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Democrats' chances of taking back control of Congress and power in some states this fall depend on the kind of candidates they nominate in primaries this spring and summer.
Candidates will be critical, too, for Republicans, who risk being weighed down by an unpopular president leading an unpopular war and an economy many voters don't feel good about.
Here are some of the most interesting candidates of 2026. This is by no means an exhaustive list and will be a recurring feature.
• Graham Platner
One of Democrats' most controversial candidates was on the ballot for a race that his party almost must certainly will win in November to take back the Senate. Democrats are trying to unseat longtime Sen. Susan Collins (R) in a state that also voted for Kamala Harris for president in 2024.
"There's virtually no path back to the majority for Democrats without defeating … Collins," Jessica Taylor, who analyzes Senate races for the Cook Political Report, wrote recently.
Platner faces allegations that he sent sexually explicit text messages to women while married and had volatile relationships with women, among other controversies.
He has acknowledged he went through a period of "darkness" when he returned from combat tours in Iraq and was battling untreated post-traumatic stress disorder. He, however, has said he feels that his past has been "weaponized" against him.
Platner was expected to win the primary because his main Democratic competitor, Gov. Janet Mills, ended her campaign in April - although there could be a sizable protest vote for her.
• Both candidates for Senate in Texas
If Democrats have a relatively weak candidate in Maine, Republicans are contending with one in Texas.
Ken Paxton, the state's attorney general, is the Republican nominee for Senate. He frames himself as an unapologetic, stick-it-to-the-liberals ally of President Donald Trump. But Paxton carries baggage from many past scandals. He was impeached by the Texas House on corruption allegations (and acquitted by the state Senate). He was also the subject of an FBI investigation related to bribery allegations (the investigation was dropped). And he has acknowledged to his staff that he had an extramarital affair. This week, an attorney who represented Paxton endorsed his opponent instead.
That opponent is Democrat James Talarico, who is trying to present a stark contrast to Paxton. The 37-year-old Presbyterian seminarian holds liberal views and has said Democrats need to welcome independents and Republicans to their party by engaging them on religion and on cultural topics that Democrats in Texas tend to stay away from.
It's still a long shot for Democrats to win a Senate race in Texas; they haven't won a statewide race there in three decades. But winning Texas could go a long way to helping Democrats take back the Senate.
"Paxton is certainly demoralizing to some Republicans who don't want to defend him," said Texas-based Democratic pollster Nancy Zdunkewicz.
• Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio
Republican Vivek Ramaswamy is running for governor in Ohio. He has got national name recognition, having run for president and briefly helped tech mogul Elon Musk upend the federal government with the U.S. DOGE Service.
He has also had to face down some ugly attacks on the far right about being Indian American. He has spoken forcefully about it, comparing the racism in his party to "wokeness" on the left. "As one of the most vocal opponents of left-wing identity politics," he wrote last year, "I now see real reluctance from my former anti-woke peers to criticize the new identity politics on the right.
It's been 20 years since a Democrat has led Ohio. But Democrat Amy Acton is making the race close so far, according to early polls. There's also a competitive Senate race in Ohio that could help all Democratic candidates in the state. Both candidates for governor in Iowa Iowa is another potentially competitive state this year. There's an open governor's race, open Senate race and several competitive House seats, and farmers have been hit hard by Trump's tariffs and the price of fertilizer during Trump's war with Iran.
In the governor's race, the Republican nominee, Zach Lahn, won his primary last week after criticizing Big Agriculture in a state driven by Big Agriculture. He has blamed Iowa's high cancer rates in part on pesticides. "Too many politicians from Washington, D.C., to Des Moines have had their heads stuck in the sand while Big Ag and Big Pharma printed money," Lahn said at his victory speech.
The Democratic nominee is state auditor Rob Sand. He is trying to pitch himself as an economic populist who rises above politics. "We're building a coalition of not red versus blue but of the well-fed versus the fed-up," he said at a rally Sunday alongside Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D).
Like in Texas, any Democrat who wants to win statewide will need to convince independents and some Republicans to vote for them. "The reality is that Iowa is a state that Trump won by 13 points in 2024," writes the Cook Political Report.
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Previously:
• The many hang-ups to a peace deal with Iran