The 2026 primary season has produced more than the usual bruising political battles. 

There's been look-alike candidates, surprise withdrawals, ballot fights and millions of dollars flowing through groups whose names barely reveal who is behind them.

With redistricting leaving fewer genuinely competitive House races and control of the Senate potentially hinging on a handful of contests, those maneuvers can matter.

And in several of the races that generated the most controversy, voters have now had their say.

Perhaps the strangest ballot fight unfolded in Alaska, where voters encountered two candidates named Dan Sullivan.

Republican Senator Dan S Sullivan, the incumbent, was joined on the ballot by Dan J Sullivan, a former schoolteacher. Republicans fought unsuccessfully to remove the second Sullivan and alleged that the candidacy was designed to confuse voters.

Trump personally waded into the bizarre Alaska race on Election Day, warning voters not to confuse the two candidates named Dan Sullivan.

'VOTE FOR THE REAL DAN SULLIVAN TODAY,' Trump wrote on Truth Social, accusing Democrats of putting forward an 'imposter of the same name' and urging voters to choose the 'INCUMBENT SENATOR.'

The dispute became serious enough to attract federal scrutiny, with the Justice Department issuing subpoenas as part of an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the candidacy.

But the primary result ultimately produced a much clearer November matchup.

Mary Peltola finished first, and Dan S Sullivan advanced as well, setting up a general-election showdown between the Democratic former congresswoman and the Republican incumbent. The second Dan Sullivan did not advance.

 Out of Oklahoma, a racy text scandal erupted involving Trump-backed MAGA pastor and congressional candidate Jackson Lahmeyer just as he was heading into Oklahoma's Republican primary.

The Daily Mail first reported that Lahmeyer had exchanged intimate and flirtatious messages with Caitlin Simmons Key, a former Miss Oklahoma USA who worked as a fundraiser for his campaign.

The messages included him telling her she was 'super thin and very cute,' inviting her to his hotel room, and expressing that he had become emotionally attached to her.

The scandal erupted after his wife, Kendra, discovered the messages and confronted Key, accusing her of wrecking their family and ordering her to stay away from Lahmeyer.

The timing proved devastating for Lahmeyer. He finished second in the Republican primary and initially advanced to the runoff, but after the Daily Mail published the story, he suspended his campaign the next day.

Lahmeyer had been heavily promoted as a Trump-backed 'MAGA Warrior,' making the scandal particularly damaging to his image as a married pastor and Christian family-values candidate. Trump subsequently shifted his support to Lahmeyer's runoff opponent, Mark Tedford.

 Then there was Wyoming Republican gubernatorial hopeful Brent Bien, whom the Daily Mail also exposed for his campaign's salacious social media following.

Bien's campaign had been following a slew of provocative social media accounts of young women, one featuring an alleged teen.

The Bien campaign had denied following these accounts.

In a statement posted to Facebook, Bien claimed the controversy was politically motivated because of his opposition to data centers.

'I believe it's because I am the only candidate against data centers running for Governor of Wyoming,' he wrote.

Bien also said he had contacted local law enforcement to report his account had been hacked. The Daily Mail verified the report was made. However, police declined to release it, citing an ongoing active investigation.

Bien added that he had also filed a complaint with Meta, the parent company of Facebook.

The expose didnt cost him his backing from the Wyoming Republican Party - who debunked the following claims to the Mail even when presented with evidence- but he did end up losing to Eric Barlow.

Bien came in third with just 23.6 percent of the votes.    

In Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District, the controversy centered on Andrew Tupone, the Green Party candidate whom Democrats accused of potentially siphoning progressive votes away from Bob Brooks and helping Republican Congressman Ryan Mackenzie.

The Pennsylvania Green Party itself joined a legal effort challenging Tupone's ballot status, while a separate group of voters also filed suit.

The challenges focused in part on Tupone's previous Republican registration and allegations that Republicans had assisted his effort to qualify for the ballot. The Green Party said Tupone was not its endorsed or nominated candidate.

Tupone has rejected the idea that his campaign was created to help Republicans, saying he was running independently on issues including universal healthcare and Gaza.

But the Democratic primary produced a straightforward result. Brooks won the nomination and will face Mackenzie in November.

Not every unusual race ended with voters choosing between competing candidates.

In Nebraska, Democrat Cindy Burbank withdrew from the Senate contest after winning the Democratic nomination. Her departure left independent Dan Osborn to take on Republican incumbent Senator Pete Ricketts in November.

Idaho produced a similar late-season twist, with Democratic nominee Jeremy Horne exiting the Senate race after winning his party's primary.

South Dakota's Democratic candidate Julian Beaudion also withdrew, leaving Republican Senator Mike Rounds facing independent Brian Bengs.

Democrats effectively removed their own nominees from races where Republicans hold the advantage, potentially giving independent challengers a clearer path.

Montana generated similar speculation around Democrat Alani Bankhead and independent Seth Bodnar, although Bankhead has said she intends to remain in the race.y

Some of the most controversial maneuvering happened before voters ever got to the primary.

Representative Chuy García's decision to retire from his Illinois seat helped clear the Democratic field for his chief of staff, Patty Garcia. Because of the timing, Patty Garcia faced no Democratic primary opponent and won the nomination without a contested primary.

Montana Senator Steve Daines created another unusual sequence when he announced his retirement only minutes after US attorney Kurt Alme filed paperwork to run for the seat — and just minutes before the filing deadline closed.

The timing prompted accusations that the process had been carefully engineered to shape who could compete for the nomination.

Then there was the money.

Federal Election Commission filings revealed Republican financing behind several super PACs with names that sounded as though they belonged to progressive organizations.

Groups including Lead Left PAC and Real Change PAC spent money in Democratic primaries, backing candidates whom Republicans could potentially find easier to defeat in November.

And in at least some races, the strategy appeared to work.

In Maine's 2nd Congressional District, Democratic state auditor Matt Dunlap won his primary after receiving more than $500,000 in spending from Real Change PAC supporting him and attacking one of his Democratic rivals.

That is the basic premise behind the tactic: rather than simply trying to defeat an opposing party's candidate in November, outside groups can attempt to influence which candidate emerges from the other party's primary.

The results have been mixed, but the strategy is becoming harder to ignore.

AIPAC has faced similar scrutiny over its involvement in Democratic primaries through groups that don't necessarily advertise an obvious connection to the organization.

In Illinois, AIPAC used organizations including Affordable Chicago Now, Elect Chicago Women and Chicago Progressive Partnership to support preferred candidates. 

PACs affiliated with the Democratic Women's Caucus and Congressional Hispanic Caucus have also been involved in spending across other races, with outside groups using those congressional networks to influence contests.