U.S. Senate battlegrounds, 2026
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November 3, 2026 |
Elections for 35 U.S. Senate seats will take place in 2026. Thirty-three of those seats are up for regular election, and two are up for a special election. Heading into the November election, Republicans have a majority in the U.S. Senate, controlling 53 seats to Democrats' 47[1].
Ballotpedia has identified nine elections as general election battlegrounds in 2026.
These battleground races were selected using the following criteria. For more information on our methodology, click here:
- the results of the 2024 presidential election in each state,
- whether the incumbent was seeking re-election,
- whether the incumbent was serving his or her first term in Congress, and
- how the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, Decision Desk HQ and The Hill, and Inside Elections with Nathan Gonzales, and Sabato's Crystal Ball rated the election.
In addition to the competitiveness data above, races were included if they were particularly compelling or meaningful to the balance of power in governments for other reasons.
In 2024, Ballotpedia identified 15 U.S. Senate battleground races: 12 Democratic seats[2] and three Republican seats. Democrats won no Republican-held seats, and Republicans won three Democratic-held seats.
Click on the link below to learn more about battleground elections of other another type:
Battleground list
The following map displays the 2026 House battlegrounds shaded by the incumbent's or most recent incumbent's political affiliation. Hover over a state for more information.
| State | Incumbent | Open seat? | 2020 margin | 2026 margin | 2024 presidential margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska |  Daniel S. Sullivan | No | R+12.7 | Pending | R+13.1 |
| Florida | Ashley B. Moody | No | N/A[3] | Pending | R+13.1 |
| Maine | Susan Collins | No | R+8.6 | Pending | D+6.9 |
| Michigan |  Gary Peters | Yes | D+1.7 | Pending | R+1.4 |
| Nebraska | Pete Ricketts | No | N/A[4] | Pending | R+20.3 |
| New Hampshire | Jeanne Shaheen | Yes | D+15.6 | Pending | D+2.8 |
| North Carolina | Thom Tillis | Yes | R+1.8 | Pending | R+3.3 |
| Ohio | Jon Husted | No | N/A[5] | Pending | R+11.2 |
| Texas | John Cornyn | No | R+9.6 | Pending | R+13.6 |
List of candidates
The table below contains a list of all candidates in U.S. Senate battlegrounds in 2026. Major party candidates will not appear here until that primary is complete. The table is fully searchable by candidate, party and candidacy status. Depending on the size of your screen, you'll either see a menu to the left of the table or an arrow at the top right corner, which you can use to select a state.
| candidate | party | office | status |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Republican | Candidacy Declared Round 1 | |
 | Republican | Candidacy Declared Round 1 | |
Democratic | Candidacy Declared Round 1 | ||
 | Democratic | Candidacy Declared Round 1 | |
 | Green | Candidacy Declared Round 1 |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
| candidate | party | office | status |
|---|---|---|---|
 | No Party Affiliation | U.S. Senate Florida (Special election) | Candidacy Declared General |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
| candidate | party | office | status |
|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Candidacy Declared General | ||
 | Republican | Candidacy Declared General | |
Republican | Candidacy Declared General | ||
 | Republican | Candidacy Declared General | |
 | Republican | Candidacy Declared General | |
Republican | Candidacy Declared General | ||
 | Democratic | Candidacy Declared General | |
Democratic | Candidacy Declared General | ||
 | Democratic | Candidacy Declared General | |
 | Democratic | Candidacy Declared General | |
Democratic | Candidacy Declared General | ||
Independent | Candidacy Declared General | ||
Independent | Candidacy Declared General | ||
Unaffiliated | Candidacy Declared General |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
| candidate | party | office | status |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Republican | Candidacy Declared General | |
Republican | Candidacy Declared General | ||
 | Nonpartisan | Candidacy Declared General |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
| candidate | party | office | status |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Libertarian | On the Ballot General | |
Green | Candidacy Declared General | ||
Independent | Candidacy Declared General |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
| candidate | party | office | status |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Independent | U.S. Senate Ohio (Special election) | Candidacy Declared (Write-in) General |
 | Independent | U.S. Senate Ohio (Special election) | Candidacy Declared General |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
| candidate | party | office | status |
|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Candidacy Declared General | ||
Independent | Candidacy Declared General | ||
 | Independent | Candidacy Declared General | |
 | Independent | Candidacy Declared General |
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
Race ratings
The following table compares U.S. Senate race ratings from The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, Decision Desk HQ and The Hill, Inside Elections, and Sabato's Crystal Ball as of January 2026.
