A handful of states are teeing up some of the most highly anticipated primaries of next year, offering clues about the direction for both parties as all eyes turn toward the midterms.
Democrats are bracing for competitive Senate primaries in Texas, Michigan and Maine, some of which have become proxy battles between the party’s centrist and progressive factions.
In Texas and Georgia, two separate three-way contests for the Republican Senate nomination are playing out, with President Trump so far staying on the sidelines.
The races to succeed California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R), both of whom are seen as potential 2028 contenders, have also sparked crowded primaries.
Here are the most exciting primaries to watch in 2026:
Texas
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) is in a fight for his political life this cycle as he looks to defeat Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) and Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) for his party’s nomination. Paxton and Hunt have questioned his conservative credentials and his past comments about President Trump.
Cornyn has in the past suggested the party needs to move on from Trump, expressing concern about the president’s ability to win in a general election — comments made before the 2024 election. Since then, however, Cornyn has sought to paint himself as an ally of the president while ripping the Texas attorney general as a “con man” and suggested Hunt has “no credible path to win.”
Some Republicans have expressed concerns that Paxton would be a weak general election candidate and give Democrats an opening to flip the seat. Polling has consistently showed Cornyn faring better against his Democratic opponents than Paxton.
Still, Trump — whose endorsement all three men are vying for — has avoided wading into the race. The Texas GOP primary is likely to head into a runoff since a candidate needs more than half the vote to win the primary outright.
Hunt’s entry has further complicated things for Cornyn, even if the GOP senator makes it into the runoff, since Hunt’s supports could coalesce around Paxton.
On the Democratic side, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) is running against state Rep. James Talarico (D). Both Democrats are seen as rising stars within the party, though some members have expressed concern that Crockett may not be a strong general election candidate who can unify elements outside of the Democratic base together.
Early polling shows Crockett as the frontrunner over Talarico, while a Decision Desk HQ polling average of the Republican primary shows Paxton leading the pack at 32 percent, with Cornyn at 27 percent and Hunt at 23 percent.
Georgia
The Peach State is teeing up crowded primaries for governor and Senate.
In the gubernatorial race, Trump-endorsed Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, Attorney General Chris Carr (R) and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) are all vying to succeed term-limited Gov. Brian Kemp (R).
Unlike in many other states, Republicans in Georgia haven’t been afraid to buck the president. In 2022, Trump’s picks for governor, attorney general and secretary of state all lost their GOP primaries to Kemp, Carr and Raffensperger, respectively.
The Georgia governor’s race is seen as a top pickup opportunity for Democrats, whose primary has also attracted a slew of names, including former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, former GOP Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond, former state Sen. Jason Esteves (D), state Reps. Ruwa Romman (D) and Derrick Jackson (D) and former pastor Olu Brown.
There hasn’t been much public polling in the race, but a survey released by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) last month showed the former Atlanta mayor at 40 percent, Thurmond at 11 percent and all others at 5 percent or less in the Democratic primary. A separate 40 percent said they were undecided.
Meanwhile, that same poll had Jones leading the GOP primary at 22 percent, while Raffensperger came in at 15 percent, Carr at 7 percent and businessman Clark Dean at 1 percent. A separate 55 percent are undecided.
Georgia will also be home to one of the marquee Senate races next year as Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) vies for a second term.
Reps. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) and Mike Collins (R-Ga.) are seeking the GOP nomination along with former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley. Dooley has the backing of Kemp.
Trump has kept his powder dry in the Senate GOP contest; there has been little public polling available, though a Journal-Constitution poll released in late October had Collins first at 30 percent, Carter at 20 percent and Dooley at 12 percent, while a separate 38 percent said they didn’t know.
Michigan
Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) surprised many when he announced earlier this year he wouldn’t be seeking reelection, putting a key Senate seat in play for Republicans.
Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) is running a second time for his party’s nomination after narrowly losing to Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) last year. Several Republicans are challenging Rogers for the GOP nod, including former Michigan GOP co-chair Bernadette Smith, though the former congressman enjoys support from Trump and the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm.
A more spirited primary is playing out among the Democrats. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), who is seen as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) preferred pick is running against state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D), progressive former Wayne County health director Abdul El-Sayed and combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient Rachel Howard. The primary is viewed as a proxy battle between mainstream and progressive factions of the party.
A poll sponsored by Michigan Information & Research Service, Inc. and conducted by Mitchell Research & Communications, Inc in mid-November showed Rogers narrowly edging out Stevens, El-Sayed and McMorrow in hypothetical matchups, while another from Rosetta Stone Communications shows the former GOP House member enjoying a more comfortable lead among all three.
Maine
The Senate Democratic primary between Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) and oyster farmer Graham Platner has teed up one of the most prominent centrist-progressive proxy battles of the 2026 cycle as the party looks to defeat Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).
Mills’s allies tout the fact that she has won statewide as a Democrat and enjoys endorsements from high-profile members of the party such as Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, both of whom are seen as likely 2028 challengers.
Platner, meanwhile, has the backing of progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), key labor unions like the United Auto Workers (UAW) and several youth-centered organizations like David Hogg’s Leaders We Deserve.
Platner’s campaign earlier this year was dogged by controversy over since-deleted remarks he made on Reddit about issues like law enforcement and sexual assault in the military. He also covered up a tattoo amid revelations that the original version was associated with Nazi symbolism.
Platner has distanced himself from that rhetoric now and said they don’t represent his present views. Still, several top aides left the campaign amid the controversy, though many of Platner’s supporters have stuck with him.
A Pan Atlantic Research poll released this month found Mills leading Platner in the Democratic primary 47 percent to 37 percent, with 14 percent undecided. In hypothetical matchups, however, Platner performs slightly better in a head-to-head against Collins than Mills: Platner leads Collins 43 percent to 42 percent, while a poll between Mills and Collins shows the two tied at 43 percent.
Both matchups fall within the poll’s 3.7-point margin of error, effectively tying the candidates in each scenario.
California
A number of candidates are running to succeed California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who’s seen right now as the Democrat to beat in the party’s 2028 shadow primary.
Because California has an open primary system, all candidates run for office under the same ballot regardless of party. The two top vote-getters in the primary advance to the general, meaning two Democrats or two Republicans could clinch spots in the November election.
Among the most notable names running include Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), former Rep. Katie Porter, former Biden Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, billionaire Tom Steyer, California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Steve Hilton, a former adviser to former UK Prime Minister David Cameron, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco are some of the more prominent Republicans vying for Newsom’s spot.
A survey from Emerson College Polling and Inside California Politics released earlier this month shows a frontrunner has yet to emerge: Bianco received 13 percent, Hilton and Swalwell received 12 percent each and Porter received 11 percent. A separate 31 percent said they’re undecided.