U.S. House battleground primaries, 2026

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Last updated: Jan. 5, 2026
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 dictate 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 2014 primary for Virginia's 7th Congressional District, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R), ranked behind only then-Speaker John Boehner (R) in Republican House leadership, was defeated by economics professor Dave Brat (R).

On this page, you will find information on noteworthy and notable Republican and Democratic primaries that took place for the U.S. House in 2026. The page also includes information about notable top-two primaries for Republican and Democratic seats.

Ballotpedia has identified 47 U.S. House battleground primaries in 2026.

Click here for information on Democratic Party battleground primaries for the U.S. House in 2026.
Click here for information on Republican Party battleground primaries for the U.S. House 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. House primaries

Democratic Party battleground primaries

There are 22 U.S. House Democratic battleground primaries in 2026.

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.

Republican Party battleground primaries

There are 25 U.S. House Republican battleground primaries in 2026.

The following map shows each state with a Republican battleground primary for U.S. House in 2026. Hover over or tap a district to view the incumbent's name.

List of candidates

The table below contains a list of all candidates in U.S. House primary election battlegrounds in 2026. The table is fully searchable by candidate, party and candidacy status. Depending on the size of your screen, you'll either see a menu to the left of the table or an arrow at the top right corner, which you can use to select a state.

Colorado U.S. House Battleground Primaries, 2026
candidate	party	office	status
Diana DeGette Incumbent	Democratic	U.S. House Colorado District 1	Candidacy Declared Primary
Carter Hanson	Democratic	U.S. House Colorado District 1	Candidacy Declared Primary
Wanda James	Democratic	U.S. House Colorado District 1	Candidacy Declared Primary
Melat Kiros	Democratic	U.S. House Colorado District 1	Candidacy Declared Primary
Christopher Oldfield	Democratic	U.S. House Colorado District 1	Candidacy Declared Primary
Santiago Palomino	Democratic	U.S. House Colorado District 1	Candidacy Declared Primary
Tiffany Rodgers	Democratic	U.S. House Colorado District 1	Candidacy Declared Primary
Shannon Bird	Democratic	U.S. House Colorado District 8	Candidacy Declared Primary
Daniel Hassler	Democratic	U.S. House Colorado District 8	Candidacy Declared Primary
Larry Johnson	Democratic	U.S. House Colorado District 8	Candidacy Declared Primary
Evan Munsing	Democratic	U.S. House Colorado District 8	Candidacy Declared Primary
Manny Rutinel	Democratic	U.S. House Colorado District 8	Candidacy Declared Primary
John Szemler	Democratic	U.S. House Colorado District 8	Candidacy Declared Primary
Dave Young	Democratic	U.S. House Colorado District 8	Candidacy Declared Primary

Georgia U.S. House Battleground Primaries, 2026
candidate	party	office	status
Christian Hurd	Republican	U.S. House Georgia District 14	Candidacy Declared Primary
Jacqueline Wilmer	Republican	U.S. House Georgia District 14	Candidacy Declared Primary

Illinois U.S. House Battleground Primaries, 2026
candidate	party	office	status
Toni Brown	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 2	Candidacy Declared Primary
Yumeka Brown	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 2	Candidacy Declared Primary
Eric France	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 2	Candidacy Declared Primary
Jesse L. Jackson, Jr.	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 2	Candidacy Declared Primary
Patrick Keating	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 2	Candidacy Declared Primary
Donna Miller	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 2	Candidacy Declared Primary
Sidney Moore	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 2	Candidacy Declared Primary
Robert Peters	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 2	Candidacy Declared Primary
Willie Preston	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 2	Candidacy Declared Primary
Adal Regis	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 2	Candidacy Declared Primary
Richard Boykin	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 7	Candidacy Declared Primary
Kina Collins	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 7	Candidacy Declared Primary
Melissa Conyears-Ervin	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 7	Candidacy Declared Primary
Anthony Driver Jr.	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 7	Candidacy Declared Primary
David Ehrlich	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 7	Candidacy Declared Primary
Thomas Fisher	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 7	Candidacy Declared Primary
La Shawn Ford	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 7	Candidacy Declared Primary
Jason Friedman	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 7	Candidacy Declared Primary
Rory Hoskins	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 7	Candidacy Declared Primary
Anabel Mendoza	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 7	Candidacy Declared Primary
Jazmin Robinson	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 7	Candidacy Declared Primary
Reed Showalter	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 7	Candidacy Declared Primary
Felix Tello	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 7	Candidacy Declared Primary
Kat Abughazaleh	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
Bushra Amiwala	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
Phil Andrew	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
Natalie Angelo	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
Daniel K. Biss	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
Patricia Brown	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
Jeff Cohen	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
Laura Fine	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
Justin Ford	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
Mark Fredrickson	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
Hoan Huynh	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
Bethany Johnson	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
Bruce Leon	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
Sam Polan	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
Nick Pyati	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
Howard Rosenblum	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
Mike Simmons	Democratic	U.S. House Illinois District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary

