Democratic Candidates Adjust Stances on Gaza, Borders, and Health Ahead of Midterms

Democratic candidates preparing for the 2026 midterm elections are revising their policy platforms across four major issues: the Israel-Gaza conflict, immigration enforcement, transgender rights in sports, and health care coverage. The adjustments reflect a party attempting to reclaim control of both chambers of Congress after losing the White House in 2024.

The changes are not uniform. Some candidates are adopting more conservative stances to appeal to swing voters, while others are moving further left in response to growing progressive influence. This fragmentation means that a Democrat's position on a specific issue often depends heavily on the state or district they represent.

The most visible shift concerns the United States relationship with Israel. More than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war in Gaza, which began following the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023. A Pew Research Center survey conducted earlier this year found that 60 percent of US adults held an unfavorable view of Israel. Among Democrats, that figure rose to 80 percent.

Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, who is expected to chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee if Democrats win a Senate majority, said this month that he wants a thorough reexamination of the US-Israeli relationship. He stated he would consider sanctions on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This stance differs from the 2024 campaign, when former Vice President Kamala Harris declined to feature a Palestinian American speaker at the Democratic National Convention. Earlier this year, 40 Democratic senators voted to disapprove proposed military sales to Israel, while only seven joined Republicans in blocking the motion. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who would likely become majority leader, maintains that the US commitment to Israel's security must be ironclad.

In competitive House and Senate races, several Democrats have softened their support for transgender rights, particularly regarding athletes in school sports. Representative Marcy Kaptur of Ohio ran an advertisement stating that boys should not play in girls' sports. Representative Don Davis of North Carolina called for a safe and fair space for women and girls in sports. Senate candidate Annie Andrews of South Carolina said she opposes biological men playing in women's sports. These positions follow a 2024 Trump campaign ad that highlighted Harris's support for transgender Americans.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York challenged these shifts during a town hall in Portland, Maine, on Thursday. Speaking to a transgender student who described feeling abandoned, Ocasio-Cortez argued that compromising the rights of one person compromises the rights of every citizen. She expressed shame that people scare so easily after an election.

Immigration policy has also divided the party. Customs and Border Protection recorded more than 8 million border encounters between 2021 and 2025. In Texas, Senate candidate James Talarico identifies as a border security Democrat, supporting stronger enforcement alongside comprehensive reform. Lucas Holtz of the Third Way group noted that such proactive stances are effective, arguing the Harris campaign did not consistently stick to its early call for border 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 drastically overhaul the agency.

Health care remains an area of broad agreement on the goal of greater government involvement, but candidates disagree on the mechanism. Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed supports Medicare for All. Andrews, running in a more conservative state, wants lapsed Affordable Care Act subsidies restored and limits on insurer profits. KFF polling indicates that 66 percent of US adults now back Medicare for All, a 13 point increase from October 2020. Holtz said all Democrats want to move toward universal coverage in the best way possible.