TO: Interested Parties

FROM: Run for Something 

DATE: July 23, 2026

RE: 2026 Primaries Show Voters Are Angry and Rallying Behind Young, Authentic Leaders

As campaigns across the country turn to the general election sprint, this year’s primaries are revealing new insights — flashing fresh warning signs for the status quo and indicating unprecedented enthusiasm for the bold, next-generation leaders who are raising their hands to run in unprecedented numbers. Run for Something (RFS) has been building towards this by sowing the seeds of a movement, responding to the discontent among voters across the country, and preparing a bench ready to meet this moment.

In 2026, Run for Something has endorsed 408 candidates across 45 states — including over 150 candidates running in a red-to-blue opportunity — building a younger, more diverse bench of values-driven leaders. RFS’s endorsees include 259 first-time candidates, 84 Gen-Z candidates, 234 people from low-income backgrounds, and 94 first-generation Americans. 

Run for Something (RFS) is also helping to drive the generational change voters are craving.  Since Trump was elected in November 2024, over 90,000 people have signed up with RFS in every state across the country, including 20,000 this year alone. In the almost 10 years since RFS launched, nearly 275,000 people have signed up in total. We’re prepared for this cycle — and the next, and the next.

Here are three lessons we’ve learned from 2026 so far. 

VOTERS ARE HUNGRY FOR CHANGE — AND NO SEAT IS OFF THE TABLE

At Run for Something, we take big swings because we know two things to be true: With the right candidate in the right place, we can win anywhere; and every race — win or lose— is building the infrastructure and momentum we need to secure victory down the road. 

Our strategy is paying off, including wins for seats once written off entirely by the Democratic Party. Earlier this year, RFS-endorsed candidate Taylor Rehmet secured a historic victory in Texas, flipping a district that Trump won by 17 points in 2024. In Florida, RFS-endorsed candidate Emily Gregory flipped another seat in a district that President Trump won with 55% of the vote in 2024 and includes Mar-a-Lago.

These races are only the beginning. RFS has already endorsed 154 candidates for 2026 who could flip a seat from red to blue, building on the 43 seats we helped flip in 2025. Many of these seats are also part of our Battle Up program, a $50 million, 5-year plan to expand the map and build durable power ahead of the 2030 redistricting process, focusing on near-term battlegrounds (AZ, NC, OH, and GA), emerging growth regions (UT, IA, and NE), and historically neglected states (TX, FL, LA, MS, and ID). 

VOTERS DON’T JUST WANT NEW LEADERS, THEY WANT A NEW KIND OF LEADER

Voters are angry and feel betrayed by a political system that doesn’t work for them. They are rallying behind authentic, values-driven leaders who understand the struggles they face because they are living them too. 

Those include renter-candidates like 2026 endorsee Aparna Raj, a tenant organizer who ran for office after experiencing housing instability due to a bad landlord and recently won a closely watched primary race for DC Council. Aparna is one of the 146 renters endorsed by RFS this cycle (nearly 36% of all endorsees) as part of its work to increase renter representation in government. Further up the ticket, RFS alum and renter Claire Valdez secured victory in her hotly contested primary for U.S. Congress in New York’s 7th District, running on a platform informed by her working-class roots. 

Run for Something’s cohort of renters running for office is poised to continue harnessing voters’ frustration over housing costs. Candidates like David Morales (RI mayor), Julia Bennet (WI State Assembly), Hannah Sabio-Howell (WA State Senate), and Burhan Azeem (MA State Senate) are embracing their experiences as renters and offering proactive solutions to make housing more affordable and protect tenants.

THE DEMOCRATIC OLD GUARD IS COLLAPSING UNDER A BOTTOM-UP REVOLT

Democratic primary voters are pushing a bottom-up revolt, picking young leaders after being scarred by the Biden years and establishment Democrats’ failures to allow for a new generation of leaders to rise. As the national Democratic brand continues to flounder, these young people are showcasing what the next generation of leadership looks like and why we need to invest in building a deep bench nationwide.

  • In Maryland, 33-year-old Amar Makunda unseated state Senate Majority Leader Nancy King, an entrenched incumbent who has been in the legislature for the last 20 years.
  • In California, 34-year-old Marissa Roy ousted an incumbent for LA City Attorney for the first time in 100 years.
  • In Texas, 27-year-old Junior Ezeonu, a Grand Prairie City Council member, unseated state Rep. Chris Turner, an eight-term incumbent and former leader of the Texas House Democratic Caucus.


Further up the ticket, RFS alumni like Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang (candidate for CA-07) are also delivering opportunities for generational change. Vang recently earned the most votes in the CA jungle primary, and will face 81-year-old Rep. Doris Matsui in November.

WHAT’S NEXT

Run for Something has laid a foundation for 2026 to be an historic year up and down the ballot. Our endorsees come from every walk of life and are deeply invested in their communities, reflecting the diversity of the people they seek to serve and an understanding of the issues that impact them most. 

Our bench of battle-tested leaders is already rising, with more than 45 RFS alumni who threw their names in the ring for higher office in 2026. They include James Talarico in Texas and Francesca Hong in Wisconsin – underscoring how Run for Something’s early investments in state and local offices can build the leaders of tomorrow. More bench-building is underway – especially in states historically left behind by the Democratic Party – through our Battle Up initiative and efforts to flip state and local seats. 

Whether by ousting entrenched Democratic incumbents in deep-blue strongholds or flipping deep-red legislative seats in the president’s own backyard, the electorate is rejecting the status quo and demanding a new generation of leaders like those RFS supports with the skills and stomach to act. Campaigns that successfully tap into this grassroots hunger for authentic, bold, and localized change will be the ones that cross the finish line in November, building a foundation for victory as we look ahead to 2028.

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Run for Something PAC (RFS) recruits and supports young progressive candidates running for state and local offices. Since its founding, RFS has helped elect over 1,600 candidates across the country, including 43 candidates in red-to-blue seats in the 2025 election cycle. Today, RFS has the largest database of any other Democratic organization, with over 80,000 people reaching out since November 2024 with interest in running for office.