Washington — Democrats will likely be attempting to take management of the Senate within the midterm elections subsequent 12 months, eyeing a handful of aggressive races and a few long-shot bids.
Over a 3rd of the Senate’s seats are up for election in 2026 — Democrats will likely be defending 13 seats, whereas Republicans will likely be attempting to carry onto 24. However the map presents few alternatives for Democrats to flip seats, with most of the Republicans looking for reelection hailing from states that President Trump comfortably gained in 2024. In the meantime, the retirement of three Senate Democrats up for reelection in 2026 has created attainable openings for the GOP.
With 53 Republicans within the higher chamber, Democrats would wish to defend seats in some aggressive states, whereas flipping 4 seats so as to safe a majority.
The important thing races prone to decide who controls the Senate after 2026 are starting to take form, with contentious main challenges in some states and newcomers to look at in a handful of open seats within the higher chamber.
North Carolina is anticipated to carry the most costly contest, whereas Texas is seeing a bitter GOP main struggle that Democrats hope will play to their benefit.
Right here’s what to know concerning the state of play in the important thing 2026 Senate races:
North Carolina
North Carolina was already anticipated to be aggressive in 2026, even earlier than GOP Sen. Thom Tillis introduced in June he wouldn’t search reelection. The open seat within the Tar Heel State has emerged as a key prize as Democrats look to make positive factors within the Senate.
President Trump gained the state by greater than three factors in 2024, and North Carolina has traditionally voted for Republicans in each presidential race — aside from Barack Obama in 2008 — which additionally marked the final time the state despatched a Democrat to the Senate. However Democrats are hoping to flip the Senate seat in 2026, with their dream recruit, former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper.
Cooper, who introduced his Senate bid in July, is a two-term governor and the longest-serving state legal professional basic in North Carolina’s historical past.
The competition heated up days after Cooper entered the race, when Republican Nationwide Committee Chairman Michael Whatley introduced a bid for the open seat, teeing up what’s anticipated to be among the many costliest races of the cycle. Whatley has by no means run for workplace however performed a key position in Mr. Trump’s reelection effort. He’s leaning on his conservative acumen and an endorsement from the president, in addition to the connections he’s cast as RNC chair.
With the race’s implications for management of the Senate, together with the presence of two well-connected candidates with fundraising chops, promoting spending is prone to surge.
Georgia
Extensively considered as probably the most susceptible Democrat this election cycle, Sen. Jon Ossoff is looking for a second time period within the Senate after he eked out a win within the 2020 elections when the Georgia race went to a runoff.
Ossoff’s slender victory secured a Democratic majority within the Senate, on the identical time Joe Biden grew to become the primary Democrat to win Georgia in a presidential election since 1992. However Georgia flipped once more in 2024, supporting Mr. Trump, making Ossoff the one incumbent Democrat this cycle defending a seat the president gained within the final election.
File: Sen. Jon Ossoff speaks onstage throughout the John and Lillian Miles Lewis Basis 2025 Good Hassle Gala at Flourish Atlanta, on Could 29, 2025.
Paras Griffin/Getty Photos
With a lot of Republicans already jockeying to tackle Ossoff, the GOP main threatens to be a bruising one for the social gathering. Reps. Buddy Carter and Mike Collins, together with former Tennessee soccer coach Derek Dooley have all entered the race. And although Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp opted to not launch a bid, Dooley is broadly seen as his choose. In the meantime, the president, who has publicly clashed with Kemp in recent times, has but to endorse a candidate.
New Hampshire
Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen introduced in March that she gained’t search reelection, opening up what might be a aggressive race within the Granite State.
Although Republicans have managed the governor’s mansion since 2017, a Republican hasn’t carried New Hampshire in a presidential election since 2000, and the state final elected a Republican to the Senate in 2010. Nonetheless, Republicans have put up a lot of formidable challenges within the state in recent times, and the GOP is aiming to capitalize on the open seat this cycle.
