Democrats Reassess Positions on Israel, Immigration, Transgender Issues and Health Care Ahead of Midterms

Two years after US voters returned Republican Donald Trump to the White House for a second nonconsecutive term, Democratic candidates in the midterm elections are rethinking their stances on a range of divisive issues. Some have softened their positions, while others have pushed further to the left, and a few are openly breaking with party leadership.

The shifts come as the party tries to regain its footing and win back control of both houses of Congress from Republicans. Since Trump defeated former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024, divisions among Democrats have deepened. Establishment figures and self-described moderates have struggled to contain a growing wave of progressive populism, driven by groups such as the Democratic Socialists of America. The result is a party in which candidates' policy positions often depend on the district or state where they are running.

Israel is arguably where the change has been most visible. More than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's war on Gaza, which began after the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, and polling shows Americans growing more critical. A Pew Research Center survey conducted earlier this year found that 60 percent of US adults held an unfavourable view of Israel, rising to 80 percent among Democrats.

Some longtime Democratic backers of Israel have responded. Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, who is likely to chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee if Democrats win the Senate next month, told Politico this month that he wants a "thorough reexamination" of the US-Israeli relationship and would consider sanctions on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That marks a change from 2024, when Harris declined calls to feature a Palestinian American speaker at the Democratic National Convention. Earlier this year, 40 Democratic senators backed a motion disapproving proposed military sales to Israel, while only seven sided with Republicans to block it. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who would likely become majority leader, maintains that the US commitment to Israel's security "must be ironclad".

On transgender rights, Democrats in tight House and Senate races have played down or rejected support for the community, mostly on the question of transgender students in school sports. Ohio Representative Marcy Kaptur ran an ad saying, "Boys should not play in girls' sports", while 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". The shift follows a 2024 Trump campaign ad that highlighted Harris's support for transgender Americans.

Not everyone agrees. At a town hall in Portland, Maine, on Thursday, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told a transgender student who felt "abandoned" that some in her party were wrong. She said she was ashamed that people "scare so easily after an election" and argued that compromising a trans person's rights compromises the rights of every citizen.

Immigration has also split the party. Customs and Border Protection recorded more than 8 million border encounters between 2021 and 2025. In Texas, Senate candidate James Talarico calls himself a "border security Democrat" and backs stronger enforcement alongside comprehensive reform. Lucas Holtz of the moderate group Third Way said such stances work because they are proactive, and argued that the Harris campaign did not stick to its early call for order at the border. On the left, however, the fatal shootings of US citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis earlier this year have fuelled calls to abolish or drastically overhaul ICE.

On health care, Democrats agree on the need for more government involvement but not on the method. Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed supports Medicare for All, while Andrews, running in a more conservative state, wants lapsed Affordable Care Act subsidies restored and limits on insurer profits. KFF polling shows 66 percent of US adults now back Medicare for All, up 13 points from October 2020. Holtz said all Democrats want to move toward universal coverage "in the best way possible".