Midterm Democrats fracture over Gaza, borders, and health policy

Democratic candidates for the 2026 midterms are abandoning uniform party platforms as they race to retake Congress from Republicans. The party is splitting into distinct camps, with some members softening stances on immigration and transgender rights while others push for more radical changes to US-Israel relations and health care coverage. This divergence reflects a struggle to balance establishment expectations with a rising wave of progressive populism that gained momentum after Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris in 2024.

The most visible shift is occurring on Israel policy. More than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war in Gaza since October 2023. A Pew Research Center survey conducted earlier this year found that 60 percent of US adults now hold an unfavorable view of Israel, a figure that rises to 80 percent among Democrats. Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, who is expected to chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee if Democrats win control, told Politico he wants a thorough reexamination of the US-Israeli relationship. He said he would consider sanctions on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a move that contrasts with the 2024 campaign when Harris declined calls to feature a Palestinian American speaker at the Democratic National Convention.

On transgender rights, candidates in competitive races are moving away from broad support, focusing instead on sports eligibility. Ohio Representative Marcy Kaptur ran an advertisement stating that boys should not play in girls' sports. North Carolina Representative Don Davis called for a safe and fair space for women and girls in sports. South Carolina Senate candidate Annie Andrews said she opposes biological men playing in women's sports. These statements follow a 2024 Trump campaign ad that highlighted Harris's support for transgender Americans. However, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York pushed back at a town hall in Portland, Maine, on Thursday. She told a transgender student who felt abandoned that some in the party were wrong to compromise rights after an election.

Immigration policy is another point of contention, driven by data showing more than 8 million border encounters between 2021 and 2025. Texas Senate candidate James Talarico describes himself as a border security Democrat, backing stronger enforcement alongside comprehensive reform. Lucas Holtz of the Third Way group argued that such proactive stances work better than the Harris campaign's early call for order. On the left, the fatal shootings of US citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis earlier this year have fueled calls to abolish or overhaul ICE.

Health care proposals also vary by district. Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed supports Medicare for All, while Andrews wants to restore lapsed Affordable Care Act subsidies and limit insurer profits. KFF polling shows that 66 percent of US adults now back Medicare for All, up 13 points from October 2020. Holtz noted that all Democrats want to move toward universal coverage, but the methods differ based on the political environment of their states.