Idaho Senator Jim Guthrie (R-McCammon) has introduced SB 1366, a bill to restore presidential primaries. This bill would set the primaries on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May. Candidates would get on the ballot by paying a fee of $1,000. The bill would also move the non-presidential primary from late May to the early May date set out for the presidential primaries. That would automatically move the petition deadline for non-presidential independent candidates to early May.

The bill other bill pending in Idaho for presidential primaries sets the primary in March and requires a $50,000 filing fee for presidential candidates.

Jamie LaBranche is an independent candidate for U.S. Senate in Louisiana this year. He was unable to meet the new ballot access requirements for independent candidates. The law required 2,500 signatures, due February 13, and only voters who are not registered in a qualified party can sign the petition. He has filed a pro se federal lawsuit, LaPlace v State, m.d., 3:26cv-139. Here is the Complaint.

On March 4, Greg Ballard, former Mayor of Indianapolis, said he will run as an independent candidate for Indiana Secretary of State this year. See this story. He will need 36,943 signatures. No statewide independent petition has succeeded in Indiana since 1992, when Ross Perot ran as an independent presidential candidate.

Indiana has no gubernatorial nor U.S. Senate election this year. Secretary of State is the most important statewide office up, and is at the top of the 2026 ballot.