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2026 Primary and Special Election Results: Trump-Backed Candidates, Key Senate Races, and State Contests

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2026 Primary Season Kicks Off: Trump’s Power Tested in Key Races

A series of primary and special elections across multiple states in early 2026 set the stage for the November midterm elections, testing the influence of President Donald Trump and shaping key races for U.S. Senate, House, and governor.

Indiana State Senate Primaries

President Donald Trump endorsed primary challengers against seven Republican state senators who had opposed his 2025 effort to redraw the state's congressional districts. The targeted senators represented districts Trump won by significant margins in the 2024 presidential election.

  • Results: Five of the seven incumbents lost their primary challenges.
  • Spending: Groups aligned with Trump spent over $8.3 million on advertising in these races.
  • Context: The effort to redraw Indiana's maps succeeded in other states like Texas and Ohio but failed in Indiana after a bipartisan coalition of state senators voted it down.

Michigan Special Election

A special election was held for a state Senate seat in central Michigan that had been vacant for over a year.

  • Winner: Democrat Chedrick Greene won the election.
  • Significance: The victory gave Democrats a firm majority in the state Senate. A Republican win would have created a 19-19 split.
  • District: Kamala Harris won the district by less than one point in the 2024 presidential election.

Ohio Primaries

U.S. Senate Special Election

  • Democratic Nominee: Former Senator Sherrod Brown won the nomination unopposed.
  • Republican Nominee: Incumbent Senator Jon Husted, appointed to fill the vacancy of Vice President JD Vance, had no primary challenger.
  • General Election: Brown and Husted will face each other in November for the remaining two years of Vance's term.

Gubernatorial Primary

  • Republican Nominee: Vivek Ramaswamy won the nomination, defeating Casey Putsch. Ramaswamy was endorsed by President Trump and the Ohio Republican Party.
  • Democratic Nominee: Dr. Amy Acton, former state public health director, ran unopposed.

Kentucky Primary

4th Congressional District

  • Winner: Ed Gallrein defeated 12-term incumbent Representative Thomas Massie. Gallrein, a retired Navy SEAL, was endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
  • Significance: The race became the most expensive House primary in U.S. history, with over $30 million in spending. The outcome was seen as a key test of Trump's influence within the Republican Party.

U.S. Senate Primary

  • Winner: Representative Andy Barr won the Republican nomination for the open Senate seat left by retiring Senator Mitch McConnell.

Georgia Primaries (Including Runoffs)

U.S. Senate

  • Republican Nominee: Representative Mike Collins won the GOP primary runoff, defeating former coach Derek Dooley. Collins was endorsed by President Trump.
  • General Election: Collins will face incumbent Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff in November. The race is rated as "Leaning Democrat" by the Cook Political Report.

Gubernatorial Primary

  • Republican Nominee: Rick Jackson won the GOP primary runoff, defeating Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, who was endorsed by President Trump.
  • General Election: Jackson will face former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms in November.

Alabama Senate Primary

  • Republican Nominee: Representative Barry Moore won the GOP primary runoff, defeating former Navy SEAL Jared Hudson. Moore was endorsed by President Trump.

Pennsylvania House Primaries

Several primaries were held in competitive House districts:

  • 7th District: Bob Brooks won the Democratic primary to challenge incumbent Republican Representative Ryan Mackenzie.
  • 8th District: Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti won the Democratic primary unopposed to challenge incumbent Republican Representative Rob Bresnahan.
  • 10th District: Janelle Stelson won the Democratic primary to challenge incumbent Republican Representative Scott Perry.
  • 1st District: Bob Harvie won the Democratic primary to challenge incumbent Republican Representative Brian Fitzpatrick.

Iowa Primaries

U.S. Senate

  • Democratic Nominee: State Representative Josh Turek won the nomination, defeating state Senator Zach Wahls.
  • Republican Candidate: Representative Ashley Hinson is the de facto Republican nominee.
  • General Election: Turek and Hinson will face each other for the open seat.

Gubernatorial Primary

  • Republican Nominee: Businessman Zach Lahn won the nomination, defeating Representative Randy Feenstra, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
  • General Election: Lahn will face Democratic State Auditor Rob Sand in November.

California Gubernatorial Primary

California uses a top-two primary system where all candidates appear on a single ballot. The top two finishers advance to the general election.

  • Advancing to General Election: Former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra (D) secured one of the top two spots. The second spot was competitive between Republican Steve Hilton and Democratic investor Tom Steyer.
  • Katie Porter (D): Conceded the race.

New Mexico Primaries

Gubernatorial Primary

  • Democratic Nominee: Deb Haaland, former U.S. Interior Secretary, won the nomination. If elected in November, she would become the first Native American woman governor in U.S. history.
  • Republican Nominee: Gregg Hull, former Rio Rancho Mayor, won the nomination.

South Dakota Governor Primary

  • Result: No candidate reached the 35% threshold required to win outright. A runoff election will be held between Governor Larry Rhoden and businessman Toby Doeden.

New Jersey 7th Congressional District

  • Democratic Nominee: Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy pilot, won the primary to challenge incumbent Republican Representative Tom Kean Jr. Kean has been absent from Congress since March due to a medical issue.

General U.S. Senate Race Overview

The 2026 elections feature over one-third of U.S. Senate seats. Republicans currently hold a 53-seat majority. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to win control of the chamber. According to the Cook Political Report, key races are rated as follows:

  • Toss-ups: Maine (Collins), Michigan (Open), Ohio (Husted).
  • Leaning Republican: Alaska (Sullivan).
  • Leaning Democrat: Georgia (Ossoff), New Hampshire (Open), North Carolina (Open).
  • Likely Republican: Iowa (Open), Nebraska (Ricketts), Texas (Cornyn).
  • Likely Democrat: Minnesota (Open).

A CBS poll released prior to the primaries indicated that more voters surveyed said they would prefer to see Democrats control Congress than Republicans.