A rocky first year of “Trump 2.0” has led to divisions within both major parties, most notably over the passage of spending and tariff bills, and also over the president and his justice department’s dealing with the Epstein Files. 

Mr. Trump’s aggressive political approach and fiery personality have begun to push away more traditional, fiscal Republicans in both chambers. In the House, representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky has emerged as his most vocal Republican rival. Massie has sparred with the president over concerns about excessive government spending, and he consistently voted with Democrats against Trump-backed funding bills. In the senate, he has continued to butt heads with more moderate senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, though neither one has been too vocal amid upcoming re-election campaigns that will likely be hotly contested. 

A trend has continued from the president’s first term, however, where officials tend to break away from him on their way out of office. Most recently, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Thom Tillis of North Carolina —both previously staunch supporters of Trump, have spoken out against him on matters relating to tariffs as well as the use of military power in Iran. 

The Democrats, though united against Trump, have struggled to string together a consistent message for their base. Party infighting has raged on between the liberal and more moderate wings as the DNC searches for which type of candidate can break through a tough primary map. 

Now, as the first major primaries for the midterms have already concluded,  I will outline the important storylines to watch and what to take away from the results we have. 

Maine

As we previously mentioned, Maine is home to one of the only remaining moderate Republican senators,Susan Collins. Despite constant pressure from the president and his allies, Collins has once again avoided a major primary challenge. She has held her standing through this period of political turmoil largely due to her opposition to Trump, but the Democrats and independents who previously supported her across party lines are now demanding more immediate action.

Collins has wavered on several important votes. In June of 2025, the senator voted to move President Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill”—which would make major cuts to medicaid—to the senate floor for a final vote. In July, she ultimately voted against the bill, though it passed with a J.D. Vance tiebreaker vote. 

After Mr. Trump’s inauguration, Collins voted to confirm all but one of his cabinet nominees, though she was outspoken in her discontent with Matt Gaetz, whose name was later withdrawn from the position of Attorney General after it became clear he did not have the votes to pass. Collins was joined by fellow moderate Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the latter of whom has announced that he will not run for reelection. Mrs. Collins’ general election opponent remains up in the air, as the Democrats face their own primary clash. 

Janet Mills, the 78 year-old second term current governor of Maine, announced her bid in late October. Mills is a more moderate Democrat who sparred with President Trump last year over issues of transgender legislation within the state. She has also drawn some criticism from the more liberal wing of the party over her lack of response to ICE raids. 

Her main challenger is Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and former member of the armed forces who has gained national attention for his public disapproval of the DNC, though his views very much align with the liberal wing of the party. Platner has put an extensive focus on the concerns of everyday working class Americans, though he has also drawn criticism for past internet comments and a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol. He has since chalked the comments up to being overblown, and has said that he got the tattoo without knowing the meaning behind it. 

Maine will be a necessary win if the party has any hopes of taking control of the Senate in November, so the race should gain major national attention. Platner holds a small lead in most primary polls, but almost all general election polls are tight.

Texas

A traditionally red state, the Texas general election is considered somewhat of a long shot for Democrats, but is one that they will likely need to take control of the Senate. The primaries have been a hot topic, as both sides featured close competition. 

The Republican side featured a primary challenge for John Cornyn, the four term incumbent who sought the majority leader role just last year. The challenge largely stems from his #2 role with Mitch McConnell, though Cornyn has remained a staunch supporter of President Trump for the past 10 years.

Cornyn finished with around a 1% lead in the first round of voting, though he was aided by the presence of Wesley Hunt in the race. Many in his camp feared that he may not even make it to a runoff, but Cornyn now begins what is expected to be two months of exhausting campaigning. 

His opponent is Ken Paxton, who has served as the attorney general of Texas since 2015. Paxton has attempted to paint his opponent as a “fake Republican” though both have rarely broken with the president during their campaigns. Instead, the focus has been on the electability of either candidate. 

President Trump announced his intention to endorse a candidate in the coming days, and requested that the other drop out, though it remains a question whether they will grant his wishes. Should both candidates remain in the race, it would be a divisive and expensive runoff that may hurt their general election chances. 

The democrats had their own rubber match, pitting state rep. James Talarico against house rep. Jasmine Crockett. Polls went back and forth until election day, as state democrats debated who the most electable candidate was. 

Crockett has a fiery personality and has had notable clashes in House hearings, but many democratic higher ups worried about the possibility of her being too liberal to win a famously red state. 

James Talarico, on the other hand, made a point to incept religion into his democratic message. At the end of the day, Talarico’s appeal to moderate voters is what earned him the primary victory. He now faces the tough task of rallying both independents and former Crockett supporters behind him amidst an uphill general election battle.