CNMI's 2026 general election field takes shape
The Northern Mariana Islands' 2026 general election is off to the races, with three tickets competing for governor and lieutenant governor and contested races for other key offices ahead of the 3 November vote.
Former governor Ralph DLG Torres is seeking a return to office under the Republican banner with educator Benjamin Jones Jr as his running mate, while two independent tickets - Blas Jonathan "BJ" Attao and House Speaker Edmund Villagomez, and former education commissioner Dr Lawrence Camacho and former Senate president Edith Deleon Guerrero - are also seeking the Commonwealth's top two posts.
The three lieutenant governor candidates have already faced each other at the Saipan Chamber of Commerce's 2026 CNMI Lt Governor Candidates Business Forum, where the economy, workforce shortages, immigration, tourism, government spending and disaster resilience dominated discussion.
Jones argued that rebuilding the private sector should precede major reductions in government employment.
"Rig…