US elections: Meet 12 Senate, House incumbents who saw their 2026 re-election bids end in primary defeat
Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) lost their primaries earlier this year. In the House, 10 incumbents lost their primaries, with three Republicans going down and seven Democrats losing — in part due to challenges from the party’s left flank.Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.); Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas)A dozen congressional incumbents lost their primaries in this election cycle, with multiple contests still to come over the next month. In the upper chamber, Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) lost their primaries earlier this year to challengers backed by President Donald Trump.In the House, 10 incumbents lost their primaries, with three Republicans going down and seven Democrats losing — in part due to challenges from the party’s left flank, the Hill reported.The three Republican incumbents who fell short include Dan Crenshaw of Texas, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, and Andy Ogles of Tennessee.Here are the congressional incumbents who have lost their primaries, so far.1. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.)Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, one of the seven Republican senators who voted to remove President Trump from office after the January 6th insurrection at the US Capitol, lost his bid for reelection in May 2026. Cassidy finished third in a three-way race, according to the Associated Press.2. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas)Cornyn (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the US Senate to represent Texas. He lost in the Republican primary runoff on May 26, 2026. He assumed office on December 2, 2002. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.According to Politico, the senator was a towering figure in both national and Texas politics, known for his sober temperament, ability to cut deals and role in shaping the Senate GOP conference during the last four presidencies.Then, just about an hour after polls closed, Cornyn lost his primary to Ken Paxton, a scandal-plagued MAGA darling who was boosted by President Donald Trump’s last-minute endorsement.3. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.)Kentucky US Rep. Thomas Massie lost his Republican House primary Tuesday, becoming the latest Republican lawmaker to anger President Donald Trump and then fall to a primary challenger backed by the president.Massie, who has served in Congress since 2012, was one of the most outspoken holdouts. He pushed for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, criticised the war in Iran and voted against the president’s signature tax legislation last year. Still, he tried to convince voters that they could be for both him and Trump.The race was the most expensive US House primary in history, according to the Associated Press.4. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas)Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) was ousted by a primary challenger who successfully cast the four-term incumbent as anti-Trump and capitalised on a redrawn district. State Rep. Steve Toth — who had the backing of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) — beat Crenshaw, all but assuring his seat in Congress given the district’s safe-red bend.5. Rep. Al Green (D-Texas)Christian Menefee, a freshman Democratic US representative, beat veteran congressman, Al Green, in a fierce runoff that was the product of Republican gerrymandering. Menefee was sworn into the seat in January, after winning a special election to replace Sylvester Turner, the late US representative.6. Rep. Julie Johnson (D-Texas)Former Rep. Colin Allred has unseated Rep. Julie Johnson in a Democratic primary runoff, NBC News projected, after he dropped out of the Senate race last year and made a run for a House seat reshaped by redistricting.Allred finished well ahead of Johnson, 44%-33%, in the first-round primary on March 3, with the race going to a runoff because no one got majority support, the report added.7. Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.)In June, Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., lost his primary to a challenger backed by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, NBC News projected, in a major victory for the progressive wing of
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