Scandals, socialists and Trump roil primaries, send incumbents packing at near-record pace

Republican Rep.

Cory Mills of Florida, facing a pair of controversies, is the latest in a growing list of congressional incumbents sent packing in party primaries this year.

Twelve House members and two senators have been ousted in the 2026 midterms as they bid for renomination, according to the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

"It’s one of the highest numbers in decades in a non-national redistricting year," Center for Politics Communications Director Kyle Kondik told Fox News Digital.

DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB Kondik noted that "the years that the number was higher are years that end in the number two, which are full national redistricting years.

This was a partial redistricting year, but it’s a very high number historically." While the rare but not unheard of redistricting push over the past year contributed to some of the losses by incumbents, there were plenty of other factors.

Those include incumbents wounded by scandals, President Donald Trump's moves to oust some GOP lawmakers, the increasing push by Democrats for generational change and the successful movement by the far left to target more moderate, establishment-backed Democrats in nomination showdowns.

Democratic Rep.

Shri Thanedar of Michigan was defeated earlier this month by a left-wing challenger, state Rep.

Donavan McKinney, who is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

Democratic Rep.

Dan Goldman of New York was ousted in the state's June primary by progressive challenger Brad Lander, a former New York City comptroller who was backed by socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani .

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Adriano Espaillat of New York, a Democrat who serves as Congressional Hispanic Caucus chair, was defeated by community organizer and activist Darializa Avila Chevalier, a DSA member who was also supported by Mamdani.