Democratic Party battleground primaries, 2026
| 2026 Democratic Party primary elections |
|---|
 |
| Battleground primaries |
| U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds State executive battlegrounds |
| Federal primaries |
| U.S. Senate primaries U.S. House primaries |
| State primaries |
| Gubernatorial primaries Attorney General primaries Secretary of State primaries State legislative primaries |
| Primary overviews |
| Republican Party primaries, 2026 Democratic Party primaries, 2026 Top-two and top-four battleground primaries, 2026 U.S. House battleground primaries, 2026 |
| Primaries by state |
General elections are often the focal point of election-year media coverage as they determine control of elected offices up and down the ballot. Primary elections, however, can provide insight on future elections as they help influence the direction each party takes.
Although many of the most competitive primaries take place for open seats or offices that are held by a different party, even high-ranking federal officeholders can lose renomination to primary challengers. In the 2018 primary for New York's 14th Congressional District, Democratic Caucus Chair and 10-term incumbent Joseph Crowley (D) was defeated by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D).
On this page, you will find information on noteworthy and notable Democratic Party primaries that took place across the country for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, state executive offices, and state legislatures in 2026. The page also includes information about notable top-two primaries for Democratic seats.
Ballotpedia has identified 39 Democratic battleground primaries in 2026. To see how our list of battlegrounds has changed over the course of the year, click here.
Click here for information on Republican Party battleground primaries in 2026.
Click on the links below to learn more about general election battlegrounds by race type:
- U.S. Senate battlegrounds, 2026
- U.S. House battlegrounds, 2026
- Gubernatorial battlegrounds, 2026
- Top-two and top-four battleground primaries, 2026
Want to learn more about the elections and candidates on your ballot? Click here to use Ballotpedia's Sample Ballot Lookup.
Criteria
It is typically difficult to predict how competitive primaries will be until after filing deadlines take place. However, Ballotpedia uses a number of factors to give insight into the most interesting 2026 primary elections. Factors that will be used to determine the competitiveness of primaries include:
- Whether or not the seat is open (retiring or resigning incumbent)
- Notable endorsements of multiple candidates
- Significant fundraising from multiple candidates
- Number of candidates
- Incumbent's years in office (if seeking re-election)
- Whether or not the district's general election is expected to be a battleground
U.S. Senate primaries
There are 6 U.S. Senate Democratic battleground primaries in 2026.
- United States Senate election in Illinois, 2026 (March 17 Democratic primary)
- United States Senate election in Iowa, 2026 (June 2 Democratic primary)
- United States Senate election in Kansas, 2026 (August 4 Democratic primary)
- United States Senate election in Michigan, 2026 (August 4 Democratic primary)
- United States Senate election in Minnesota, 2026 (August 11 Democratic primary)
- United States Senate election in Texas, 2026 (March 3 Democratic primary)
The following map shows each state with a Democratic battleground primary for U.S. Senate in 2026. Hover over or tap a state to view the incumbent's name.
U.S. House primaries
There are 23 U.S. House Democratic battleground primaries in 2026.
- Colorado's 1st Congressional District election, 2026 (June 30 Democratic primary)
- Colorado's 8th Congressional District election, 2026 (June 30 Democratic primary)
- Florida's 20th Congressional District election, 2026 (August 18 Democratic primary)
- Hawaii's 1st Congressional District election, 2026 (August 8 Democratic primary)
- Illinois' 2nd Congressional District election, 2026 (March 17 Democratic primary)
- Illinois' 7th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 17 Democratic primary)
- Illinois' 9th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 17 Democratic primary)
- Maryland's 5th Congressional District election, 2026 (June 23 Democratic primary)
- Maryland's 6th Congressional District election, 2026 (June 23 Democratic primary)
- Maryland's 7th Congressional District election, 2026 (June 23 Democratic primary)
- Michigan's 13th Congressional District election, 2026 (August 4 Democratic primary)
- Michigan's 7th Congressional District election, 2026 (August 4 Democratic primary)
- Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District election, 2026 (August 11 Democratic primary)
- Minnesota's 5th Congressional District election, 2026 (August 11 Democratic primary)
- Mississippi's 2nd Congressional District election, 2026 (March 10 Democratic primary)
- Missouri's 1st Congressional District election, 2026 (August 4 Democratic primary)
- New Hampshire's 1st Congressional District election, 2026 (September 8 Democratic primary)
- New Jersey's 11th Congressional District special election, 2026 (February 5 Democratic primary)
- North Carolina's 4th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 3 Democratic primary)
- Texas' 18th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 3 Democratic primary)
- Texas' 29th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 3 Democratic primary)
- Texas' 30th Congressional District election, 2026 (March 3 Democratic primary)
- Texas' 33rd Congressional District election, 2026 (March 3 Democratic primary)
The following map shows each state with a Democratic battleground primary for U.S. House in 2026. Hover over or tap a district to view the incumbent's name.