On the Republican facet, former Sen. Scott Brown, who represented Massachusetts from 2010 to 2013, launched a bid to signify New Hampshire within the Senate after falling quick in opposition to Shaheen in 2014. State Sen. Dan Innis, who launched two unsuccessful Home bids, can be operating. Former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu handed on a bid earlier this 12 months, regardless of having the president’s help.
Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who’s represented New Hampshire within the Home since 2019, introduced a bid for Shaheen’s seat in April and rapidly earned her endorsement. In early August, Karishma Manzur, a medical scientist, grew to become the primary Democrat to problem Pappas within the main.
Michigan
Democratic Sen. Gary Peters’ shock announcement in January that he wouldn’t search reelection in 2026 opened up a key seat within the battleground state, which has flipped within the presidential races between President Trump in 2016 to former President Joe Biden in 2020 and again to Mr. Trump in 2024.
With out the benefit historically supplied by an incumbent, Democrats are drawing from a large expertise pool, with a crowded main already underway. Although Biden administration Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg thought-about coming into the race, he finally handed on a bid earlier this 12 months. Among the many Democrats who’ve entered the race up to now are Rep. Haley Stevens, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and former Michigan well being official Abdul El-Sayed. In Michigan, which has the most important focus of Arabs within the U.S., Israel’s struggle in Gaza is anticipated to turn into a key challenge within the main.
On the GOP facet, former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers additionally launched a bid earlier this 12 months, after falling quick in his race in opposition to Sen. Elissa Slotkin final 12 months. Mr. Trump endorsed the Military veteran final month, saying that from “the U.S. Army to Congress, Mike has served our Nation with distinction, and will bring that same Fighting Spirit to the U.S. Senate.”
Maine
Republican Sen. Susan Collins is up for reelection in 2026. First elected to the Senate in 1996, the five-term senator is among the many most independent-minded within the GOP caucus, typically breaking along with her social gathering. She’s survived a handful of challenges from Democrats in earlier races, however it stays to be seen whether or not the 72-year-old can fend off a Democratic problem in a state that Kamala Harris gained in 2024 by nearly seven factors.
File: Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, throughout a Senate Well being, Training, Labor, and Pensions Committee listening to in Washington, DC, Sept. 24, 2024.
Al Drago/Bloomberg through Getty Photos
Democrats have been attempting to recruit Gov. Janet Mills, a 77-year-old two-term governor, in an try to unseat Collins. The doorway of a political newcomer in Democrat Graham Platner, a veteran and oyster farmer who has billed himself as an anti-establishment candidate, may complicate issues for the social gathering.
Texas
Though the Texas Senate race isn’t anticipated to be as aggressive within the basic election, the Republican main has been heating up in current months as Texas Lawyer Common Ken Paxton challenges Sen. John Cornyn for his long-held seat within the higher chamber.
Cornyn, 73, has been within the Senate since 2002 and served because the No. 2 Republican from 2013 to 2019. Paxton, a 62-year-old staunch ally of the president, has criticized Cornyn for questioning whether or not Mr. Trump may win a basic election in 2024. And though Cornyn has labored to fix the connection with Mr. Trump, turning into a vocal supporter of the president’s second time period agenda, the dynamic has made for a messy main struggle up to now — and added to hypothesis about his eventual endorsement. Requested this week about an endorsement within the race, Mr. Trump remained undecided, telling reporters, “I’ll make up my mind, I like them both.”
File: Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) questions U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for Secretary of State, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) throughout his Senate International Relations affirmation listening to, on Jan. 15, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Kevin Dietsch / Getty Photos
In the meantime, the Texas legal professional basic, who was reelected to a 3rd time period because the state’s high prosecutor in 2022, has confronted a sequence of controversies in recent times, with an impeachment and prison securities fraud fees that have been later dismissed. In July, his spouse introduced that she had filed for divorce on “biblical grounds.”
