Wolmach says 'Marchenay needs a woman governor'

MADAGEN, March. -- After months of wandering in the political wilderness, former Federal Sen. Heidi Wolmach says she will seek Marchenay's governorship in 2026.

Her decision sets up a potentially acrimonious primary battle with current Lt. Gov. Kevin Levenetti (N), who already announced his candidacy for governor back in April 2025.

Wolmach, who narrowly lost reelection last year to Conservative Assemblywoman Marsha Dawes, had been mulling her political future for months.

Friends of the former senator say she slipped into a deep depression following her 2024 defeat, and she was anxious to jump back into the political arena.

She considered running for the Senate again in 2026 or 2028, but concluded it would be difficult to defeat Conservative incumbents Sidney Leeland and Megan Sellious, who are both popular and well-financed.

An easier path back to political relevance, Wolmach decided (according to friends), would be challenging first-term Conservative Gov. Mike Shannon, who is seeking reelection next year.

And in an interview with a Madagen radio station last week, Wolmach made a controversial statement, telling the hosts of the radio show that she decided to run for governor because "Marchenay needs a woman governor."

She acknowledged Levenetti had declared his candidacy months earlier, and the lieutenant governor has raised $3.1 million so far. He has also amassed a sizable amount of endorsements from state leaders, mayors, county commissioners, and members of Assembly.

Wolmach admitted running against Levenetti, who is already firmly established in the race, would be difficult.

"This won't be easy, Karen," Wolmach told Karen Leising, host of Madagen's 1910 AM Wake-Up program. "But I decided it's the right race for me and the right race for the people of Marchenay."

Wolmach said Levenetti has done "a fine job" as lieutenant governor, but she said it will take "a firm executive with strong leadership skills" to oust the unassuming and affable Shannon in 2026.

"Marchenayans want a strong governor. They don't want just a nice person. They want someone who is tough, someone who will fight for them, someone who will stand up to the Conservatives when they propose cutting social safety nets and cutting funding to health care and education. Marchenayans want someone who will push back when they're pushed, or punch back, in my case," said a chuckling Wolmach.

"Kevin Levenetti is a nice man, but I question whether he has that fire, that energy and that passion to defend Marchenayans against all the attacks we're suffering from Conservatives," added Wolmach.

In a response on his "X" account, (formerly Twitter), Levenetti disputed Wolmach's characterization of him as "a weakling or a doormat."

"I am not a weakling or a doormat," he wrote. "I am the lieutenant governor of Marchenay, a position that is a heartbeat away from the governorship. I am an experienced business professional who worked in the private sector before becoming lieutenant governor. I know how to run a company, I know how to be a CEO and how to bring business to our state, and I know how to manage our state."

In a follow-up post, he wrote that he is "not afraid of Conservatives" and not afraid to "punch back if I have to."

"I'm not a naturally combative person," he told Madagen's 3C TV news station. "But if somebody walks into my state and disrespects our process, or attacks our state, I will fight back."

The lieutenant governor and his allies, including top state and national NAT party elders, spent months trying to dissuade Wolmach from entering the governor's race. The party desperately wants to avoid a contentious primary battle, especially when their chosen candidate had already enjoyed widespread support.

"Heidi Wolmach is pissing off a lot of her fellow Nationalists by running for governor when the party already has a strong candidate who is well established," said John Nickerling, an NAT strategist who has worked on past statewide NAT campaigns, though has never worked for Wolmach directly.

"She might be running for governor, but she isn't going to get any support from the state or national parties," said Nickerling. He added that her run for governor is "doomed before it even begins."

Conservatives quickly seized on Wolmach's comments about her gender.

"Heidi Wolmach says she's running for governor because 'Marchenay needs a woman governor,'" conservative radio host Chris Kilgore told his listeners. "Can you imagine anything more asinine than that? She thinks she'd be a superior governor because she's a woman. It can't get any more absurd than that," he said.

Wolmach said being a woman is an asset when it comes to formulating policy that is pro-women and pro-family.

"We've had several male governors, and there's nothing wrong with that. But let's face it, men don't understand women. They don't understand what women need. They don't understand what mothers need. They don't understand pro-family policy. It would help, in a lot of ways, to have a woman governor who understands these things. Who understands the needs of children, the needs of babies and infants, the needs of working mothers and single moms. I think that's a big part of why I'm running, because no one else in the race offers that perspective."

No polling has been done on the 2026 Marchenay governor's race yet, but Shannon is a popular incumbent. Under his three-year tenure so far, the state's economy has added jobs, despite a difficult national economy. His administration has touted the arrival and commitment of several auto companies to build car factories in Marchenay, and the governor has made welfare reform and work-for-benefits a signature part of his first term policy.

"Under Mike Shannon, Marchenay is booming again," Conservative strategist Mike Adkins told the NPF. "Our economy is buzzing again, we have more kids graduating from high school and going to work in the trades and becoming plumbers, electricians, welders, etc. We are having a mini-revolution in this state, and it's in large part thanks to Mike Shannon and his team."

Marchenay remains a liberal-leaning state, however, Conservatives like Shannon, Dawes, Leeland, Sellious, Attorney General Mary Beth Halter and Secretary of State Ari Kavarnath have enjoyed success in recent years.

Some political prognosticators have said Marchenay has moved to the right, along with Ansleigha and Trinton...three formerly liberal bastions that have in recent years moved rightward in their election results.

Nationalists say while Conservatives have enjoyed recent success, their party still has strength, particularly in the cities and working-class communities.

The party's failure in recent elections has largely come down to weak candidates, says Nickerling.

"Dan Rattner, our former governor, was not a strong candidate back in 2022, and I say that with all due respect, because I like Dan. But he was very weak. And some of our senate candidates and our statewide candidates have also been weak. I think if we get the right candidate at the top of the ballot, you'll see the NAT shine again in Marchenay."

Wolmach has verbally said she is running for governor, but she has not officially filed any paperwork yet. She is expected to file the papers sometime over the holiday break.