Presidential and gubernatorial election data
The following section compares data from the most recent presidential and gubernatorial elections with the party of the incumbent in each 2026 U.S. Senate battleground election. These trends can be used as an indicator of expected competitive U.S. Senate elections in the 2026 elections.
- There is one state with a Democratic incumbent that that Donald Trump (R) won in 2024: Michigan. There is one state with a Republican incumbent that Kamala Harris (D) won in 2024: Maine.
- There is one state with a Democratic incumbent that Kamala Harris (D) won in 2024: New Hampshire. There are six states with Republican incumbents that Donald Trump (R) won in 2024: Alaska, Florida, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas.
- There is one state with a Democratic senator and a Republican governor: New Hampshire. There are two states with a Republican senator and a Democratic governor: New Maine and North Carolina.
- There is one state with a Democratic senator and a Democratic governor: Michigan. There are five states with a Republican senator and a Republican governor: United States Senate election in Alaska, 2026|Alaska]], Florida, Nebraska, Ohio, and Texas.
Change log
This section lists every change that was made to our battleground list between the publishing of this page in December 2025 and the end of the 2026 election cycle.
- Dec. 12, 2025: Published initial battlegrounds list with eight states.[6]
- Jan. 9, 2026: Added Alaska to the battlegrounds list.
2024 battlegrounds
- See also: U.S. Senate battlegrounds, 2024
Ballotpedia identified 15 of the 34 Senate races as battlegrounds in 2024.
| State | Incumbent | Open seat? | 2018 margin | 2024 margin | 2020 presidential margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona |  Kyrsten Sinema | Yes | D+2.4[7] | D+2.2 | D+0.3 |
| California | Laphonza Butler | Yes | N/A[8] | D+19.6 | D+29.2 |
| Florida | Rick Scott | No | R+0.2 | R+12.8 | R+3.3 |
| Maryland | Ben Cardin | Yes | D+34.6 | D+7.8 | D+33.2 |
| Michigan | Debbie Stabenow | Yes | D+6.5 | D+0.3 | D+2.8 |
| Montana | Jon Tester | No | D+3.5 | R+8.4 | R+16.4 |
| Nebraska | Deb Fischer | No | R+19.1 | R+4.6 | R+19 |
| Nevada | Jacky Rosen | No | D+5 | D+1.3 | D+2.4 |
| New Jersey | Bob Menendez Sr. | Yes | D+11.2 | D+9.9 | D+15.9 |
| New Mexico | Martin Heinrich | No | D+10.8 | D+8.8 | D+15.9 |
| Ohio | Sherrod Brown | No | D+6.8 | R+3.8 | R+8.1 |
| Pennsylvania | Bob Casey | No | D+13.1 | R+0.2 | D+1.2 |
| Texas | Ted Cruz | No | R+2.6 | R+9.8 | R+5.6 |
| Virginia | Tim Kaine | No | D+16 | D+7.6 | D+10.1 |
| Wisconsin | Tammy Baldwin | No | D+10.8 | D+0.9 | D+0.7 |
See also
- Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
- United States Congress elections, 2026
- United States Senate elections, 2026
- United States Senate
- Battlegrounds
Footnotes
- ↑ This number includes two independents.
- ↑ This number includes one independent.
- ↑ Incumbent Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) defeated Val Demings (D) in the 2022 general election by 16.4 percentage points.
- ↑ Incumbent Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) defeated Chris Janicek (D) in the 2020 general election by 38.3 percentage points.
- ↑ J.D. Vance (R) defeated Tim Ryan (D) in the 2022 general election by 6.1 percentage points.
- ↑ The eight original U.S. Senate battlegrounds identified were: Florida (special), Maine, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio (special), and Texas.
- ↑ Sinema won in 2018 as a Democrat.
- ↑ Democratic incumbent Sen. Dianne Feinstein defeated Democrat Kevin De Leon in the general election by a margin of 8.4%.
