Progressives across the US are sweeping the 2026 midterm primaries, reflecting a shift not only away from the US President Donald Trump and the Republican Party, but also from the Democratic establishment.
So far, progressives —including candidates with Arab backgrounds—have won over 60 per cent of the 2026 Democratic primary races, an unusual showing that could signal a shift in the Democratic Party’s traditional strategy of leaning toward the centre rather than their base.
"Voters want candidates who will fight for them," said Ruwa Romman, a Palestinian American state representative from Georgia, running for state senate. In her 19 May primary race, she came in first place despite being heavily outspent by her opponents, focusing on door-knocking in her district. She will take part in a run-off on 19 June.
"I think some people are terrified about what these votes mean. This is the moment we should be applying pressure," she said.
Romman, who has been endorsed by progressive leaders Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, is one of hundreds of progressive candidates across the country focusing on everyday issues, such as cost of living, healthcare, education, utilities and constitutional rights, appealing not just to leftists but also centrists and some Republicans.
Since the outbreak of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023, a growing number of Americans have been linking the country's lack of social services to US military aid to Israel and other foreign conflicts. A common chant at demonstrations is "Money for jobs and education, not for war and occupation".
Moreover, Democratic lawmakers are increasingly rejecting donations from AIPAC (the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee) and other pro-Israel lobby groups amid pressure from voters, who want their representatives to focus on domestic issues.
"Let's vote for people who sound like us in things like healthcare and education. These are concerns that everyone can line up with. When we're bombing other countries, does that make us safer?" Mirvette Judeh, president of the Arab American Caucus of the California Democratic Party, told TNA .
"Real progressives are the ones not accepting money from AIPAC and willing to call out what's happening in Gaza and Iran," she said. "People are tired of being lied to. They get it. They're voting for people who are breaking out of the mould."
One of the biggest breakout progressive candidates of 2026 is Iraq and Afghanistan war veteran Graham Platner, running to unseat longtime moderate Republican incumbent Susan Collins in the US Senate in Maine, a rural swing state not known for progressive politics. Amid low polling, his Democratic opponent, Janet Mills, dropped out weeks before the state's 9 June primary. Platner is one of many Americans who came of age after fighting in wars he later opposed, only to return home to find few economic opportunities.
Another well-polling US Senate candidate is Abdul El-Sayed, an Egyptian American physician in Michigan running on a platform of universal healthcare. Though Democrats tend to turn to the centre in purple states, El-Sayed, like many other 2026 candidates, is leaning into his progressive policies.
"Voters are choosing candidates from the real world, regardless of the progressive label," David Frank, professor of rhetoric and political communication at the University of Oregon, told TNA , pointing to the low approval ratings of Trump and many other Republican leaders. "The scene is so inviting to Democrats right now."