Progressive Senate candidates rack up primary wins even as they get outspent

Welcome to From the Politics Desk, a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.

In today’s edition, we sift through the fallout from last night’s primaries in Massachusetts and some new developments on President Donald Trump’s campaign activity this fall.

— Adam Wollner

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Progressive Senate candidates rack up primary wins even as they get outspent

By Adam Wollner and Bridget Bowman

Over the past month, a raft of progressive Senate candidates have emerged victorious from their primaries despite being heavily outspent on the airwaves.

The latest example came last night in Massachusetts, where Sen. Ed Markey, 80, comfortably fended off a challenge from Rep. Seth Moulton, 47. Markey managed to overcome concerns about his age by touting his support for policies like the Green New Deal and “Medicare for All.”

Even as the incumbent in the race, Markey faced a nearly 2-1 ad spending disadvantage: Moulton and outside groups supporting him spent $7 million compared with $3.9 million from the pro-Markey side, according to AdImpact.

That gap was even wider in competitive Democratic primaries in August that featured progressive-versus-moderate clashes. In Michigan, Rep. Haley Stevens and supportive outside groups poured $31.3 million into ads, but she still came up short against former public health official Abdul El-Sayed, who saw $6.6 million spent on his behalf.

In Minnesota, Rep. Angie Craig held an ad spending advantage of $19.7 million to $4.7 million over Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who went on to cruise to victory. And in Florida, state Rep. Angie Nixon, a democratic socialist, pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the primary season by defeating former National Security Council aide Alex Vindman. Nixon’s campaign had spent just $66,000 on ads, compared with nearly $2.2 million for Vindman.

Having this sort of financial advantage is often critical, particularly in primary battles that don’t attract the same level of voter turnout as general elections. But these results highlight how the wind has been at the backs of many progressive candidates this year, with Democratic voters clamoring for a different brand of leadership following the party’s deflating defeat in the 2024 election.

Massachusetts incumbents survive amid a brutal primary season for congressional Democrats

Analysis by Scott Bland

In addition to Sen. Ed Markey, two other Massachusetts Democrats defeated younger challengers in their primaries last night: Reps. Stephen Lynch and Richard Neal. Notably, though, both were held to under 60% of the vote.

From 2000 to 2024, about 8.7% of House members who ran for re-election received less than two-thirds support in party primaries, according to an NBC News analysis of election data. Slightly more Republicans than Democrats faced closer races in this period, as the GOP in particular wrestled with transformation and disruption, from the tea party movement to the Donald Trump era.

In 2026, though, Democrats have been much more likely to face close primaries: Nearly 1 in 5 House Democratic incumbents got pulled below two-thirds support in their primaries, a review of this year’s results shows.

A total of 11 House incumbents, including seven Democrats, have lost their primaries this year. And two Republican senators — Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and John Cornyn of Texas — were denied renomination.

Read more →

Pro-Trump group touts the president in new ads ahead of the midterms

By Bridget Bowman

A pro-Trump group called Securing American Greatness has launched new TV ads touting the president.

One ad features UFC President and CEO Dana White calling Trump “the toughest, most resilient person that I’ve ever met.” The spot also features footage of Trump saying, “Our top priority will be to create a nation that is proud, prosperous and free.”

The other ad highlights the president’s push to cut taxes, lower egg and prescription drug prices, and have tech companies “provide for their own power needs so that no one’s prices will go up.”

The group, which is the nonprofit arm of the Trump-aligned super PAC MAGA Inc., has spent nearly $1 million on a national cable ad buy, according to AdImpact.

The new spots come amid questions about MAGA Inc.’s plans for the midterm elections, with the latest campaign finance reports indicating that the group has more than $400 million to spend.

Meanwhile, Monica Alba reports that Trump plans to host Republican lawmakers in competitive races tonight for a Rose Garden dinner, according to a White House official.

The guest list includes Reps. Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin, Tom Barrett of Michigan and Mike Collins of Georgia, who is running for the Senate.

Trump also said in the Oval Office today that he would travel to Alaska to campaign for GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan. The ballot there has been finalized: Sullivan will face off against two other Republicans and former Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democrat, in a ranked choice election.

🗞️ Today’s other top stories

🛣️ On the trail: Jonathan Allen spoke with Republican voters in Ohio who are weighing whether to vote for Rep. Max Miller again amid abuse allegations, which the congressman denies. Read more →
🗳️ Vote watch: Officials in Tarrant County, the third most populous in Texas, voted to slash the number of polling sites for this fall’s elections by nearly 30% compared with the last midterms. Read more →
🔵 Agenda-setting: Healthcare is topping Democrats’ to-do list if they win control of the House, but there’s not yet consensus on what their first bill would look like. Read more →
🥊 Fight night: Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., went on offense against independent opponent Dan Osborn in a debate last night, repeatedly calling him “Democrat Dan” and associating his campaign with democratic socialists. Read more →
🤖 Data center backlash: Voters in Independence, Missouri, recalled a city council member who has served for more than a decade, rebuking his support for billions of dollars in tax breaks for a proposed AI data center. Read more →
🎙️ New frontiers: Vice President JD Vance warned about the dangers of AI in a new podcast interview and said he wouldn’t be “shocked” if we were living in the “end times” and the Antichrist was walking the Earth. Read more →