Democrats are reportedly anticipating an over-crowded primary season

Some Democrats have expressed concerns over the likelihood of their party being able to win back the House in the 2026 midterm elections amid mounting fears of potentially chaotic and overly-crowded primaries, according to Politico.

Several Democrats are growing concerned about competitive House primaries becoming too crowded amid a surge in Democratic candidates wanting to run in 2026, Politico reported Thursday. Several Democrats have been privately encouraging Democratic House campaign leaders to step in to prevent money and other resources from being funneled into primaries instead of focusing them on the general election, according to Politico.

“There’s going to be so many crowded primaries, so many people stepping up against Trump, and then so many different players throwing around real money in these primaries,” Ian Russell, a Democratic consultant who served as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC)’s political director in 2014 and 2016, told Politico. “But that creates some tension between all the energy coming out of these primaries and the party trying to shape desired matchups.” 

“Yes, it’s going to be chaos,” Russell added.

The Democratic Party has been facing growing intraparty tensions after Leaders We Deserve, a political organization co-founded by embattled Democratic National Committee (DNC) Vice Chair David Hogg, announced in April that it was planning to shell out millions of dollars to primary Democratic incumbents in safe blue districts. Hogg claimed at the time that he was hoping to primary certain “asleep at the wheel” Democrats.

Democratic lawmakers have also been grappling with several polls showing tanking approval ratings among voters in recent months. A Harvard Youth Poll released in April found that congressional Democrats’ approval ratings among young voters have declined by 19 points since 2017.

The DCCC did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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