Getty Images
By Andrew Stanton
Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Democratic primaries are testing the influence of Senator Bernie Sanders, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and their allies, who have endorsed a slate of progressive Democrats for the 2026 midterm elections.
Recent primaries are doubling as a proxy war over the party’s direction, and progressives are lining up behind a slate of left-leaning challengers while party leaders and moderates rally around more centrist picks. From Senate races in states like Maine to House contests across the country, these primaries present a key test as to whether the energy of the Sanders wing of the party can translate into durable power.
Primary outcomes will shape not just who Democrats put on the ballot in November, but what kind of message they carry into a closely watched election year.
Read More on Politics
But contentious primaries threaten to splinter the party in a year where unity could be key to retaking control of the House of Representatives and Senate. Corners of the base are pushing for new, more progressive leadership on the Hill, enraged by what they view as a feeble approach to President Donald Trump by current leadership. But some in the party caution that a more progressive party could alienate swing voters in key races, potentially costing the party support in November.
Progressives Are Fired Up
The Democratic Party’s base felt depleted after the 2024 elections, when Trump defeated former Vice President Kamala Harris and Democrats suffered losses across the country. The cause of that split divided Democrats—some believed Harris was perceived as too liberal for swing voters, but others on the left believed the party failed to sufficiently motivate the base to head to the polls.
But now, progressives are fired up ahead of the midterms.
Getty Images
It’s typical for the progressive wing to be more “fired up,” but there has not necessarily been a Democratic Tea Party, Raymond La Raja, professor of political science and co-director of the University of Massachusetts Amherst's polling program, told Newsweek. But it does appear voters want candidates who appear to “be fighters in this combative environment.”
“The Democratic Party is a very mixed coalition, and primary voters are more concerned with winning this election rather than being purists on policies,” he said.
Is This Democrats' Tea Party Moment?
Efforts to unseat moderate Democrats and elect more progressive Democrats in open seats have drawn comparisons to the GOP’s Tea Party movement, a critical faction in the 2010 midterms, when the Republican Party seized control of the House of Representatives from Democrats.
What Is The Democratic Tea Party Movement?
The Democratic Tea Party refers to progressive activists, candidates, and organizations working to pull the Democratic Party leftward, much like the Tea Party pulled the GOP rightward in the early 2000s.
The frustration is especially pronounced among young progressives—a critical voting bloc Democrats struggled with in 2024 due to dissatisfaction with the party’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Progressive Victories 'Different' Than Tea Party
Progressive victories aren’t surprising, but it’s different from the Tea Party in that it has been a “slow burn over recent electoral cycles, going back to at least 2016, rather than a ‘big bang’ of reaction that you saw in 2010,” Grant Davis Reeher, professor of political science at Syracuse University, told Newsweek.
Sanders has told The New York Times that he is “building a movement for the future.”
“Our effort is to lead a national movement against Trump’s authoritarianism and kleptocracy and unnecessary wars and his contempt for the Constitution,” he told the publication. “But equally important, the American people need an alternative to the Democratic establishment, which is significantly dominated by big-money interests.”
Democratic strategist Eddie Vale told Newsweek results are highly district-dependent so far, noting that there is “no coherent narrative of centrists or progressives are running up the score across the board.”
“If you look at what is happening across all districts, it’s really more of one of those tea and coffee boxes at a breakfast buffet where voters in each race are picking which flavor is best for them,” he said.
Progressive Chris Rabb Wins Pennsylvania House Primary With AOC Support
In Pennsylvania on Tuesday, the AOC-backed Chris Rabb defeated more moderate Democrats in a Philadelphia congressional seat. The race is a major boon for the left, as Rabb also received the support from the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
Ocasio-Cortez campaigned for Rabb in the primary, touting him as a candidate who will help to “change” the Democratic Party.
“The question here is not whether this community will elect a Democrat, the question is, What kind of Democrat will this community elect, Philadelphia,” she said, reported Philadelphia-based news station WHYY. “And if you want to change the Democratic Party, we’ve got to change the kind of Democrats that get elected and elect Democrats like Rep. Rabb if you want our nation to change.”
Progressives Score Early Primary Wins
Progressives have racked up several wins across recent primaries.
...
- Illinois: Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton, viewed as the progressive option in the safely Democratic state, defeated more moderate Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi for the party’s nomination.
- Texas: Justice Democrats, the group that helped Ocasio-Cortez pull off an upset victory in her 2018 primary against a longtime Democratic incumbent, also won a victory in Texas, with Frederick Haynes winning a primary for Texas’s 30th District, based around Dallas.
- New Jersey: Representative Analilia Mejia earned endorsements from Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders, helping her defeat several more moderate Democrats in the special election to succeed New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill in the House after her victory last November. It’s a major victory for the left in a suburban district that backed Harris by only a single-digit margin.
- Kentucky: Progressive Charles Booker also defeated moderate Amy McGrath in Kentucky’s Senate primary on Tuesday, though his campaign is still viewed as a long shot against a Republican in the solidly conservative state.
- Maine: Progressive Graham Platner is also on track to win the Democratic nomination in Maine after Governor Janet Mills, the centrist pick backed by Schumer, ended her campaign last month. Although the primary is yet to be held, Mills was his main competition, clearing the path for his victory. Platner defeating longtime Republican Senator Susan Collins in November would be a huge victory for the insurgent left, which has faced questions about its electability in more competitive races.
