Senate GOP confronts ‘messy’ primary 2026 season with shift to hands-off strategy 

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Senate Republicans are heading into the next midterm cycle bracing for contentious primaries that could hit both incumbents and favored candidates — a sharp break from 2024, when party leaders closely coordinated with President Donald Trump to keep spoilers at bay.

Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), the former chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, signaled early that he was willing to box out GOP candidates in the 2024 primaries who were perceived as weaker. The approach proved highly effective last cycle, allowing the GOP to avoid several disruptive primary fights and secure a 53-47 majority in the upper chamber.

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