Kentucky U.S. House Battleground Primaries, 2026
candidate	party	office	status
Thomas Massie Incumbent	Republican	U.S. House Kentucky District 4	Candidacy Declared Primary
Nicole Lee Ethington	Republican	U.S. House Kentucky District 4	Candidacy Declared Primary
Ed Gallrein	Republican	U.S. House Kentucky District 4	Candidacy Declared Primary
Robert Wells Jr.	Republican	U.S. House Kentucky District 4	Candidacy Declared Primary

Maryland U.S. House Battleground Primaries, 2026
candidate	party	office	status
Quincy Bareebe	Democratic	U.S. House Maryland District 5	Candidacy Declared Primary
Terry Jackson	Democratic	U.S. House Maryland District 5	Candidacy Declared Primary
Harry Jarin	Democratic	U.S. House Maryland District 5	Candidacy Declared Primary
Walter Kirkland	Democratic	U.S. House Maryland District 5	Candidacy Declared Primary
Heather Luper	Democratic	U.S. House Maryland District 5	Candidacy Declared Primary
April McClain-Delaney Incumbent	Democratic	U.S. House Maryland District 6	Candidacy Declared Primary
David Trone	Democratic	U.S. House Maryland District 6	Candidacy Declared Primary
Ethan Wechtaluk	Democratic	U.S. House Maryland District 6	Candidacy Declared Primary
Kweisi Mfume Incumbent	Democratic	U.S. House Maryland District 7	Candidacy Declared Primary
Hadley Anthony	Democratic	U.S. House Maryland District 7	Candidacy Declared Primary
Mark Conway	Democratic	U.S. House Maryland District 7	Candidacy Declared Primary

Mississippi U.S. House Battleground Primaries, 2026
candidate	party	office	status
Bennie Thompson Incumbent	Democratic	U.S. House Mississippi District 2	Candidacy Declared Primary
Evan Turnage	Democratic	U.S. House Mississippi District 2	Candidacy Declared Primary
Pertis Williams III	Democratic	U.S. House Mississippi District 2	Candidacy Declared Primary

New Hampshire U.S. House Battleground Primaries, 2026
candidate	party	office	status
Carleigh Beriont	Democratic	U.S. House New Hampshire District 1	Candidacy Declared Primary
Sarah E. Chadzynski	Democratic	U.S. House New Hampshire District 1	Candidacy Declared Primary
Bill Conlin	Democratic	U.S. House New Hampshire District 1	Candidacy Declared Primary
Heath Howard	Democratic	U.S. House New Hampshire District 1	Candidacy Declared Primary
Stefany Shaheen	Democratic	U.S. House New Hampshire District 1	Candidacy Declared Primary
Maura Sullivan	Democratic	U.S. House New Hampshire District 1	Candidacy Declared Primary
Christian Urrutia	Democratic	U.S. House New Hampshire District 1	Candidacy Declared Primary

