10 House Incumbents Who Lost Their 2026 Re-Election Bids in Primary Defeats
10 House Incumbents Who Lost Their 2026 Re-Election Bids in Primary Defeats
The 2026 congressional primary season has produced a notable series of upsets, with 10 sitting members of the U.S. House losing their bids for renomination and effectively seeing their campaigns for another term come to an end.
Seven Democrats and three Republicans are among the incumbent lawmakers who have been defeated in their respective primaries during the 2026 election cycle. Their losses reflect a mixture of factors, including challenges from the ideological left and right, redistricting, generational change and opposition from well-funded primary challengers.
The defeats also highlight the growing importance of primary elections in determining who will represent safely Democratic or Republican districts in the November general election.
Here are the 10 House incumbents who have lost their 2026 primary contests.
- Dan Crenshaw – Republican, Texas
Rep. Dan Crenshaw became one of the Republican incumbents to lose his primary in Texas. Crenshaw, who has served in the House since 2019, was defeated in the Republican primary for Texas’ 2nd Congressional District by state Rep. Steve Toth.
Crenshaw was the only Republican incumbent seeking reelection in Texas who did not receive an endorsement from President Donald Trump. Trump did not endorse either candidate before the primary but later backed Toth following Crenshaw’s defeat.
The result ended Crenshaw’s effort to return to Congress for another term.
- Thomas Massie – Republican, Kentucky
Rep. Thomas Massie suffered one of the most closely watched Republican primary defeats of the cycle.
Massie, who had served in the House since 2012, lost the Republican primary for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District to Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL backed by Trump.
The contest attracted national attention and became one of the most expensive House primary races in American history.
Massie had developed a reputation as an independent-minded Republican who sometimes broke with his party and Trump on major issues. His defeat demonstrated the strength of the challenge facing incumbents who find themselves out of step with influential parts of their party’s primary electorate.
- Andy Ogles – Republican, Tennessee
Rep. Andy Ogles also lost his Republican primary, despite initially having Trump’s endorsement.
Ogles, who entered Congress in 2023, was defeated in Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District by former state Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher.
Trump subsequently endorsed Hatcher after the primary, giving the former agriculture commissioner his support for the general election.
Ogles’ defeat was another example of an incumbent Republican being removed from the ballot by a primary challenger.
- Shri Thanedar – Democrat, Michigan
Rep. Shri Thanedar lost the Democratic primary in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District to state Rep. Donavan McKinney.
Thanedar was first elected to Congress in 2022 and had served in the House since 2023. McKinney, who ran as a progressive Democrat, defeated the incumbent in a race that attracted national attention.
The district is heavily Democratic, meaning McKinney is positioned to be the strong favorite in the November general election.
Thanedar’s defeat also reflected the continuing effort by progressive candidates to challenge Democratic incumbents from the left.
- Dan Goldman – Democrat, New York
Rep. Dan Goldman became another New York Democrat to lose his primary.
Goldman, who entered Congress in 2023, was defeated in New York’s 10th Congressional District by former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander.
Lander received support from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani ahead of the primary. The contest demonstrated the growing influence of progressive politics in New York Democratic primaries.
Goldman’s defeat means he will not return to the House for another term unless he pursues another political path outside the Democratic nomination.
- Adriano Espaillat – Democrat, New York
Rep. Adriano Espaillat also lost his Democratic primary in New York.
Espaillat, who has served in Congress since 2017 and chaired the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, was defeated in the 13th Congressional District by Democratic socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier.
Avila Chevalier also received backing from Mamdani, making the race another example of progressive candidates successfully challenging established Democratic figures.
Espaillat’s defeat was particularly significant because of his seniority and leadership position within the House Democratic caucus.
- Diana DeGette – Democrat, Colorado
Rep. Diana DeGette lost the Democratic primary for Colorado’s 1st Congressional District to Democratic socialist Melat Kiros.
DeGette had represented the district for nearly two decades after first entering the House in 1997.
Her defeat marked another major upset involving a longtime Democratic incumbent and added to the broader pattern of established lawmakers facing challenges from candidates campaigning on generational and ideological change.
- Al Green – Democrat, Texas
Rep. Al Green, one of the longest-serving members on the list, lost the Democratic primary runoff for Texas’ 18th Congressional District.
Green, who first entered Congress in 2005, was defeated by U.S. Rep. Christian Menefee.
The race came as Texas redistricting reshaped several congressional contests ahead of the 2026 election.
Green had been a prominent Democratic voice in Congress for more than two decades, making his defeat one of the more consequential incumbent losses of the primary season.
- Julie Johnson – Democrat, Texas
Rep. Julie Johnson suffered a primary runoff defeat in Texas’ 33rd Congressional District.
Johnson, who had served in the House for only a short period, was defeated by former Rep. Colin Allred.
Her defeat was another consequence of the competitive political environment created by changes to Texas’ congressional districts.
Johnson’s relatively short time in Congress makes her loss particularly notable, as she became one of the newest incumbents to be removed through a primary challenge.
- John Larson – Democrat, Connecticut
Rep. John Larson became the latest incumbent on the list after losing the Democratic primary in Connecticut’s 1st Congressional District to former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin.
Larson had served in Congress since 1999 and was seeking another term after more than two decades in Washington.
Bronin’s victory was widely viewed as part of a broader push for generational change within the Democratic Party. The 46-year-old former mayor defeated the 78-year-old incumbent in the August primary.
Larson’s defeat was particularly historic because it marked the first time in modern Connecticut history that a sitting House member had lost a primary.
The broader trend
The 10 incumbent defeats have added to a larger national discussion about the future of both political parties.
Seven of the defeated lawmakers are Democrats, with several losing to candidates who campaigned on progressive platforms or emphasized generational change.
The Democratic losses include longtime lawmakers such as Larson, DeGette and Green, as well as more recently elected members such as Thanedar and Johnson.
The Republican losses have followed a somewhat different pattern.
Crenshaw, Massie and Ogles all faced primary challenges in an increasingly competitive Republican environment. Trump’s influence also played a role in several of the races, either through endorsements or the absence of presidential backing.
Redistricting was another important factor, particularly in Texas and Tennessee, where congressional boundaries were changed ahead of the 2026 election cycle.
The primary defeats demonstrate that incumbency is not always enough to protect lawmakers from increasingly competitive challenges.
For the lawmakers who lost, the defeats bring their 2026 reelection campaigns to an end unless they pursue another political route. For the candidates who defeated them, the victories provide a major opportunity to enter the general election with the backing of their parties.
The November elections will determine which of these primary winners ultimately reach Congress.
But regardless of what happens in the general election, the 2026 primary season has already produced a significant shake-up on Capitol Hill.
The defeats of these 10 incumbents demonstrate that voters in both parties are willing to reject established lawmakers when challengers successfully tap into demands for political change.
With the midterm elections approaching, the primary results could also serve as an early indication of the political pressures likely to shape the next Congress.
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