State executive primaries
There are 5 state executive Democratic battleground primaries in 2026.
- Colorado Attorney General election, 2026 (June 30 Democratic primary)
- Colorado gubernatorial election, 2026 (June 30 Democratic primary)
- Georgia gubernatorial election, 2026 (May 19 Democratic primary)
- Michigan gubernatorial election, 2026 (August 4 Democratic primary)
- Rhode Island gubernatorial election, 2026 (September 8 Democratic primary)
The following map shows each state with a Democratic battleground primary for a state executive office in 2026. Hover over or tap a state to view the battleground primaries in that state and the incumbent's name in each race.
State legislative primaries
So far, Ballotpedia has not identified any state legislative battleground primaries in 2026.
The following map shows each state with Democratic battleground primaries in a state legislative chamber in 2026. Hover over or tap a state to view the chamber with battleground primaries and the partisan composition of the chamber heading into the election.
Top-two primaries for Democratic seats
There are 5 top-two battleground primaries for Democratic-held seats in 2026.
- California gubernatorial election, 2026 (June 2 top-two primary)
- California's 11th Congressional District election, 2026 (June 2 top-two primary)
- California's 4th Congressional District election, 2026 (June 2 top-two primary)
- California's 7th Congressional District election, 2026 (June 2 top-two primary)
- California's 9th Congressional District election, 2026 (June 2 top-two primary)
California uses a top-two primary system, in which all candidates appear on the same ballot. The top two vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, move on to the general election. In states that do not use a top-two system, all parties are usually able to put forward a candidate for the general election if they choose to.[1][2]
Unlike the top-two format used in some states (Louisiana and Georgia special elections for example), a general election between the top-two candidates in California occurs regardless of whether the top candidate received 50% of the vote in the first round of elections.
As of October 2025, California was one of five states to use a top-two primary system, or a variation of the top-two system for some or all statewide primaries. See here for more information.
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Change log
This section lists every change that was made to our battleground list between the launch of the page in December 2025 and the close of the primary election season.
- February 13, 2026: Added IL Comptroller.
- February 11, 2026: Removed NY Gov.
- January 16, 2026: Added Massachusetts House of Representatives, Massachusetts State Senate, and NY-7.
- December 19, 2025: Added MS-2.
- December 16, 2025: Launched initial battlegrounds list with 63 races.[3]
2024 battlegrounds
Ballotpedia identified 34 Democratic battleground primaries in 2024. There were two senate battleground primaries, 25 house battleground primaries, and two state executive battleground primaries for Democratic-held seats. To read more about the 2024 Democratic Party battleground primaries, click here.
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ California Legislative Information, "California Constitution, Article II, Section 5," accessed October 29, 2025
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Primary Elections in California," accessed October 29, 2025
- ↑ The original 63 races identified were: AZ-1, CA Gov, CA-4, CA-7, CA-9, CA-11, GA Gov, CO Gov, CO AG, CO-1, CO-8, CT-1, CT-3, D.C. U.S. Rep., FL-20, HI-1, IL-2, IL-7, IL-9, IL Senate, IA Senate, KS Senate, ME-2, ME Senate, MD-5, MD-6, MD-7, MA-1, MA-6, MA Senate, MI Gov, MI-7, MI-13, MI Senate, MN-2, MN-5, MN Senate, MO-1, NJ-11 special, NJ-7, NJ-12, NH-1, NY Gov, NY-10, NY-12, NY-13, NY-15, NY-17, NC-4, PA-3, PA-7, RI Gov, TN-9, TX-18, TX-29, TX-33, TX Senate, VA-1, VA-2, VA-8, WI Gov, WI-3, and UT-1.
