Primary season started with a bang on Tuesday night, headlined by Texas’ high-intensity Senate race. But there were tons of other important elections on the ballot, not just in the Lone Star State but in North Carolina and Arkansas as well. We recap the top contests on this week’s episode of The Downballot podcast, which include the first House incumbent to lose this year, multiple races headed to runoffs, and yet another special election flip by Democrats.

We’re also joined this week by Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, the founder of a new group devoted to electing Democrats to county-level office nationwide called Boosting Future Leaders Onward. Poloncarz tells us all about these important but overlooked posts, including their far-reaching powers and how Democrats are using them to combat Donald Trump’s attacks on our democracy. He also highlights key elections across the country taking place this year.

At long last, the 2026 primaries are upon us! On this week’s episode of The Downballot podcast, David Nir and guest host Joe Sudbay preview some of Tuesday’s most important races, including both parties’ primary for Senate in Texas, a scandal-plagued GOP congressman’s desperate bid for reelection in San Antonio, an early test for House Democrats facing upstart primary challengers in North Carolina, and more.

Also joining us is Chris Melody Fields Figueredo, who explains how her organization, the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, helps make sure progressive ballot measures succeed and anti-democracy efforts fail. Fields Figueredo walks us through the entire life cycle of an initiative, which doesn’t end at passage—implementation is critical, too. And she spotlights some of the most important measures voters across the country will get to weigh in on this year.

Out of the blue, major Democratic players launched a bold new campaign to redraw Colorado’s congressional districts this week. On the latest episode of The Downballot podcast, co-hosts David Nir and David Beard explain why Democrats are taking their plan directly to voters, what kinds of changes it would make to the map, and what the political hurdles and legal pitfalls look like.

The Davids also discuss two Arizona Republicans who abandoned their campaigns for public office on back-to-back days last week, despite earning endorsements from Donald Trump—and why these twin dropouts show the growing limits of Trump’s influence on GOP primaries. Speaking of Trump, the hosts flag a special election coming up in his literal backyard: Next month, Democrats will have the chance to flip the Florida House district that includes none other than Mar-a-Lago.