2026 State Primaries Set Stage for Midterm Elections Across Multiple States
Throughout summer 2026, a series of state primary elections were held across the country, including in Minnesota, Michigan, Florida, Virginia, South Carolina, Connecticut, Washington, Massachusetts and Nevada, determining party nominees for governor, U.S. Senate, House and legislative seats ahead of the November midterms. Coverage varied by outlet, with national outlets emphasizing marquee Senate and gubernatorial contests and ideological splits within the Democratic Party, while state and local outlets focused on regional implications such as data center policy in Virginia and legislative targeting in Washington.
During the summer of 2026, numerous U.S. states held primary elections to select party nominees ahead of November's midterm elections, including Minnesota, Michigan, Florida, Virginia, South Carolina, Connecticut, Washington, Massachusetts and Nevada. In Minnesota, Democrats held a competitive U.S. Senate primary described as a contest between moderate and progressive wings of the party, and Matt Little won the Democratic primary in the 2nd Congressional District, setting up a general-election matchup against Republican state Sen. Eric Pratt; the state also held its first open gubernatorial primary in eight years following Gov. Tim Walz's decision not to seek reelection. In Michigan, progressive Abdul El-Sayed won the Democratic U.S. Senate primary, and in the state's 13th Congressional District, State Rep. Donavan McKinney defeated Rep. Shri Thanedar in the Democratic primary. In South Carolina, Sen. Darline Graham and Rep. Ralph Norman advanced to a runoff in the Republican Senate primary to fill the seat left vacant by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham. In Florida, Byron Donalds and David Jolly emerged as the major-party nominees for governor, and Angie Nixon won a Democratic Senate primary. In Massachusetts, Gov. Maura Healey ran unopposed for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, while Sen. Ed Markey faced a primary challenge from Rep. Seth Moulton, and Suffolk County held a competitive Democratic primary for district attorney. Connecticut's Democratic gubernatorial primary, held August 11, pitted incumbent Ned Lamont against state Rep. Joshua Elliott, with several Republican candidates, including Ryan Fazio and Betsy McCaughey, competing separately for the GOP nomination. Washington held top-two primaries for state Senate seats on August 4, with the Republican State Leadership Committee having announced targeting efforts in competitive legislative districts. Virginia's primary results set up contested House races, with data center policy emerging as a significant issue in Northern Virginia districts. General elections for these contested seats are scheduled for November 2026, including Connecticut's general election set for November 3. Final results and vote counts for several races, including Nevada's gubernatorial primary and some Massachusetts and Virginia contests, were not detailed in available reporting. The South Carolina Republican Senate runoff between Graham and Norman remained pending at the time of reporting. Specific vote totals, margins of victory, and turnout figures across most states were not consistently corroborated across sources.
SOURCE COMPARISON
How the coverage differs
Live updates and results for Massachusetts 2026 primaries
Gov. Maura Healey is all but guaranteed to secure the Democratic Party's backing for a second term as governor, facing no opponents on the ballot. Other races have drawn attention, including the face-off between Sen. Ed Markey and challenger Rep. Seth Moulton for the junior senator's seat, plus the Democratic primary for Suffolk County district attorney.
Read original report ↗Live Results: Minnesota midterm primaries
Minnesota Democrats will decide a competitive U.S. Senate primary Tuesday in another face-off between moderate and progressive candidates that could define the party's identity heading into the midterm elections.
Read original report ↗Florida primaries: governor matchup set; Democratic socialist shocks establishment-backed nominee in Senate race – as it happened
This live blog is now closed. Donalds and Jolly to face off in Florida governor race Democratic socialist Angie Nixon wins Senate primary Sign up for the US Breaking News email President Donald Trump posted an image of a map of the strait of Hormuz on his social media platform Truth Social, with a circle around the strait and the words “New US Territory” as the title on Tuesday morning. This follows comments made on Friday at a speech at a police academy on Long Island, New York, where Trump said “After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated, pretty soon I’ll be declaring the Hormuz strait a territory of the United States. … Essentially, that’s what it is. We have the b
Read original report ↗The first midterm primaries of 2026, by the numbers
Read original report ↗Nevada Governor Primary Election 2026 Live Results
NBC News tracked live results from the 2026 Nevada Governor primary election as Republican and Democrat votes were counted by candidate and county, part of the broader 2026 midterm election cycle.
Read original report ↗Little wins Democratic primary for open Craig seat as Republicans eye flip in Minnesota
Former Minnesota state Sen. Matt Little won the Democratic primary for the state’s 2nd Congressional District, Decision Desk HQ projects, and is set to face off against GOP state Sen. Eric Pratt in November. Little defeated state Sen. Matt Klein and state Rep. Kaela Berg in the three-way contest for the Democratic nomination in the...
Read original report ↗When Is My State’s Primary? See 2026 Primary Election Calendar
Read original report ↗Darline Graham, Ralph Norman advance to runoff in South Carolina GOP Senate primary
Sen. Darline Graham and Rep. Ralph Norman will face off in a runoff later this month for the South Carolina GOP Senate nomination, CBS News projects, as they vie to replace the late Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Read original report ↗Election results in the 2026 Minnesota primaries for governor, senate and more
Minnesota's primary will decide which candidates advance to November's midterm election, with the governor's office, a U.S. Senate seat, and the entire Legislature up for grabs. With Gov. Tim Walz stepping aside, Minnesota's first open governor's race in eight years has become the biggest prize in state politics.
Read original report ↗Virginia primary sets stage for competitive midterm elections
Virginia's 2026 primary elections have set up competitive races for the state's midterm congressional contests. The primary results have significant implications for control of Virginia's U.S. House delegation ahead of November's general election.
Read original report ↗Virginia girds for data center-focused House races and more state headlines
Virginia is bracing for congressional House races centered on data center policy issues as the state's political landscape shifts ahead of the midterms. The report highlights ongoing debates over data center development and its political implications in Northern Virginia districts.
Read original report ↗Progressive Abdul El-Sayed wins Michigan's Democratic Senate primary
State Rep. Donavan McKinney, a democratic socialist, defeated Rep. Shri Thanedar to win the Democratic primary in Michigan's 13th Congressional District. McKinney's win will likely mean a return of Black congressional representation to the Detroit-based district.
Read original report ↗2026 Washington State Senate election
Washington's 2026 primary elections for state Senate seats will be held August 4, 2026 using a top-two primary system. The Republican State Leadership Committee announced targeting efforts in April 2026 aimed at competitive legislative districts ahead of the fall general election.
Read original report ↗Connecticut governor's race: Lamont and Elliott face August 11 Democratic primary
Incumbent Ned Lamont and state Rep. Joshua Elliott are running in the Democratic primary for Governor of Connecticut on August 11, 2026, while several Republicans including Ryan Fazio and Betsy McCaughey compete in the GOP primary. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
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