New Jersey U.S. House Battleground Primaries, 2026
candidate	party	office	status
John Bartlett	Democratic	U.S. House New Jersey District 11 (Special election)	On the Ballot Primary
Zach Beecher	Democratic	U.S. House New Jersey District 11 (Special election)	On the Ballot Primary
J-L Cauvin	Democratic	U.S. House New Jersey District 11 (Special election)	On the Ballot Primary
Cammie Croft	Democratic	U.S. House New Jersey District 11 (Special election)	On the Ballot Primary
Dean Dafis	Democratic	U.S. House New Jersey District 11 (Special election)	On the Ballot Primary
Brendan Gill	Democratic	U.S. House New Jersey District 11 (Special election)	On the Ballot Primary
Jeffrey Grayzel	Democratic	U.S. House New Jersey District 11 (Special election)	On the Ballot Primary
Tom Malinowski	Democratic	U.S. House New Jersey District 11 (Special election)	On the Ballot Primary
Analilia Mejia	Democratic	U.S. House New Jersey District 11 (Special election)	On the Ballot Primary
Justin Strickland	Democratic	U.S. House New Jersey District 11 (Special election)	On the Ballot Primary
Tahesha Way	Democratic	U.S. House New Jersey District 11 (Special election)	On the Ballot Primary
Anna Lee Williams	Democratic	U.S. House New Jersey District 11 (Special election)	On the Ballot Primary

North Carolina U.S. House Battleground Primaries, 2026
candidate	party	office	status
Valerie Foushee Incumbent	Democratic	U.S. House North Carolina District 4	On the Ballot Primary
Nida Allam	Democratic	U.S. House North Carolina District 4	On the Ballot Primary
Mary Patterson	Democratic	U.S. House North Carolina District 4	On the Ballot Primary

South Dakota U.S. House Battleground Primaries, 2026
candidate	party	office	status
Dusty Johnson Incumbent	Republican	U.S. House South Dakota At-large District	Candidacy Declared Primary
James Bialota	Republican	U.S. House South Dakota At-large District	Candidacy Declared Primary
Casey Crabtree	Republican	U.S. House South Dakota At-large District	Candidacy Declared Primary
Marty J. Jackley	Republican	U.S. House South Dakota At-large District	Candidacy Declared Primary

Tennessee U.S. House Battleground Primaries, 2026
candidate	party	office	status
Andy Ogles Incumbent	Republican	U.S. House Tennessee District 5	Candidacy Declared Primary
Charlie Hatcher	Republican	U.S. House Tennessee District 5	Candidacy Declared Primary
Brad Gaines	Republican	U.S. House Tennessee District 6	Candidacy Declared Primary
Johnny Garrett	Republican	U.S. House Tennessee District 6	Candidacy Declared Primary
Jon Henry	Republican	U.S. House Tennessee District 6	Candidacy Declared Primary
William Hilleary	Republican	U.S. House Tennessee District 6	Candidacy Declared Primary
Joe Reid	Republican	U.S. House Tennessee District 6	Candidacy Declared Primary
Charlotte Bergmann	Republican	U.S. House Tennessee District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
James New	Republican	U.S. House Tennessee District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary

