information needed to create candidate profiles for hundreds of thousands of candidates running for local office across the country each cycle.
This includes identifying which candidates are running for which seats – and then providing candidate contact information, social media links, profile photos, education, job experience and endorsements.
Additionally, our research team gathers candidate issue stances. These are instances where candidates have offered a clear policy stance on their website or otherwise, such as their views on things like abortion or gun control.
Through our voter guides, this research assists millions of voters each year find candidates whom they align with on key issues at the local level – and to then vote accordingly.
This massive research undertaking also offers us another unique opportunity: to take a closer look at what issue candidates are campaigning on the most across different cycles, levels, states and position types. Below, take a look at candidates issue stances thus far in 2025 through the lens of these four markers.
Then sign up to see the full dataset and provide high quality voters guides on behalf of your members.
1. The issues candidates are campaigning on this year are markedly different from the 2024 cycle.
Stat to know: Candidate issue stances on things like Infrastructure/Transportation, Housing, Taxes/Budget, Criminal Justice/Public Safety are seeing significant increases this year. Meanwhile, issues stances having to do with Healthcare, Guns, and Abortion saw the largest declines.
2. Depending on the office, some candidates are focused on a wide range of issues while others are running single-issue campaigns.
Stat to know: While candidates for mayor and state legislator are campaigning across a wide range of (admittedly, different) issue categories, candidates for open seats like district attorney and school board are predictably running single-issue campaigns.
3. The top issue category for candidates running in New York, Texas, Virginia and New Jersey this year are all different.
Stat to know: While there is no doubt significant overlap, candidates in different states with lots of open seats on the ballot this year are distinctly focused on local issues. For example, candidates in New York are prioritizing housing issues given the high cost of living. Meanwhile, higher property taxes across the state have candidates in New Jersey focused on Tax/Budget reform this year.
4. The top issue area for both state and local level candidates is Education.
Stat to know: Across all levels, states, position types Education and Criminal Justice/Public Safety remain the most pervasive issues for candidate campaigns in 2025.
