Delaware voters head to the polls Tuesday for the final primary of the 2026 election cycle, capping a season marked by high-profile victories for progressives and socialists over Democratic establishment rivals and President s continued immense influence in Republican contests, despite some notable setbacks.
Democratic Sen. Chris Coons and state Attorney General Kathy Jennings each face primary opponents, and Democratic Rep. Sarah McBride is unopposed in her primary, as they tune up for the general election, when Republicans will try to break the Democrats’ lock on Delaware’s statewide offices.
Delaware’s nominating contests close out a primary season that upended the Democratic Party, with left-wing and Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) backed contenders winning, and in some cases ousting longtime incumbents.
A year after socialist New York City Mayor rocked the political world with a Democratic primary victory en route to winning the general election in the nation’s most populist city, the far-left struck again in June.
A slew of incumbents and establishment candidates were defeated by left-wing rivals, including Melat Kiros topping 15-term incumbent Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette of Colorado and Darializa Avila Chevalier of New York ousting five-term Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York.
Those wins were followed on an even larger scale in August, with triumphs in crucial statewide Senate primaries by Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota, and state Rep. Angie Nixon in Florida.
While there were notable setbacks for the left, including frontrunner Francesca Hong’s August defeat in battleground Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, the left vastly increased its clout in the political fight for the party’s ideological future. And many of the winning candidates ran on platforms calling for abolishing ICE, cutting military aid to Israel, and pushing for a single-payer “Medicare for All” health system.
“It is undeniable that progressives have built a coalition and have a message that can serve to buoy a candidate when they are an acceptable alternative to the status quo,” longtime Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo, a veteran of progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, told Fox News Digital.
Caiazzo added, “What’s incumbent upon progressives if they want to continue to be successful is to put forward candidates who are serious, credible, and are accessible to the public.”
In Republican nominating battles, Trump took to social media late last month to tout, “My Endorsements are stronger than ever….There has never been anything close!”
The numbers back up the president’s assertion that despite some setbacks, he remains the ultimate kingmaker in .
According to a Fox News Trump Primary Endorsement Tracker, the president batted a thousand in Senate GOP primaries this cycle, and enjoyed a near-perfect record in House Republican nomination showdowns.
Trump has dramatically reshaped the GOP since his first White House victory a decade ago, with the populist MAGA and America First wings gaining prominence over more traditional fiscal and social conservatives. And the president’s grip over party politics remains extremely firm.
But he has had some setbacks, with five of his gubernatorial picks in Republican primaries this year going down to defeat. That list includes Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa, Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder and Minnesota businessman and “My Pillow” founder and former CEO Mike Lindell.
“The Republican Party is Trumps party, and theres no question that an endorsement from the president provides a tremendous boost in a Republican primary. But it doesnt necessarily mean the candidates going to win,” veteran GOP strategist and communicator Ryan Williams
