AP photo gallery captures 2026 election season from rallies to debates

The week’s lead image centers the 2026 campaign season on seven names at one stage: Antonio Villaraigosa, Katie Porter, Tom Steyer, Steve Hilton, Chad Bianco, Xavier Becerra and Matt Mahan at a CNN-hosted California gubernatorial debate at East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park on Tuesday, May 5, 2026.

That scene sets the tone for The Associated Press’s weekly photo gallery, a visual roundup that moves beyond a single contest to show campaign rallies, primary-night watch parties and ground-level moments from across the United States and beyond. The gallery works as a running picture of the election year, capturing the mix of tension, celebration, exhaustion and uncertainty that shapes the season far more clearly in photographs than in campaign language.

The AP’s broader election calendar gives those images immediate political weight. In 2026, primary voters will choose nominees for U.S. Senate in 35 states, governor in 36 states and the U.S. House of Representatives in every state. The calendar also places major election dates in quick succession, with contests clustered on May 5, May 12, May 16, May 19, May 26 and June 2.

That schedule matters because the 2026 midterms will shape the final two years of President Donald Trump’s second term and decide control of Congress. Against that backdrop, each frame in the gallery becomes part of a larger record of how campaigns are presented, where energy is building and how voters are showing up.

Seen together, the images do more than document a debate stage in Monterey Park. They map the 2026 electorate as it forms in public, through candidate branding, voter participation, security-heavy settings and the raw enthusiasm of supporters gathering around the races that will define the rest of the year.