...
Progressives are expected to focus heavily on the race ahead of November to secure a win for one of their most high-profile candidates.
Democrats in Some House Districts Pick Centrists Over Progressives
But not all progressives have won their primaries. In fact, the left’s endorsement record has been a bit of a mixed bag so far.
- Illinois: Despite Stratton’s statewide win, centrists performed better in House primaries. In IL-02, progressive Robert Peters, endorsed by Sanders, received only 12 percent of the vote, with the more moderate Donna Miller winning the nomination. In IL-08, centrist Melissa Bean defeated progressive Junaid Ahmed in the race to replace Krishnamoorthi.
- Nebraska state Senator John Cavanaugh failed to secure the Democratic nomination in Nebraska’s Second District against Denise Powell, a more moderate Democrat backed by the centrist New Democrat Coalition.
- North Carolina: Representative Valerie Foushee, in the 4th District, held off a challenge from progressive Nida Allam, a loss for the left who viewed the race as winnable.
Sanders and Establishment-Backed Candidates Win in Two Key Districts
The ideological divide is less apparent in some races.
Sanders-backed candidates Bob Brooks and Brian Poindexter both won in Pennsylvania’s 7th District and Ohio’s 7th District, but those candidates also received backing from more moderate Democrats as well; Brooks was even endorsed by the Blue Dog Coalition. Both are GOP-held districts Democrats are hoping to flip in November.
In Illinois’ 9th District, Kat Abughazaleh, backed by the Justice Democrats, lost her primary. But Daniel Biss, the winner, is also a progressive.
Michigan Senate Race Will Test Progressive Test in Swing State
The Democratic Party’s midterm message could be determined by upcoming races pitting progressives against more centrist picks.
In addition to Maine, Michigan has a divided Senate race with ideological divides on display. Sanders-backed Abdul El-Sayed, a former Wayne County health director, is the most staunchly progressive candidate in the race against the centrist Representative Haley Stevens and state Senator McMorrow, who is viewed as somewhere between the two on policy.
Polls have shown Stevens, backed by the party’s establishment, as the strongest candidate against a Republican, but she has not cleared the field against the two more left-leaning Democrats. The August primary will be a major test for the party’s direction.
The race could become a test for progressives in a critical swing state that narrowly backed Trump in 2024. The conflict in Gaza has become a major sticking point among Michigan Democrats. It was viewed as a key factor in contributing to Trump's victory, as the state is home to both a sizable Arab and Muslim population in areas like Dearborn that shifted toward Democrats. Progressives believe El-Sayed can win back those voters, but centrists worry he could alienate swing voters elsewhere.
...
Left Targets Centrist Democrats in Upcoming House Primaries
Upcoming primaries in states like California, New York and Colorado will also gauge whether Democratic voters are ready to move on from longtime incumbents in favor of more progressive leadership.
Progressive Mai Vang is challenging Representative Doris Matsui in California’s 7th District. Representative Diana DeGette has drawn a challenge from progressive Melat Kiros in Colorado’s 1st District, while Representative vis facing a rematch against progressive former Representative Cory Bush in Missouri’s 1st District.
Several open races will also measure the success of the Democratic Tea Party, including the primaries to replace Representative Nancy Pelosi in California, where Ocasio-Cortez’s former Chief of Staff Saikat Chakrabarti is running, or New York’s 7th District, where the DSA-backed Claire Valdez is running to succeed longtime Representative Nydia Velázquez.
Democratic Leadership Faces Fury
The early months of the Trump administration caused multitudes of headaches for Democratic leadership. In addition to the president’s efforts at reshaping the federal government, party leaders like Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York drew outrage from the base over their approach to Trump.
Progressives have argued that elected Democrats have not done enough to push back against President Donald Trump, but others note that they wield little political influence because they hold a minority in both the Senate and House of Representatives.
Schumer faced a tsunami of Democratic backlash in March 2025 after he declined to block a Republican-led stopgap bill to avoid a government shutdown. Schumer and eight other Democrats voted in favor of a procedural motion to allow debate on the bill but ultimately voted against its passage. That vote, however, allowed it to pass the filibuster and become law, Democratic critics say.
But Democrats have reversed course, putting up more of a fight against the administration in the 2025 government shutdown, the longest in history, over Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies. Democrats did not get much from the shutdown—the deal entailed a vote on the subsidies, which failed to pass—but leaders were viewed as putting up more of a fight.
Calls for new leadership have shaped Democratic primaries, with candidates like Stratton pledging to not support Schumer if elected, embracing more progressive policies over the party’s centrist playbook.
Could Progressive Victories Backfire on Democrats?
La Raja said moderates typically do better in contested districts, but that doesn’t necessarily mean progressives will cost Democrats victory in November—though they could get “washed out” in future elections.
“I would ask, how much are voters willing to punish the Republican party? Increasingly, it seems they are very unhappy with direction of country with Trump and Republicans in charge. So that means ideology matters less in the general election - so progressives may do just as well in the general election,” he said.
Primary voters are often more ideological and engaged, according to Reeher.
“One of the things that concerns me about some of the recent Democratic primary results is the apparent emergence of an anti-Israel stand as a litmus test,” he said. “ If this assumes the same importance as, say, a pro-choice position in order to be a legitimate candidate on the Democratic side, I don’t think this will be good for the party, the country, American Jewish people, the Middle East, or the world.”
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines