Aides Win Primaries
Former Aides Win Democratic Primaries, Continuing Trend of Staffers Replacing Retiring House Members
Former aides to two of Congress's longest-serving Democrats have won their primaries, clearing the way to replace their old bosses. Adrian Boafo, a Maryland state delegate and ex-campaign manager for Rep. Steny Hoyer, won the MD-05 Democratic primary on June 23 with 32% of the vote in a field of 24 candidates, according to AP News. In New York, state Assemblyman Micah Lasher — a former aide to Rep. Jerrold Nadler — won the crowded NY-12 race in one of the most expensive House primaries in state history.
Both Hoyer and Nadler are retiring in January after a combined 70-plus years in Congress. Their deep-blue districts make the November general elections a near-formality. Both winners are "on a glide path to victory in November," as Everett Post described it.
Hoyer and Nadler Engineered Their Own Succession
Hoyer, 87, announced his retirement on January 23, 2026 — and endorsed Boafo the same day. Nadler confirmed his own departure by the April 6 filing deadline. Both moves followed a clear playbook: retire early, clear the field, and hand political capital directly to a trusted insider. Newsday notes this "aide-to-successor" pipeline has become a stabilizing force for the Democratic establishment.
Boafo's win was also a generational and racial milestone. Hoyer, who is white, endorsed Boafo, a Black candidate, in a rapidly diversifying Maryland district. The campaign drew roughly $11 million in outside spending from AIPAC-aligned and cryptocurrency super PACs, according to Washington Post.
NY-12 Became a $26 Million AI Proxy War
The New York race was anything but quiet. More than $26 million was spent on TV ads alone, making it one of the priciest House primaries New York has ever seen, per Washington Post. Tech giants OpenAI and Anthropic poured money into the race to back or block candidates based on their stance on artificial intelligence regulation.
Lasher won by positioning himself as Nadler's chosen heir in a field that included celebrity challengers. His closest competition came from candidates backed by progressive groups tied to NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who argued that establishment endorsements represent a "corrupting influence of the status quo," according to The Guardian.
Republicans Ran the Same Playbook in Montana
Democrats weren't the only party engineering a handoff. On March 4, former U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme filed for Montana's U.S. Senate seat at 4:52 PM. Just five minutes later, Sen. Steve Daines pulled his own name from the ballot — three minutes before the deadline — effectively anointing Alme as his successor, according to NBC Montana.
The move caught Democrats off guard and prevented them from recruiting high-profile candidates like former Sen. Jon Tester. Donald Trump endorsed Alme immediately upon his filing. Post-primary polling now shows Alme leading a four-way general election race with 46% support, per Tavern Research via NBC Montana.
Pelosi Moved Late, but Her Candidate Still Trails
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi stayed silent for months on the race to replace her in San Francisco. Then, just two weeks before the June primary, she endorsed Supervisor Connie Chan, according to Stocktonia News. The late move drew attention, but Chan still trailed state Sen. Scott Wiener by double digits in the primary count, per LA Times.
Chan did advance to a November runoff against Wiener. Some analysts saw Pelosi's endorsement as proof of her "continued sway" in city politics, per Newsweek. Others argued the close margins showed real limits to establishment power — even in Pelosi's own backyard.
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