With the midterm elections just days away, the Democratic Party is projecting unity, but beneath the surface, unresolved primary battles are already casting a long shadow over the 2028 presidential race. In Michigan and Texas, bitter Senate primaries have left wounds that refuse to heal, raising questions about the party's ability to coalesce around a common agenda.
The friction is most visible in Michigan, where progressive Abdul El-Sayed defeated centrist Rep. Haley Stevens in the Democratic Senate primary. Despite a staged unity event months ago, the two have barely communicated since. Stevens's fiancé, Jason Turkish, has gone so far as to say he will vote for Republican Mike Rogers, citing El-Sayed's rhetoric on Israel and Gaza as the reason. Stevens's former campaign chair has also pledged support for Rogers, even as Stevens herself insists she will back El-Sayed.
In Texas, Rep. Jasmine Crockett has formally endorsed state Rep. James Talarico, who beat her in the Senate primary, but she has not appeared alongside him on the campaign trail. Crockett told the Houston Chronicle she has “endorsed him 100 times,” but the lack of visible unity underscores the lingering tension.
These intra-party clashes are not just about individual races; they are symptomatic of a broader ideological struggle that could define the 2028 presidential primary. Democratic strategist Steve Schale, who led Obama's Florida efforts, predicted, “For sure, we're going to relitigate the 2016 and 2020 primary all over again in 2028. It's real.” A prominent Democratic donor echoed that sentiment: “Anyone saying we don't have a huge problem on our hands is in denial.”
The party's left wing has scored a series of victories this cycle, fueling concerns among moderates that the infighting will intensify. Basil Smikle, a Democratic strategist, warned that “ideological and operational differences can sadly still stifle Democrats and snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory by not seeing the big picture.” He added that in 2028, it could be a “disaster if Democrats don't focus on the voters and institutions and not themselves.”
Not everyone is sounding alarms. Christy Setzer, another Democratic strategist, argued that the discord is “overstated.” She noted that similar fears arose in 2008 when Hillary Clinton supporters were urged to back Barack Obama. “Not saying there aren't some hurt feelings about primary losses, but we see some version of this every election,” Setzer said. She also pointed to Republican divisions, such as in Texas and South Carolina, where GOP incumbents face backlash from their own base.
The immediate stakes are high: Democrats are hoping to flip the House and hold the Senate, with recent polls suggesting momentum in key races. But if the party's internal fractures persist, they could undermine efforts to present a united front. As strategist Eddie Vale put it, “Everyone chill out and let's just win, baby.” Yet he acknowledged that these skirmishes are likely “the opening skirmishes of the inter-party fights everyone is gonna try and litigate endlessly until 2028.”
For now, the party's leaders are urging focus on the midterm goal: winning seats and curbing presidential power. But the ghosts of 2016 and 2020 are never far, and the road to 2028 is already being paved with the debris of today's primary battles.
