There are 35 U.S. Senate seats up for election in 2026, with at least four battleground states expected to decide the balance of power – and whether Republicans maintain control of all three branches of government during the second half of President Donald Trump’s term.
In 2025, Republicans control the Senate 53-47, including two independent senators who caucus with the Democrats. Republican Sens. Thom Tillis, Susan Collins, Jon Husted, John Cornyn and Bill Cassidy could all face fierce fights to maintain their U.S. Senate seats next year.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) announced in January that Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, D-N.Y., will chair the DSCC with Sens. Mark Kelly, Adam Schiff and Lisa Blunt Rochester as vice chairs during the 2026 election cycle. The DSCC has not yet announced their target races for next year.
‘Democrats have a Senate map that is ripe with offensive opportunities, particularly when coupled with the building midterm backlash against Republicans. Republicans have more seats to defend, and they’re doing it in a hostile political environment,’ DSCC Spokesman David Bergstein said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
As the party in power tends to struggle more during the midterm elections, Democrats are already identifying ‘offensive opportunities’ to regain Republican Senate seats.
‘I am confident that we will protect our Democratic seats, mount strong challenges in our battleground races, and look to expand our efforts into some unexpected states. Over the course of my career, I’ve won in red and purple places, and I look forward to helping the next generation of Senate candidates do the same,’ Gillibrand said when she was named DSCC chair.
North Carolina
Sen. Thom Tillis was censured by the North Carolina Republican Party in 2023 for reportedly veering from Republican ideology on gun control policies, LGBTQ+ and immigrant rights.
Tillis is considered a moderate Republican for his commitment to Ukraine funding, support for gun control legislation that expanded background checks and implemented red flag laws, voting to codify same-sex marriage and supporting legal pathways for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients.
The bipartisan senator was first elected in 2014 and re-elected in 2020. He went against his more conservative colleagues by voting to certify former President Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in 2020.
Tillis has fallen in line with Republicans in 2025 by voting to confirm Trump’s cabinet nominees, even as some expressed concern over his more controversial picks. However, that does not mean Tillis has been able to escape the ire of Trump’s orbit.
‘Thom Tillis is running 20 points behind DJT in North Carolina. We’re going to need a new senate candidate in NC unless we want to hand the gavel back to Schumer,’ a political advisor to Donald Trump Jr., Arthur Schwartz, said on X earlier this month.
The Cook Political Report, a top nonpartisan political handicapper, rated Tillis’ 2026 re-election bid as ‘lean Republican.’
Maine
Maine has long been a political outlier as one of only two states to split its electoral votes for the presidential election. Former Vice President Kamala Harris won Maine in 2024, but Trump still secured one electoral vote for winning Congressional District 2.
Republican Sen. Susan Collins is considered another moderate Republican – which could serve her once again in the politically split state.
Collins voted against the Senate confirmations of Trump’s nominees for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and FBI Director Kash Patel. She has not shied away from criticizing Trump either, slamming his Jan. 6 pardons and proposed cuts to the National Institutes of Health grants.
Collins has been a U.S. senator since 1996, surviving many primary and general election challenges from both sides of the political aisle. She became the first Republican woman to win a fifth term in the Senate in 2020.
She is already facing two 2026 challengers – Democrat Natasha Alcala and Independent Phillip Rench. Maine’s Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who sparred with Trump over transgender athletes playing in women’s sports, has not ruled out a run for Collins’ Senate seat.
The Cook Political Report also rated Collins’ race ‘lean Republican.’
Ohio
Ohio’s Republican Sen. Jon Husted finds himself in a unique position heading into the 2026 midterms. He was appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine on Jan. 17, 2025 to fill the vacancy left by Vice President JD Vance.
Husted is Ohio’s former lieutenant governor. He also served as Ohio’s secretary of state and as a state legislator.
Because Husted was not elected U.S. senator, he will need to campaign in 2026 for the special election. If he wins, Husted will retain his seat and complete the remainder of Vance’s term – through 2029.
Rumors swirled that DeWine could choose Trump-ally Vivek Ramaswamy to replace Vance this year, but the moderate Republican governor ultimately chose his politically similar ally. Meanwhile, Ramaswamy has launched his own bid for Ohio governor.
The race is rated ‘likely Republican’ by The Cook Political Report.
Texas
Sen. John Cornyn has been the senator for Texas since 2002. While Cornyn is solidly conservative and has supported Trump, he has expressed private disagreement with the president on issues such as budget deficits and border security.
Cornyn is already gearing up for tough potential primary challenges from Trump-ally Rep. Wesley Hunt and conservative Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Both Hunt and Paxton have not formally announced campaigns to primary the long-time Texas senator, but both candidates would set up a competitive race for Cornyn to keep his seat.
The race is ranked ‘solid Republican’ by The Cook Political Report with some GOP infighting expected if Hunt or Paxton announce Senate campaigns.
Louisiana
Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy is also expected to face a tough primary challenge in 2026. John Fleming, the Louisiana state treasurer and former representative, has declared a Senate bid.
Rep. Clay Higgins, who was also expected to challenge Cassidy, announced on Thursday that he will not pursue a Senate campaign in 2026.
Cassidy voted to convict Trump during his 2021 impeachment trial, alienating him from the Trump-loyalists of the party.
The former physician raised concerns over Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., during his confirmation hearing. While he ultimately voted to confirm Kennedy, Cassidy questioned Kennedy’s vaccine skepticism as it conflicted with his own medical background.
Cassidy has served in the Senate since 2015, after starting his political career in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Louisiana State Senate.
While Republicans work to maintain incumbent Senate seats, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has identified four battleground states in 2026 as opportunities to pick up seats and widen their slim majority in the U.S. Senate.
‘Every battleground state — Georgia, Michigan, New Hampshire and Minnesota – is in play, and we play to win,’ NRSC regional press secretary Nick Puglia said in a statement to Fox News Digital last week.
