The Epstein Files Were on the Ballot. Here’s Where the Winners Stand.
By Jackie Appel
Updated 11:18 pm ET. We’re adding races as they’re called.
Jeffrey Epstein’s name still carries real political weight years after his death. In races across the country today, candidates have made the Epstein files a centerpiece of their campaigns, either by pushing for the files’ release or by attacking opponents who voted to block or delay it. In some of tonight’s closest contests, it could help decide who wins.
The stakes don’t end tonight. House Republican leaders pushed the next vote on releasing more files, the Epstein Files Transparency Act II (EFTA), until after the midterms. Lawmakers return for a lame-duck session first, and if the fight isn’t settled by January, it falls to the Congress that voters choose tonight.
Here’s how we decide where each candidate stands:
✅ Backed release
Candidates who have held office must have voted for release on every applicable vote.
Candidates who haven’t held a federal office must have publicly said they support releasing the files.
⚠️ Opposed, then switched
Candidates who have held office must have first voted against release, then taken a recorded action for it: a vote to release the files, a signature on the discharge petition, or cosponsoring the Epstein Files Transparency Act II. A statement of support, or the Senate’s passage of the bill by unanimous consent with no recorded vote, doesn’t count as a switch.
Candidates who haven’t held a federal office must have publicly opposed release, then publicly changed their position.
❌ Voted to block
Candidates who have held office must have voted against release with no later recorded action in favor to it.
Candidates who haven’t held a federal office must have publicly opposed release.
❔ Position unknown or unclear
Georgia Senate
Sen. Jon Ossoff (D) – ✅ Backed release · WON per Decision Desk
Ossoff voted on Sept. 10, 2025, against tabling a Senate amendment that would have forced the release of the files. He has since made his opponent’s vote against releasing the files a centerpiece of his campaign.
Rep. Mike Collins (R) – ⚠️ Opposed, then switched
Collins voted against releasing the files on July 15, 2025. He voted for the Epstein Files Transparency Act on Nov. 18, 2025, after President Donald Trump reversed course and urged House Republicans to support it. At their Oct. 13 debate, he told Ossoff, “I voted to release those files.”
Florida Senate
Sen. Ashley Moody (R) – ❌ Voted to block · WON per Decision Desk
On Sept. 10, 2025, Moody voted to table an amendment that would have forced the Justice Department to release its Epstein records. The motion passed 51-49; one more Republican “no” would have forced a tie. The Epstein Files Transparency Act later passed the Senate by unanimous consent on Nov. 19, 2025, with no recorded vote. Epstein survivor Marina Lacerda, identified as “Minor Victim 1” in Epstein’s 2019 indictment, targeted Moody over the Sept. 10 vote in a recent ad.
State Rep. Angie Nixon (D) – ✅ Backed release
Nixon has not held a federal office, so she has not voted on the files. In a recent series of social media posts, Nixon signed a mock version of the Epstein Files Transparency Act II and implored voters: “Send me to the U.S. Senate so that we can hold these folks [in the Epstein Files] accountable.” She has also criticized Moody for taking campaign money from donors named in the files, though her campaign has focused most of its attacks on Moody’s role in the Hope Florida scandal.
Maine Senate
Sen. Susan Collins (R) – ❌ Voted to block
Collins voted on Sept. 10, 2025, to table the amendment that would have forced the release of the files, saying it did not belong on the defense bill. One more Republican “no” would have forced a tie. After the Epstein Files Transparency Act passed the Senate by unanimous consent on Nov. 19, 2025, with no recorded vote, she said, “I support the release of the Epstein files.”
Troy Jackson (D) – ✅ Backed release
Jackson, a former Maine Senate president, has not held a federal office. A campaign spokesperson said, “Unlike Susan Collins, who always puts billionaires and Trump first, Troy would immediately vote to release the Epstein files.”
Iowa Senate
Rep. Ashley Hinson (R) – ⚠️ Opposed, then switched
On July 15, 2025, Hinson voted with the majority to defeat a Democratic move to force a vote on releasing the files, and she did not sign the discharge petition. She voted for the Epstein Files Transparency Act on Nov. 18, 2025, after Trump reversed course. She has since said, “I did not block the release of the Epstein files. I voted to release them.”
State Rep. Josh Turek (D) – ✅ Backed release · WON per Decision Desk
Turek has not held a federal office. He has called on Hinson to support releasing the files and has attacked her Epstein voting record on the campaign trail.
Kansas Senate
Sen. Roger Marshall (R) – ❌ Voted to block
Marshall voted on Sept. 10, 2025, to table the amendment that would have forced the release of the files, calling it a “political stunt.” One more Republican “no” would have forced a tie. Epstein survivor Marina Lacerda targeted Marshall over the vote in a recent ad.
Adam Hamilton (D) – ✅ Backed release · WON per Decision Desk
Hamilton, a Methodist pastor, has not held a federal office. His campaign has made Marshall’s vote a central attack, with a spokesperson telling Fox News Digital, “Roger Marshall wants to talk about anything other than his history of suing and jailing mothers and protecting predators by voting against releasing the Epstein Files.”
Mississippi Senate
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) – ❌ Voted to block
Hyde-Smith voted on Sept. 10, 2025, to table the amendment that would have forced the release of the files. One more Republican “no” would have forced a tie. Epstein survivor Jena-Lisa Jones targeted Hyde-Smith over the vote in a recent ad.
Scott Colom (D) – ✅ Backed release
Colom, a district attorney, has not held a federal office. He has said “we do need to release the Epstein files” on the campaign trail, and his campaign has attacked Hyde-Smith for voting to delay their release.
Kentucky’s 4th District (open seat)
Melissa Strange (D) – ✅ Backed release
Strange has not held a federal office. Her campaign website lists releasing the files as a priority, and she has said she would do “exactly” what Rep. Thomas Massie did regarding Epstein. Massie, who represents the district until January, helped lead the push for the Epstein Files Transparency Act and is the lead sponsor of the Epstein Files Transparency Act II.
Ed Gallrein (R) – ❔ Position unknown or unclear · WON per Decision Desk
Gallrein has not held a federal office and has said little publicly about the files. With Trump’s endorsement, he defeated Massie in the May 2026 primary after Trump turned on Massie for breaking with his party on issues including the Epstein files.
New Mexico Attorney General
Attorney General Raúl Torrez (D) – ✅ Backed release
Attorneys general don’t vote on legislation, but they can use the courts to make progress on certain issues. In August, Torrez sued the Justice Department and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, accusing them of blocking New Mexico’s investigation into Epstein’s Zorro Ranch by withholding unredacted files. On Oct. 21, he sued Epstein’s longtime lawyer, Darren Indyke, and accountant, Richard Kahn, accusing them of helping conceal Epstein’s trafficking operation and seeking to block them from collecting payments from his estate.
Sam Kane (R) – ❔ Position unknown or unclear
Kane has never held an office with a vote on the files. He has said the Epstein investigation shouldn’t be partisan, telling the Santa Fe New Mexican, “We’re not going to go after somebody that’s [on] a jet or that has any type of unrelated association to the abuse, including Trump… Let’s hold the perpetrators accountable, but let’s not make this a partisan issue.”
Tonight’s scoreboard
✅ Winners who backed release: 3
⚠️ Winners who opposed it, then switched:
❌ Winners who voted to block it: 1
⏳ Races too close to call:
