Here Are the Top Senate Primary Contests to Watch for 2026

WASHINGTON—After just five months of the 119th Congress, elections to the 120th Congress to be held in 2026 are on the horizon. Already, several longtime U.S. senators have announced their retirement at the end of this Congress, prompting several contenders to announce their candidacies.

The primary elections for Senate seats—the first step in the process, where parties will determine their nominees for the general election—are expected to be hotly contested. Given that many of the states involved are safely governed by one party, i.e., “red” or “blue” states, as opposed to battlegrounds, a victory in the primary entails a likely victory in the general election and the possibility of long service in the Senate.

Kentucky’s Republican Primary

One of the longest-serving members of the Senate, Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), is retiring. McConnell was first elected to the Senate in 1984, and was elected as the Leader of the Senate Republican Conference in 2007. He assumed the office of Senate Majority Leader in 2015, after Republicans won a majority in the 2014 midterms, and held that role for the entirety of President Donald Trump’s first term.