Yes, they were caught off guard.
California where I am had the Democrats do the most shameful thing.
They said we will no longer have a Dem and Republican candidate in the election. No instead it would be the two that get the most votes. So a long time you have the choice of Democrat or Democrat for many offices, which is no choice at all.
Wish we had orchestrated a statewide coup.
Meaning the primaries only leave you with a Dem versus another Dem. That is how bad it can get.
The dems tried that in Louisiana when they were the dominant party. Step one - agree on a single republican candidate. Step 2 - get a bunch of folks to split the dem vote. A radical vegan environmentalist against a black militant against a feminist - throw in a couple of flavors of Mexican. It’s a bit expensive on the front end, but it makes sure the republican is the leader going into the runoff. And by that point, the trailing dems have been demonized by the leader of their ilk to the point they won’t back the leading dem.
Eventually, the money was pulled, and the republicans won.