The Democrats of 2026: Who won the comeback, and who still runs the party?
- Written by: The Times
The US midterms gave Democrats a new generation of election winners. The old guard can still raise money, draw crowds and shape nominations. It has less reason to assume voters will follow its lead.
Nancy Pelosi endorsed John F Kennedy’s grandson for Congress. Democratic primary voters in Manhattan chose a state assemblyman instead. In Texas, Democrats dropped a congressman famous for interrupting Donald Trump’s speeches, then won a Senate seat with a state legislator named James Talarico. Those contests tell us something the national result alone cannot. Some of the most consequential changes in the Democratic Party happened before the general election.
What happened to the congressman who kept getting thrown out?
That was Al Green, the veteran Texas Democrat removed from Trump’s 2025 address to a joint session of Congress and again from his 2026 State of the Union address. Green made direct confrontation with Trump a feature of his time in Congress. In May, Democratic voters chose freshman congressman Christian Menefee over Green in a Houston-area primary runoff after Republican-led redistricting put the two incumbents in competition.
The distinction was as much about tactics as ideology. Menefee, a former Harris County attorney, came to the contest with a record in local government and legal advocacy. He praised Green’s willingness to confront Trump and pledged to carry on his work. Voters could choose a different representative without giving up the causes Green had championed. One redrawn district can only tell us so much, but Green’s national visibility did little to save him in that runoff.
Pelosi is retiring. Harris is still in the picture.
Pelosi did not seek re-election after nearly four decades in the House. She still raised money and endorsed candidates, including in the race for her own San Francisco seat. Her departure is a change in who sits in Congress. Her ability to help a candidate raise money shows how influence can outlast a seat.
Kamala Harris played a different role. The former vice-president campaigned for other Democrats, including Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff, Michigan progressive Abdul El-Sayed and Florida democratic socialist Angie Nixon. She also visited states that vote early in the presidential primaries while weighing another run. That gives her a platform heading towards 2028. How much support she can command when voters are choosing a presidential nominee is a separate question.
There is continuity in Congress itself, too. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer expects to retain his leadership position. The party can bring in a new class of senators while leaving much of the negotiating over Trump’s nominees, funding and legislation to familiar hands.
How much is a political surname worth?
Jack Schlossberg entered the Manhattan primary with a famous family, celebrity donors and Pelosi’s endorsement. Micah Lasher, a state assemblyman with establishment support of his own, won. The race showed both sides of how political connections work. A Kennedy name can help get a campaign noticed and funded. A candidate with local experience and relationships can still beat it at the ballot box.
The clearest example of a family connection carrying someone into office came on the Republican side. In South Carolina, Darline Graham was appointed to the Senate seat after the death of her brother, Lindsey Graham. When voters got their say, Democratic paediatrician Annie Andrews won the seat. A family name helped open a door in one race. An appointment put someone in office in the other. Both candidates still had to face voters.
Who actually won the seats?
The Senate gains came from candidates with markedly different backgrounds. James Talarico, a Texas state legislator, defeated Republican Attorney-General Ken Paxton. Adam Hamilton, a Methodist pastor, won in Kansas. Sherrod Brown, a former senator, returned in Ohio after losing his seat in 2024. Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive and former public health official, won in Michigan. In Florida, democratic socialist Angie Nixon came within about three percentage points of winning, according to Reuters’ post-election count.
That mix helps explain why the result is hard to claim for any one faction. Democrats made gains with younger candidates and returning veterans, and with progressives and candidates who could win in reliably Republican states. They also had the benefit of an electorate angry about high prices and the war with Iran. In Reuters’ early tally, Republicans lost ground against Trump’s 2024 vote share in 99 per cent of roughly 2,100 counties where most votes had been counted. A swing that broad makes it difficult to separate the appeal of individual Democrats from the strength of the backlash against the party in power.
The Times View
The Democrats have a stronger field of candidates than they did after the 2024 defeat. The next test is what party leaders do with the range of voters those candidates brought in. Congressional hearings can expose wrongdoing and produce memorable television. The voters who swung this election will also be looking at what Congress does about household costs. By 2028, Democrats seeking the presidency will have to explain what their party did with the power it won in 2026.
