A Democratic party establishment used to crowning its chosen Senate candidates in uncontested primaries is suddenly facing stiff resistance in key battleground states.
The pushback is raising the possibility of a bitter conflict between the party’s leaders in Washington and its grassroots voters during next year’s primaries — one that could threaten the Democrats’ ability to win important swing states in its fight to win a Senate majority in 2026.
In four general election battleground states, including Iowa, Texas, Michigan and Maine, Democrats are grappling with turbulent primaries, in which a restless liberal electorate is chafing at the preferred pick of Democratic leaders. Candidates in some cases are explicitly campaigning against the party’s leaders, positioning themselves as alternatives to an establishment they say failed to defeat President Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential race.
Democrats are running into one issue that Republicans don’t face: not having a field-clearing force like Trump, whose endorsement can force even the most veteran politician to abandon a primary fight.
“It used to be, if you were the party’s choice in a race, you’re probably gonna win because our voters wanted to support the party’s choice,” one Democratic consultant told NOTUS. “But now, like, do you want to support Chuck Schumer’s choice if he’s not adequately fighting Donald Trump? Do you want to support Hakeem Jeffries’ choice if he’s not adequately fighting Donald Trump? That creates a real problem.”
Sign Up for NOTUS’ Free Daily Newsletter
Democratic leadership in D.C. is currently trying to prove they can stand up to Trump as part of a standoff over government funding. But there is still deep resentment toward Democratic leaders.
This is extremely evident in Maine, where Schumer and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee back the state’s governor, Janet Mills, over anti-establishment progressive Graham Platner.
“If D.C. knew how to beat Susan Collins, I wouldn’t be running in this race,” Platner told NOTUS.
Platner’s primary in Maine is arguably already the most contentious, pitting the newcomer against Mills and former congressional aide Jordan Wood. Mills is considered the front-runner, but some liberal leaders have pushed back on her candidacy, saying Platner represents a necessary new model for how Democratic candidates can look and talk.
“It’s very clear that I’m anti-establishment,” Platner said. “I’m against the system, a system that they represent that gives them a lot of power. I can see why they might not be happy about that. At the same time, if we want to win this seat and turn it blue, which I think we really do, and we need to, we can’t just do the same thing over and over and over again and pick the same kinds of candidates. So I’m not sure what they’re missing.”
Maine isn’t the only state set to feature a competitive primary next year. In Texas, 2024 Senate nominee Colin Allred faces Democratic state Rep. James Talarico. In Iowa, state Rep. Josh Turek is seen as having the support of national Democrats but faces state Sen. Zach Wahls and political newcomer Nathan Sage. In Michigan, Rep. Haley Stevens is up against state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and former Wayne County public health director Abdul El-Sayed in a race that raised concerns among Democrats nervous about holding their seat there.
Strategists involved in the campaigns say they think a visceral disgust from Democratic voters with their party’s recent electoral failures is driving the proliferation of primaries, with candidates sensing a greater opportunity than ever before to give them an alternative choice.
“Big-picture wise, it is clear to almost everyone that this is an anti-establishment moment. People are fed up and angry,” said Andrew Mamo, a Democratic strategist working for McMorrow and Talarico. “The internet has made people angry, the economy has made people, the way the world has sorted has made people angry.”
“The problem is that the Democratic Party establishment does not see it like that,” he added. “They will be the last people to learn they are the status quo, and people are fed up and tired with those things.”
Republicans, of course, face their own competitive primaries that could undermine their efforts to win swing states next year, including in Texas, Georgia and New Hampshire. And Democrats have recruited candidates in key states, including North Carolina (former Gov. Roy Cooper), Ohio (former Sen. Sherrod Brown) and New Hampshire (Rep. Chris Pappas) who face virtually uncontested primaries.
Even in the states where the party faces a contentious primary, whichever nominee emerges could still win the general election amid what Democrats hope is a favorable political environment marked by broad discontent with Trump and the economy.
But the number of primaries facing Democrats and their apparent competitiveness this election cycle is unusual for the party in the last 16 years. In states considered general election battlegrounds, at least, the candidate recruited by Democratic leaders often effectively cleared the primary field. In Arizona, for example, former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema cruised to an easy primary victory in 2018, followed by Sen. Mark Kelly in 2020, and Sen. Ruben Gallego in 2024.
It’s arguably been a decade since a candidate recruited by Democratic leaders nearly lost their primary in a state considered a general election battleground. In 2016, in Pennsylvania, Schumer-recruited Katie McGinty defeated former Democratic Rep. Joe Sestak by about 10 points in what was considered a highly competitive race. (In another Democratic primary, four years later in Colorado, former Gov. John Hickenlooper won a competitive primary by about 17 points over former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff.)
The last time a D.C.-backed Democratic candidate lost a primary in a swing state was in 2010, when Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter lost a primary in Pennsylvania and former state Sen. Cal Cunningham lost his primary in North Carolina.
“The DSCC is focused on winning Senate seats and flipping the majority in 2026, and our strategy is guided by the best way to do that,” Maeve Coyle, a spokesperson for the DSCC, said in a statement.
Democrats said the surge of primaries is no surprise.
“There is a clear appetite right now,” said Amanda Litman, co-founder of Run For Something, an organization that encourages young progressives to run for office. “The Democratic Party approval rating is in the toilet. Leadership’s approval rating is in the toilet. People are pissed.”
The party establishment was not going to keep getting its way, she added.
“I understand that is a very common experience for a lot of these younger folks who have been running, they have been told to wait their turn,” she said. “And now they’re saying it’s my turn.”