Raucous primary season reaches final act in deep-blue stronghold, kickstarting sprint to November
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 Donald Trump’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 Zohran Mamdani 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.CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE MIDTERM ELECTIONSCongressional candidate Claire Valdez, Congressional candidate Brad Lander, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and Congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier raise their hands during a Get Out the Vote rally at King's Theater on June 18, 2026, in New York City.(Michael M.
Santiago/Getty Images)A slew of incumbents and establishment candidates were defeated by left-wing rivals, including DSA members 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 fr...