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Voters in six states went to the polls Tuesday in a series of primaries that offered an early look at the political forces shaping the 2026 midterm elections, with Democrats rewarding candidates who have taken a harder line against President Donald Trump while Republicans delivered a mixed verdict on the president’s influence.
Trump-backed candidates prevailed in several high-profile Republican contests, including in Wisconsin and South Carolina, but his preferred candidate in Minnesota lost to a more established Republican. On the Democratic side, progressive candidates scored notable victories in Minnesota and Michigan, while a longtime Connecticut congressman was defeated by a younger challenger.
The results underscore a central question heading into November: whether voters in both parties are looking for ideological confrontation or a new generation of candidates to lead them.
Trump remains powerful, but his endorsement is no guarantee
Trump’s record on Tuesday was uneven.
In South Carolina, Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed to her late brother Lindsey Graham’s Senate seat in July, advanced to an Aug. 25 Republican runoff after finishing first in a crowded primary. She will face Rep. Ralph Norman, a member of the House Freedom Caucus.
Trump had urged Graham to run for the full Senate term and held a tele-rally for her during the campaign. Graham won roughly one-third of the vote, meaning a majority of Republican voters backed candidates other than Trump’s choice.
Norman entered the runoff with endorsements from Republican Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Rick Scott of Florida.
In Wisconsin, Rep. Tom Tiffany won the Republican nomination for governor by a wide margin. Tiffany, who has Trump’s endorsement, had also built strong support among state Republicans.
Rhett Marques, an Alabama state representative backed by Trump, also won the Republican nomination in a congressional district stretching from Mobile County through the southern Black Belt to the Georgia border.
But Trump’s influence fell short in Minnesota.
Mike Lindell, the MyPillow founder and outspoken Trump ally, lost the Republican gubernatorial primary to Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth. Lindell had faced questions over his residency and allegations that he physically abused a former girlfriend. He has denied both claims.
Demuth will face Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar in November. Republicans have not won the Minnesota governor’s race in two decades.
The results suggest that Trump’s endorsement remains a major asset in Republican primaries, but it is not an automatic ticket to victory.
Minnesota Democrats send a message on immigration
Minnesota’s Democratic Senate primary provided one of the clearest tests of the party’s approach to Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan defeated Rep. Angie Craig, emerging as the Democratic nominee after a campaign that centered heavily on immigration enforcement and opposition to ICE.
Flanagan repeatedly criticized Craig over her 2025 vote for the Laken Riley Act, a Trump-backed law that expanded the circumstances under which federal immigration authorities can arrest, detain and deport certain immigrants.
Craig later said she regretted supporting the legislation and argued that she had been a strong opponent of Trump’s policies.
But Flanagan made the vote a central theme of her campaign, particularly as Operation Metro Surge, a large-scale immigration enforcement effort launched by the Department of Homeland Security in December 2025, became a major source of tension in the Twin Cities.
Flanagan will face Republican Michele Tafoya, a former sports broadcaster, in November.
Her victory provides evidence that opposition to Trump’s immigration policies could become an important litmus test for Democratic candidates in competitive races across the country.
Progressives gain ground, but moderates remain competitive
Democratic voters also offered mixed signals about the party’s ideological direction.
In Wisconsin, progressive state Rep. Francesca Hong, a 37-year-old chef and democratic socialist, mounted a strong challenge against Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley.
Hong campaigned on policies including Medicare for All and universal child care and called for a moratorium on data centers, an increasingly important issue in Wisconsin and other states.
But Crowley ultimately prevailed in the closely contested primary.
Crowley had suspended his campaign in July before reentering the race days later with the endorsement of outgoing Gov. Tony Evers. His revived campaign raised significant money and helped consolidate support among more moderate Democrats.
The result suggests that progressive candidates can remain highly competitive, but the Democratic electorate has not uniformly embraced the party’s left flank.
Flanagan’s victory in Minnesota and Abdul El-Sayed’s Senate nomination in Michigan last week nevertheless add to a growing list of progressive Democratic victories this primary season.
Democrats confront a generational divide
The Connecticut congressional primary offered another signal about the Democratic Party’s future.
Rep. John Larson, 78, conceded Tuesday night after losing the Democratic primary for Connecticut’s 1st Congressional District to Luke Bronin, 47, a former Hartford mayor and Navy intelligence officer.
Bronin’s victory comes as Democratic voters increasingly confront questions about the age and longevity of the party’s congressional leadership.
More than 80 Gen Z and millennial candidates are running this cycle to challenge or replace House Democrats who are 65 or older, according to data previously reported by NPR from the Democratic fundraising platform Oath.
That compares with 24 under-50 Democratic candidates who challenged older incumbents during the previous election cycle.
The shift comes as a record number of longtime lawmakers have announced plans to leave Congress after 2026, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Yet many Democratic incumbents have resisted calls to step aside, setting up additional contests between established lawmakers and younger challengers.
What the results mean for November
Tuesday’s primaries did not produce a single verdict about the direction of either party.
For Republicans, Trump’s endorsement remains powerful enough to help candidates win high-profile contests, but the Minnesota gubernatorial primary demonstrated that even his most loyal supporters can lose when voters prefer another candidate.
For Democrats, the results point toward a party increasingly willing to confront Trump aggressively on immigration while simultaneously wrestling with an ideological divide between progressives and moderates.
The generational question may prove just as significant. The defeat of Larson and the growing number of younger Democrats challenging older incumbents suggest that voters are increasingly open to changing the party’s leadership ranks.
With the November midterms approaching, both parties are therefore confronting versions of the same problem: how to balance loyalty to their political bases with the demands of a broader electorate.
The primary results suggest that Trump’s grip on the Republican Party remains substantial, while Democrats are still searching for the clearest message and leadership model to take into the general election.
