Resistance Democrats Flop in Primaries as Anti-Trump Brand Collapses

The anti-Trump resistance is having a brutal primary season. Impeachment-era celebrities keep losing to underfunded challengers, many of them democratic socialists, and the message from Democratic voters is becoming impossible to ignore: the resistance is over.

Tuesday's Florida Senate primary delivered the clearest sign yet. Alex Vindman, the retired lieutenant colonel whose testimony helped trigger President Trump's first impeachment, spent roughly $16.2 million on his campaign. His opponent, state Rep. Angie Nixon, raised less than $1 million. Nixon still crushed him, winning 55 percent to 44 percent and taking every major metro area in the state except Palm Beach County.

It was the kind of result that used to be unthinkable in Democratic politics. A candidate with a 16-to-1 fundraising advantage, the backing of the party establishment, and a national profile built on opposing Trump was dismantled by a little-known democratic socialist. Pollster Nate Silver summed up the broader trend on social media, noting it has been a rough set of primaries for the heroes of the resistance and concluding that people want to move on.

A Pattern of Resistance Flops

Vindman is not alone. George Conway, the lawyer and former Trump administration figure turned prominent Trump critic, finished a distant fifth in the June Democratic primary for New York's 12th Congressional District. Conway raised and spent roughly $7 million on the race and won just 6 percent of the vote, in a district where Trump received only 17 percent in 2024.

The same night, Rep. Dan Goldman of New York was ousted in his primary by former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. Goldman, who built his political career on the first impeachment and raised more than $8 million, lost by 31 points to Lander's $2.4 million effort.

Even Rep. Al Green of Texas, who made a career out of repeatedly forcing impeachment votes against Trump, could not survive. Green lost a May runoff to fellow Democratic Rep. Christian Menefee after redistricting placed the two Houston lawmakers in the same district.

Voters Are Moving On

What makes the losses so striking is that they are happening in Democratic primaries, not general elections. These are the voters who should be most receptive to anti-Trump messaging. Instead, they are choosing candidates who focus on progressive factional fights rather than relitigating the Trump era.

The leftward shift is showing up in winning races too. Nixon is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. Abdul El-Sayed, who won the Democratic Senate primary in Michigan, sits well to the left of the party's mainstream. In Minnesota, progressive Peggy Flanagan won her Senate primary by 20 points, though she defeated a moderate Democrat rather than a socialist.

For the Democratic Party, the implications are serious. In Florida, Nixon is all but assured to lose in November to Republican Sen. Ashley Moody, who won her own primary handily. Analysts have moved the Florida Senate race from likely Republican to safe Republican. A Democratic Party that keeps nominating the far left in swing states is making life easier for the GOP as it fights to hold the House majority.

What This Means for November

For Republicans, the trend is encouraging. The resistance playbook that powered Democratic fundraising for years has lost its electoral magic. Democratic voters are rejecting the celebrities of the Trump impeachment era, and the party is tearing itself apart over factional fights while Republicans prepare for the general election.

The GOP still faces its own primary challenges, including some Trump-endorsed candidates losing in recent weeks. But the Democratic civil war is arguably more damaging because it is producing nominees who struggle in general elections. Nixon's socialist platform in Florida and El-Sayed's left-wing agenda in Michigan give Republicans clear targets in November.

The takeaway from this primary season is simple: the resistance brand is dead, and even Democratic voters know it. As the party's base pushes further left, Republicans are positioned to keep their majorities and expand their map. The November elections will show just how far the pendulum has swung.