Today on Highway to Hill: We’re flying our primary colors today, as round one of the 2026 midterm election season begins to wrap up. Party primaries are deciding the nominees for some of the most important congressional races in the country for both the House and Senate. We’re gonna get into some of the major trends of the cycle, why so many incumbents are losing, and what precisely is dividing the Democrats in these races?
This week’s syllabus 📚
* “House turnover jumps as incumbents lose primaries at the highest rate in decades” (Annelise Hanson, NBC News)
* Michigan Senate Candidate, a Former Trump Critic, Shifts Toward Election Skepticism (Beth Reinhard, New York Times)
* “Mystery super PAC spends big in Michigan” (Ally Mutnick, Punchbowl News)
* “Democratic socialists aren’t the only young, progressive Democrats dividing the party” (Charlie Hunt, The Conversation)
* “In heated Moulton-Markey debate, Epstein files makes unexpected appearance” (Amanda Keane, WGBH)
* “How Troy Jackson went from Maine logger to Democratic nominee for Senate against Susan Collins” (Kimberlee Kruesi, AP)
* “North Carolina Republicans pick state legislator to replace Edwards on ballot” (Daniela Altimari, Roll Call)
* “10 candidates vie to replace Lindsey Graham in South Carolina” (Daniela Altimari, Roll Call)
* “White House officials tamped down efforts to oust Max Miller in final days” (Meredith Lee Hill, Mia McCarthy and Erin Doherty, POLITICO)
* “Progressives are on the cusp of a huge win. Their biggest stars are staying away.” (Meredith Lee Hill, Samuel Benson and Tyler Katzenberger, POLITICO)
