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Republican Party battleground primaries, 2026

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2026 Republican Party primary elections
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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
Democratic Party primaries, 2026
Republican 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 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 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 Republican seats.

Ballotpedia has identified 42 Republican battleground primaries in 2026. To see how our list of battlegrounds has changed over the course of the year, click here.

Democratic Party Click here for information on Democratic Party battleground primaries in 2026.

Click on the links below to learn more about general election battlegrounds by race type:

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 3 U.S. Senate Republican battleground primaries in 2026.

The following map shows each state with a Republican 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 27 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.

State executive primaries

There are 7 state executive Republican battleground primaries in 2026.

The following map shows each state with a Republican 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

There are 1 state legislative Republican battleground primaries in 2026.

The following map shows each state with Republican 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 Republican seats

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

There are 3 top-two battleground primaries for Republican-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.

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.

  • January 30, 2026: Added TX Agriculture Commissioner.
  • January 23, 2026: Added LA Senate, NC-1.
  • January 16, 2026: Added FL Gov.
  • January 9, 2026: Added MN Gov. Removed TX-1.
  • December 16, 2025: Launched initial battlegrounds list with 47 races.[3]

2024 battlegrounds

See also: Republican Party battleground primaries, 2024

Ballotpedia identified 53 Republican battleground primaries in 2024. There were seven senate battleground primaries, 31 house battleground primaries, seven state executive battleground primaries, and four top-two battleground primaries for a Republican-held seat. Five state legislative chambers also had Republican battleground primaries. To read more about the 2024 Republican Party battleground primaries, click here.

See also

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
  3. ↑ The original 47 races identified were: AL-1, AL Senate, AZ-1, AZ-5, CA-22, CA-40, CA-41, CO Gov, FL CFO, FL-7, FL-19, GA Gov, GA Lt. Gov., GA-1, GA-10, GA-14, IN SoS, IN-4, IA-2, IA-4, KY-4, KY Senate, MI-10, MT State Senate, North Carolina House of Representatives, OK AG, OK Gov, SD Gov, SD-AL, TN-5, TN-6, TX AG, TX-1, TX-2, TX-8, TX-9 TX-10, TX-19, TX-21, TX-23, TX-32, TX-34, TX-35, TX-38, TX Senate, WI Gov, and WI-7.
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