The fight for the Senate in 2026 is beginning to take shape, with more candidates launching campaigns in recent days and additional announcements expected in the coming weeks. But both parties are still waiting to see if they can convince a governor to try to flip one of their top targeted states next year.
Democrats will have to reach into GOP territory to net the four seats they need to flip the chamber, while also defending competitive seats they currently hold in Georgia, Michigan and elsewhere. Republicans, meanwhile, are looking to grow their 53-47 majority in next year’s elections while defending blue-leaning Maine, battleground North Carolina and some redder states.
It’s no surprise that both parties are eyeing governors as top recruits, since they have proved they can win statewide races and come with strong personal brands and fundraising bases — though, as some recent governors have learned, past wins do not always translate to Senate victories.
Republicans’ top target is Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, the only Democratic senator running for re-election in a state President Donald Trump won in November. (Democrats are also defending a Senate seat in Michigan, now an open-seat contest with Sen. Gary Peters retiring.)
While the GOP is eager to take on Ossoff, the party’s field has been frozen while Gov. Brian Kemp weighs whether to jump into the race. Kemp, who is barred by term limits from running for governor again in 2026, has not made a decision on a Senate run and has just started the process of evaluating a potential campaign now that the state legislative session has concluded, according to a source familiar with his thinking.
The source said there is no specific timeline for Kemp to make a decision — but that the governor is “not going to needlessly keep people waiting.”
Democrats, meanwhile, are waiting on a former governor to decide whether to take on one of their top targets: GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
Democrats have not won a Senate race in the state since 2008, but former Gov. Roy Cooper, who could not run for re-election last year due to term limits, is seen as a strong recruit with proven statewide appeal.
But Cooper is going to keep Democrats waiting for a little while longer. Morgan Jackson, a Cooper adviser, said the former governor has not made a decision on a Senate run, and that Cooper has said he will not make a decision until after he finishes a fellowship at Harvard at the end of May.
Meanwhile, former Democratic Rep. Wiley Nickel launched his Senate campaign on Wednesday. On the prospect that Cooper could run, Nickel told Spectrum News’ North Carolina Capital Tonight, “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
In Georgia, Republicans have been openly courting Kemp for months, with National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C., telling Semafor back in January that Kemp is the party’s “Number One recruit.”
Other Republicans are waiting in the wings in Georgia while Kemp weighs his options. Rep. Buddy Carter has suggested he would consider running if Kemp does not, and Reps. Rich McCormick and Mike Collins told Fox News that they aren’t ruling out bids if the governor does not run. State Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper posted on X in February that he met with the NRSC, and Insurance Commissioner John King also told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution late last year that he would “take a hard look” at a Senate run — if Kemp stays out.
NRSC spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez said in a statement to NBC News that the committee “is going to work tirelessly with our incumbents and challengers to hold and expand the Republican Senate majority and continue delivering on President Trump’s agenda for his entire term. We’re committed to protecting red states and excited about the pickup opportunities we have in toss-up races in Georgia, Michigan, and New Hampshire.”
Democrats are eyeing another governor to take on their other top target: Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the only Republican senator up for re-election in a state former Vice President Kamala Harris won in November.
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills did not rule out a run against Collins in a November interview with the Portland Press Herald but has been mum on the race since then.
“Democrats have a Senate map that is ripe with offensive opportunities, particularly when coupled with the building midterm backlash against Republicans driven by their threats to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and their push to raise costs,” said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson Maeve Coyle. “Republicans have more seats to defend, and they’re doing it in a hostile political environment.”
Open-seat shuffle
While Georgia, North Carolina and Maine are the top states with Senate races in 2026, there are plenty more that could affect the balance of power. As the second-quarter fundraising period begins, some Senate hopefuls are also starting to solidify their plans in the three open-seat races where Democratic senators are not running for re-election.
State Sen. Mallory McMorrow became the first major Democratic contender to jump into the race to replace Peters in battleground Michigan when she launched her campaign last week. But she isn’t expected to be the last.
Rep. Haley Stevens is considering a Senate run, along with Abdul El-Sayed, who stepped down from his post as the Wayne County health director last week. El-Sayed told the Detroit Free Press that he would make a decision “within the next couple of weeks.” First-term Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, who had been weighing a run, told The Detroit News that she will instead run for re-election to the House.
Former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers, the Republican nominee who lost last year’s Michigan Senate race, said last month that he is “seriously considering” another campaign for Senate. The party’s 2022 gubernatorial nominee, Tudor Dixon, is also weighing campaigns for governor or Senate in Michigan.
New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s decision to retire opened up the race in the Granite State, which could be competitive next year. Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas launched his Senate campaign last week, and fellow Rep. Maggie Goodlander is also still considering a run, according to a source familiar with her thinking.
On the Republican side, former GOP Gov. Chris Sununu announced this week that he will not be running for Senate, noting he had been encouraged to run. But former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, who ran unsuccessfully against Shaheen in 2014, has been weighing a run for months. Brown is traveling the state and meeting with stakeholders, which he will continue to do “over the next few weeks and months,” said a Brown adviser. The former senator is in regular contact with Scott, the NRSC chairman.
Democrats will also be defending an open seat in Minnesota, where Sen. Tina Smith is retiring, although it’s not clear if Republicans can make the race competitive.
Former basketball player Royce White, who lost to Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar last year and has a history of controversial statements, is running again. The rest of the GOP field is still in flux, with names like former sportscaster Michele Tafoya and former professional basketball player Willie Burton in the mix as potential candidates.
On the Democratic side, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan launched her campaign for Senate last month, along with former state Senate Minority Leader Melisa López Franzen. Democratic Rep. Angie Craig is also considering a Senate run, telling The Minnesota Star Tribune that she plans to make her decision this month. Craig is also planning to hold town halls in each of the state’s four Republican-held congressional districts.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, who had been weighing a Senate campaign, announced Thursday that she will run for re-election to the House.
Democratic recruitment in other, more Republican-leaning states could also affect the party’s ability to go on offense next year.
Former Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown has been weighing running in the special Senate election next year against appointed GOP Sen. Jon Husted, as well as a run for governor in 2026, according to a Brown spokesperson. Brown recently converted his federal Senate campaign committee into a PAC for his “Dignity of Work” organization, but the spokesperson said this is not a sign that Brown has passed on a Senate run.
“Sen. Brown has been clear that he has not made any decisions or ruled anything out,” the spokesperson said.
Former Democratic Rep. Colin Allred has also said he’s considering another run for Senate in Texas, where GOP Sen. John Cornyn will also have to contend with a competitive primary race against state Attorney General Ken Paxton.