Democrats Shatter Consensus on Gaza and Health Care Ahead of Midterms

Democratic candidates running for Congress in November are breaking away from the party’s traditional consensus on four major issues: Israel, immigration, transgender sports, and health care. The party is divided as it attempts to reclaim the House and Senate from Republicans. Some legislators are softening their stances to appeal to moderate voters, while others are moving further left to energize their base. A few are openly challenging party leadership on these core pillars.

The strategic shifts follow Donald Trump’s return to the White House in 2025. Since his defeat of Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, internal party tensions have increased. Establishment moderates are struggling to manage a rising wave of progressive populism, with groups like the Democratic Socialists of America gaining influence. Consequently, a candidate’s position often depends more on their specific district or state than on a unified party platform.

The most visible split concerns the US relationship with Israel. More than 74,000 Palestinians have died in the war in Gaza, which began after the Hamas attacks in October 2023. A Pew Research Center survey from earlier this year found that 60 percent of US adults view Israel unfavorably. Among Democrats, that figure rises to 80 percent.

Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, who may chair the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Politico this month that he wants a "thorough reexamination" of the US-Israeli relationship. He said he would consider sanctions on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This contrasts with the 2024 campaign, when Harris rejected calls to feature a Palestinian American speaker at the Democratic National Convention. Earlier this year, 40 Democratic senators voted to disapprove military sales to Israel, while seven supported the Republican position. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who could become majority leader, maintains that the US commitment to Israel's security "must be ironclad."

On transgender rights, candidates in tight races are often distancing themselves from the issue. Many focus specifically on transgender students in school sports. Ohio Representative Marcy Kaptur ran an ad stating, "Boys should not play in girls' sports." 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." This approach follows a 2024 Trump campaign ad that emphasized Harris’s support for transgender Americans.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pushed back against this trend at a town hall in Portland, Maine, on Thursday. She told a transgender student who felt "abandoned" that some in her party were wrong. Ocasio-Cortez said she was ashamed that people "scare so easily after an election" and argued that compromising trans rights compromises the rights of every citizen.

Immigration has also created a divide within the party. Customs and Border Protection recorded over 8 million border encounters between 2021 and 2025. In Texas, Senate candidate James Talarico describes himself as a "border security Democrat" who backs stronger enforcement alongside comprehensive reform. Lucas Holtz of the Third Way group argued these stances work because they are proactive. He noted that the Harris campaign failed to stick to its early call for order at the border. 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 overhaul ICE.

Health care policy presents another point of contention. Democrats agree on the need for more government involvement but disagree on the method. Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed supports Medicare for All. Andrews, running in a more conservative state, wants to restore lapsed Affordable Care Act subsidies and limit insurer profits. KFF polling shows that 66 percent of US adults now support 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."