On the Democratic facet, former Rep. Colin Allred is pursuing one other Senate bid after falling quick in opposition to Sen. Ted Cruz by greater than eight factors final 12 months. Allred is anticipated to face one other uphill battle in 2026, however Democrats see his probabilities as bettering, ought to the extra conservative Paxton win the first.
Ohio
Former Sen. Sherrod Brown’s announcement this month that he’s launching a comeback bid to as soon as once more signify Ohio within the Senate marked a serious recruiting victory for Democrats, although the Ohio race continues to be anticipated to be a troublesome battle for the social gathering.
Brown misplaced his 2024 bid for a fourth time period within the higher chamber in opposition to GOP challenger Sen. Bernie Moreno in a cycle that noticed the president win within the state by greater than 10 proportion factors. Brown misplaced to Moreno by lower than 4 factors. And with the social gathering that controls the White Home sometimes shedding floor in midterm elections, Democrats see an opportunity to flip the seat, forcing Republicans to spend closely within the state within the course of.
In 2026, Brown will face off in opposition to Sen. Jon Husted, a Republican who beforehand served as Ohio’s lieutenant governor and was appointed in January to fill Ohio’s different Senate seat, which Vice President JD Vance vacated.
Minnesota
Democratic Sen. Tina Smith introduced in February that she wouldn’t search reelection in 2026, creating an open Senate seat in Minnesota for the primary time since 2008.
Although the North Star State hasn’t elected a Republican to the Senate since 2002 and the GOP hasn’t carried the state in a presidential election because the Seventies, the Republicans noticed the state shift towards their route in 2024, they usually purpose to capitalize on that within the race for the open seat in 2026.
Amongst Democrats, main candidates Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Rep. Angie Craig are dealing with off. And a dominant candidate has but to materialize within the crowded GOP area, which incorporates former NBA participant Royce White, who fell quick in his 2024 bid in opposition to Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Adam Schwarze, a retired NAVY Seal, additionally launched a bid for the open seat earlier this 12 months.
Iowa
Republican Sen. Joni Ernst is up for reelection in Iowa in 2026, however the two-term senator has but to announce whether or not she plans to run once more.
The Hawkeye State hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate since 2008, and a Democrat would face steep probabilities in a state Mr. Trump gained by greater than 13 factors in 2024. However Democrats are hopeful, because the Iowa Republican has confronted scrutiny in current months.
Sen. Joni Ernst speaks on stage throughout The Hill & Valley Discussion board 2025 at The U.S. Capitol Customer Middle on April 30, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Photos for 137 Ventures/Founders Fund/Jacob Helberg
Ernst, a 55-year-old who was elected to the Senate in 2014, has been criticized by Democrats over feedback she made about Medicaid cuts, and she or he was hammered by the GOP base over her preliminary reluctance to help Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth’s affirmation.
The Democratic area is crowded, with state Rep. Josh Turek, state Sen. Zach Wahls and Nathan Sage, govt director of the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce, vying for the nomination. State Rep. J.D. Scholten had additionally launched a marketing campaign, however he bowed out earlier this month and endorsed Turek as Democrats’ finest probability to defeat Ernst.
Nebraska
In July, unbiased Dan Osborn introduced one other bid to signify Nebraska within the Senate, after falling quick in opposition to Sen. Deb Fischer, the Republican incumbent, by seven factors in 2024.
File: Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts speaks to the Conservative Political Motion Convention (CPAC) at Nationwide Harbor, Maryland, February 24, 2017.
Mike Theiler / AFP/Getty Photos
After the unexpectedly aggressive race final 12 months the place he considerably outperformed Harris, the union chief is difficult GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts in 2026. However Republicans are anticipated to be higher ready for the problem within the deep crimson state this time round.
Ricketts, one of many wealthiest members of Congress, was appointed to the Senate in 2023, upon former Sen. Ben Sasse’s retirement, and handily gained his bid in a particular election final 12 months to serve out the remaining two years of Sasse’s time period.
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