NEWS 28 - New Shire Comptroller and former New Shire Lt. Governor Fred Lacker is seeking to defeat incumbent Governor Lynn Rodgers during the 2026 New Shire Gubernatorial Election. He is the first Nationalist gubernatorial candidate that has tried to defeat an incumbent of their own party. He says he will launch his calendar for his campaign stops in a couple of months.
Lacker served as the 24th Lt. Governor Of New Shire from February 2022 until May 10, 2022. He was selected by then-New Shire Governor Thomas Cooke to replace embattled Lt. Governor Micheal Wendtz. He served for only three months and chose not to run on the Cooke ticket during the 2022 election.
Lacker ran and successfully won the office of New Shire State's comptroller during the 2024 New Shire Comptroller election in April 2024. Lacker had previously expressed his interest in potentially running for Governor Of New Shire, but hadn't publicly announced a run previously. He is set to meet with donors to help fund and support his campaign and push him to the top of the ticket, while simultaneously work to boot an incumbent governor from his own party out of power.
"I am announcing my bid to defeat incumbent Lynn Rodgers during next year's state election," said Comptroller Fred Lacker. "We must continue to provide the people of the state with the laws and policies that matter most to them. Under Lynn Rodgers, our state has seen so much undue and unnecessary inflation, under the Rodgers administration and she has only been in office under a year. She promised to push for lower taxes, but under her, taxes increased 6%. She promised to protect New Shirens from high interest rates. Grocery costs have gradually gone up from under the Cooke Administration, something she promised to lower. Our state needs real effective change, and to do that, someone who has experience with an economic plan needs to be Governor. Lynn Rodgers continues to focus on mute policies, instead of working to lower costs for New Shirens, and increasing energy production within the State. Elect someone who knows what they are doing."
The 2026 New Shire Gubernatorial Election will be held on April 10, 2026, in a little more than a year. It gives Rodgers a chance to work towards these issues, but it also gives Lacker the chance to point out her faults. Since assuming office, Rodgers has been an avid outspoken critic of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric of President Laylin, so she continues to focus on fighting the Laylin administration, pushing back on unlawful bans on LGBTQ books in schools. She is seeking reelection and has vowed to continue fighting the Laylin administrations' policies on the trans community.