Israel election 2026: Democrats hold first primaries under Yair Golan

The Israeli Democrats party held its first primaries under Chairman Yair Golan on Monday, with approximately 114,000 members voting digitally to select candidates for the 2026 election. Fifty-one candidates vied for 10 to 12 likely Knesset seats. Incumbent lawmakers Naama Lazimi, Gilad Kariv, and Efrat Rayten were expected to secure the top three spots, with competition for lower positions, including Moshe Radman, Yair “Yaya” Fink, and Nimrod Sheffer for fourth place. The primaries also saw competition for slots reserved for Meretz-associated figures, kibbutz/moshav representatives, and minority communities. Tensions between Labor and Meretz-aligned candidates were evident, leading Golan to secure two reserved slots on the final slate, which he may use to introduce outside candidates if he deems the primary results too heavily skewed towards Meretz.