Texas U.S. House Battleground Primaries, 2026
candidate	party	office	status
Nathaniel Moran Incumbent	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 1	Candidacy Declared Primary
Daniel Crenshaw Incumbent	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 2	Candidacy Declared Primary
Martin Etwop	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 2	Candidacy Declared Primary
T.C. Manning	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 2	Candidacy Declared Primary
Nicholas Plumb	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 2	Candidacy Declared Primary
Steve Toth	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 2	Candidacy Declared Primary
Ava Zolari	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 2	Candidacy Declared Primary
Jay Fondren	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 8	Candidacy Declared Primary
Brett Jensen	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 8	Candidacy Declared Primary
Stephen Long	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 8	Candidacy Declared Primary
Jessica Steinmann	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 8	Candidacy Declared Primary
Nick Tran	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 8	Candidacy Declared Primary
Deddrick Wilmer	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 8	Candidacy Declared Primary
Jaimy Annette Zoboulikos-Blanco	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
Briscoe Cain	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
Michael Curran	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
Peter Emmert	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
Alex Mealer	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
Dan Mims	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
Crystal Sarmiento	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
Steve Stockman	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
Dwayne Stovall	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
Terry Lee Thain	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 9	Candidacy Declared Primary
Rob Altman	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 10	Candidacy Declared Primary
Ben Bius	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 10	Candidacy Declared Primary
Robert Brown	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 10	Candidacy Declared Primary
Jenny Garcia Sharon	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 10	Candidacy Declared Primary
Chris Gober	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 10	Candidacy Declared Primary
Brandon Hawbaker	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 10	Candidacy Declared Primary
Christopher Hurt	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 10	Candidacy Declared Primary
Jessica Karlsruher	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 10	Candidacy Declared Primary
Kara King	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 10	Candidacy Declared Primary
Joshua Ross Lovell	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 10	Candidacy Declared Primary
Scott MacLeod	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 10	Candidacy Declared Primary
Carl Segan	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 10	Candidacy Declared Primary
Jeremy Story	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 10	Candidacy Declared Primary
Phil Suarez	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 10	Candidacy Declared Primary
Al Green Incumbent	Democratic	U.S. House Texas District 18	Candidacy Declared Primary
Gretchen Brown	Democratic	U.S. House Texas District 18	Candidacy Declared Primary
Amanda Edwards	Democratic	U.S. House Texas District 18	Candidacy Declared Primary
Christian Menefee	Democratic	U.S. House Texas District 18	Candidacy Declared Primary
Christopher Adams	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 19	Candidacy Declared Primary
James Barbee	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 19	Candidacy Declared Primary
Jason Corley	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 19	Candidacy Declared Primary
Abraham Enriquez	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 19	Candidacy Declared Primary
Donald May	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 19	Candidacy Declared Primary
Tom Sell	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 19	Candidacy Declared Primary
Matthew Smith	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 19	Candidacy Declared Primary
Ryan Zink	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 19	Candidacy Declared Primary
Daniel Betts	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 21	Candidacy Declared Primary
Jason Cahill	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 21	Candidacy Declared Primary
Jacques DuBose	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 21	Candidacy Declared Primary
Ezekiel Enriquez	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 21	Candidacy Declared Primary
Denis Goulet	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 21	Candidacy Declared Primary
Weston Martinez	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 21	Candidacy Declared Primary
Matt Okerson	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 21	Candidacy Declared Primary
Paul Rojas	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 21	Candidacy Declared Primary
Kyle Sinclair	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 21	Candidacy Declared Primary
Mark Teixeira	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 21	Candidacy Declared Primary
Heather Tessmer	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 21	Candidacy Declared Primary
Trey Trainor	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 21	Candidacy Declared Primary
Peggy Wardlaw	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 21	Candidacy Declared Primary
Mike Wheeler	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 21	Candidacy Declared Primary
Tony Gonzales Incumbent	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 23	Candidacy Declared Primary
Keith Barton	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 23	Candidacy Declared Primary
Francisco Canseco	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 23	Candidacy Declared Primary
Brandon Herrera	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 23	Candidacy Declared Primary
Susan Storey Rubio	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 23	Candidacy Declared Primary
Sylvia Garcia Incumbent	Democratic	U.S. House Texas District 29	Candidacy Declared Primary
