2026 Midterm Campaigns: Why some Democratic candidates are keeping Kamala Harris and AOC at a distance while turning to Pete Buttigieg

With the midterms looming in November 2026, Democrats are now faced with the dilemma of which party leaders should be invited to join their campaigns in the race. Among those who could make appearances with the local candidates are the former vice president Kamala Harris, Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, and the former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. But their appeal is far from universal in the country, with certain campaigns taking care to choose only certain national personalities with whom they associate.

According to a report published in USA TODAY by its White House correspondent Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy on October 11, there is an ongoing struggle among candidates in tight races to balance the benefit of having a famous endorsement and the danger of bringing their national politics into local contests.

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These decisions reflect the contrasting strategies of the Democratic Party in trying to reclaim control over Congress and at the same time raising the profile of future presidential nominees.

Cait Conley's campaign highlights the local-versus-national dilemma

An example of a competition between two political opponents is the contest between Democrat Cait Conley and Republican Representative Mike Lawler from New York's Hudson Valley region.

Conley, a former combat veteran in the Army and national security advisor to the Biden administration, was questioned on September 6, during an interview on CNN's program hosted by Dana Bash, on whether she intended to campaign with Ocasio-Cortez, who represents the neighbouring district.

"I'm good" were her exact words since she wanted to focus on the local voters.

Her subsequent campaign schedule offered a contrast. Ten days later, Conley appeared with Buttigieg, followed the next day by a rally with Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly in Yorktown, New York.

The distinction matters because Lawler represents one of only three congressional districts that voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election while electing a Republican to the House, USA TODAY reported.

Conley’s campaign declined to address the matter of whether or not Harris had been invited into the district. The decisions being made by her campaign do not reflect an outright dismissal of either Harris or Ocasio-Cortez, but rather they are reflective of how campaigns consider the politics attached to celebrities.

Why Pete Buttigieg and Mark Kelly feature in swing-district campaigns

Buttigieg and Kelly have become visible campaign surrogates for Democrats seeking to compete in closely fought races.

Their appeal, according to strategists interviewed by USA TODAY, lies in part because of their capability to run for office without making ideology-based controversies the focus of their campaigns.

"It isn't necessarily that Pete Buttigieg is additive so much as he's unobjectionable," said Melissa DeRosa, a Democratic strategist who served as the former secretary to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

"Moderate and independent candidates need to think about whether an anchor figure in the country can bring them to that audience," she stated in an interview with USA TODAY.

Buttigieg's campaign organisation, Win the Era, said he had appeared in person with 50 candidates across 37 states. His extensive travel gives him a prominent role in the midterm campaign season, while also keeping him visible ahead of the next presidential election cycle.

Another former astronaut and senator from Arizona, Kelly, has also worked to support Democratic presidential hopefuls in several states.

While the presence of these people does not necessarily mean that the candidates have endorsed either one of them as the Democratic candidate in the 2028 presidential race, the choices reflect how national figures can be incorporated into local campaigns.

Harris and AOC face different challenges with local Democrats

While both Harris and Ocasio-Cortez still hold relevance as players in talks surrounding the future of the Democratic Party, they find themselves in different places in the party’s coalition.

For one, Ocasio-Cortez is well liked among progressives and has campaigned all around the country, having campaigned for Senate candidates such as Angie Nixon in Florida and Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan. Moreover, her support of progressive policies like the abolition of ICE has made her somewhat of an enemy to certain moderates in the party.

However, Harris holds the profile of a former vice president and an unsuccessful presidential nominee for the party. An investigation conducted by the Democratic National Committee on the election described the failure to get millions of voters who voted for Joe Biden in 2020 to come out as a crucial reason for their loss, according to the report by USA TODAY.

Candidates have declined campaigning assistance from Harris in states like Kansas, Iowa, Alaska and Wisconsin. Others continue to welcome her involvement.

Harris has said that candidates understand what they need to do to win and that she supports their decisions. Her spokesperson, Eduardo Negrón, told USA TODAY that she would continue working to elect Democrats across the ballot.

It is for this reason that the pattern is not one of complete rejection of the woman. The difference lies in the suitability of various political personalities to particular constituencies.

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This would afford presidential hopefuls the chance to form connections with potential candidates, party officials and voters before the next presidential primary elections.

In addition to Harris, Ocasio-Cortez, Buttigieg and Kelly, another notable Democrat who has been campaigning on behalf of his party is California's governor, Gavin Newsom. The appearances of these individuals afford each of them a chance to show their commitment to the whole party even though campaigns alone will not determine their viability in a presidential race.

The general problem here lies with how Democrats find a way to balance their national narrative with the interests of individual voters in their districts.

Former Democratic National Committee acting chair Donna Brazile rejected the suggestion that candidates' reluctance to campaign with Harris was necessarily about gender. She told USA TODAY that Democrats in red and purple states often need to appeal to independent voters and Republicans who lean towards the centre.


Bakari Sellers, another political pundit, noted that although nationally renowned individuals can create enthusiasm and raise money, they might also make the candidates answer questions regarding their political ideology. The choices that are being made for the midterm elections in 2026 are not necessarily indicative of whom the Democratic Party is likely to choose as its presidential candidate for 2028. Yet, they show that there is an ongoing discussion in the party over how to keep its national coalition together and let the candidates address local matters as well.