Jarvis Johnson	Democratic	U.S. House Texas District 29	Candidacy Declared Primary
Robert Slater	Democratic	U.S. House Texas District 29	Candidacy Declared Primary
Barbara Mallory Caraway	Democratic	U.S. House Texas District 30	Candidacy Declared Primary
Frederick Haynes	Democratic	U.S. House Texas District 30	Candidacy Declared Primary
Rodney LaBruce	Democratic	U.S. House Texas District 30	Candidacy Declared Primary
Saul Rodriguez	Democratic	U.S. House Texas District 30	Candidacy Declared Primary
Oscar Villar	Democratic	U.S. House Texas District 30	Candidacy Declared Primary
Ryan Binkley	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 32	Candidacy Declared Primary
Paul Bondar	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 32	Candidacy Declared Primary
Aimee Carrasco	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 32	Candidacy Declared Primary
Darrell Day	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 32	Candidacy Declared Primary
Gordon Heslop	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 32	Candidacy Declared Primary
Monty Montanez	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 32	Candidacy Declared Primary
Eric Niehaus	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 32	Candidacy Declared Primary
Zain Shaito	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 32	Candidacy Declared Primary
James Ussery	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 32	Candidacy Declared Primary
Abteen Vaziri	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 32	Candidacy Declared Primary
Jace Yarbrough	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 32	Candidacy Declared Primary
Julie Johnson Incumbent	Democratic	U.S. House Texas District 33	Candidacy Declared Primary
Colin Allred	Democratic	U.S. House Texas District 33	Candidacy Declared Primary
Zeeshan Hafeez	Democratic	U.S. House Texas District 33	Candidacy Declared Primary
Carlos Quintanilla	Democratic	U.S. House Texas District 33	Candidacy Declared Primary
Keith Allen	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 34	Candidacy Declared Primary
Luis Buentello	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 34	Candidacy Declared Primary
Eric Flores	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 34	Candidacy Declared Primary
Mayra Flores	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 34	Candidacy Declared Primary
Fred Hinojosa	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 34	Candidacy Declared Primary
Gregory Kunkle Jr.	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 34	Candidacy Declared Primary
Scott Mandel	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 34	Candidacy Declared Primary
Bam Morales	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 34	Candidacy Declared Primary
Jay Nagy	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 34	Candidacy Declared Primary
Randy Adams	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 35	Candidacy Declared Primary
Joshua Cortez	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 35	Candidacy Declared Primary
Carlos De La Cruz	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 35	Candidacy Declared Primary
Mark Eberwine	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 35	Candidacy Declared Primary
Jay Furman	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 35	Candidacy Declared Primary
Vanessa Hicks-Callaway	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 35	Candidacy Declared Primary
Ryan Krause	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 35	Candidacy Declared Primary
Larry La Rose	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 35	Candidacy Declared Primary
Rod Lingsch	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 35	Candidacy Declared Primary
John Lujan	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 35	Candidacy Declared Primary
Steven Wright	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 35	Candidacy Declared Primary
Avery Ayers	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 38	Candidacy Declared Primary
Jon Bonck	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 38	Candidacy Declared Primary
Craig Goralski	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 38	Candidacy Declared Primary
Barrett McNabb	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 38	Candidacy Declared Primary
Damien Mockus	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 38	Candidacy Declared Primary
Carmen Montiel	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 38	Candidacy Declared Primary
Michael Pratt	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 38	Candidacy Declared Primary
Larry Rubin	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 38	Candidacy Declared Primary
Jennifer Sundt	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 38	Candidacy Declared Primary
Jeff Yuna	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 38	Candidacy Declared Primary
Shelly deZevallos	Republican	U.S. House Texas District 38	Candidacy Declared Primary

Top-two primaries

See also: Top-two and top-four battleground primaries, 2026

So far, Ballotpedia has not identified any top-two battleground primaries for Republican-held seats in 2026.

So far, Ballotpedia has not identified any top-two battleground primaries for Democratic-held seats in 2026.

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.

2024 U.S. House battlegrounds

See also: Republican Party battleground primaries, 2024, Democratic Party battleground primaries, 2024

Ballotpedia identified 62 U.S. House battleground primaries in 2024. These primaries included 25 Democratic primaries, 30 Republican primaries, and seven top-two primary. To read more about the 2024 Republican Party battleground primaries, click here. To read more about the 2024 Democratic Party battleground primaries, click here.

Footnotes

[1] California Legislative Information, "California Constitution, Article II, Section 5," accessed October 29, 2025

[2] California Secretary of State, "Primary Elections in California," accessed October 29, 2025

[1]

[2]

U.S. House battleground primaries, 2026

Contents

Criteria

U.S. House primaries

Democratic Party battleground primaries

Republican Party battleground primaries

List of candidates

Top-two primaries

2024 U.S. House battlegrounds

See also

Footnotes

Information about voting

2026 Elections

2025 Elections

Election analysis

Trending

Public Policy

Information for candidates

Get Engaged

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