Senate Republicans are creating an ambitious strategy to expand their 53-seat majority in the middle of 2026.
Although the midterm has historically supported the party rather than the White House, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who leads the Senate GOP's campaign division during the 2026 cycle, has seen 55 members of the National Republican Party. We have laid out a roadmap to increase the ranks of the party among our members. Senate Committee (NRSC) weekend retreat in Florida; According to On Punch Bowl News. (Related: After beating Tim Waltz in the ballot box, GOP deals with a different blow to former VP candidate)
Scott focuses on defending GOP incumbents in Maine, North Carolina and Ohio, attacking two Democrat-controlled seats in swing states that President Donald Trump won in 2024. reportedly focuses on Michigan and Georgia.
If Scott can defend all incumbents of the GOP and ralliate over two Senate seats, Senate Republicans will have the largest majority since former President George W. Bush's second term. The Senate GOP campaign division also reportedly focuses on Virginia's Democrat Mark Warner, New Mexico's Ben Ray Lejean and Minnesota's Tina Smith as potential targets.
The NRSC could invest heavily in five races to defend potentially vulnerable incumbents and expand the GOP Senate majority.
Democrat Georgia Senator John Ossoff
Democrat Georgia Sen. John Ossoff will speak at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on September 13, 2022 (Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Democrat Georgia Sen. John Ossoff is one of the top targets of the NRSC in the upcoming midterm and could be vulnerable to strong Republican challengers.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, two-term Republican, Approval evaluation 60% North is considered an obvious choice to challenge Ossov. Kemp leads Ossoff 46% to 40% in virtual matches, according to a January club growth poll shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Republican Georgia officials Buddy Carter, Mike Collins and Rich McCormick were also able to participate in the race.
According to a DCNF review of the Senate's roll call vote, despite swing state President Donald Trump winning, Ossoff is barely hoping to vote for the president's cabinet candidate.
Ossoff voted for two of Trump's candidates: Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Director of Central Intelligence John Ratcliffe, Environmental Protection Bureau administrator Lee Zeldin, Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent and Transport Secretary I voted for Sean Burgham. .
Ossov voted for the Laiken Riley Act, a bill aimed at cracking down on illegal immigrants, but he, along with his Democratic colleagues, was an international criminal court official who tried to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It blocked the law that granted it. Ossov too cast Two procedures in December last year, restricting certain weapon sales to Israel.
Ossoff won his first Senate election in the state with just 55,000 votes during the January 2021 leak against former Republican Sen. David Purdue.
The Democratic incumbent campaign has nearly $5 million. According to Go to FEC data.
Retired Michigan Senator Gary Peters
Retiring Michigan Sen. Gary Peters will speak to reporters for a procedural vote on the Laken Riley Act at the U.S. Capitol on January 13, 2025. (Photo: Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
The announcement by two-term Democrat Michigan Sen. Gary Peters on Jan. 28 that he would not seek re-election, helped the NRSC to flip the open seat and add it to the Senate GOP majority.
Senate Republicans were unable to secure a public seat for the state after Democrat Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin defeated GOP candidate Mike Rodgers in November, but Trump's strong election in the state performance could give Republican optimism that 2026 will deliver better results.
Rogers, a former Republican lawmaker who served in the House from 2001 to 2015 and secured Trump's support during the 2024 Senate run. I said On January 30th, Fox News reported that he was considering running the open seat.
Rogers' campaign committee ended in 2024 and earned nearly $2 million. FEC data.
Former Transport Secretary Pete Buttigeg is one of many potential Democratic candidates considering jumping into the race. multiple Reportalthough he could face a carpetbagger allegation Relocation Three years ago, I went to the state.
Republican Maine Senator Susan Collins
Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins will speak at the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee hearing on September 23, 2020 (Photo: Alex Edelman Pool/Getty Images)
Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who is generally considered the most moderate member of the Republican Congress, may be the most at-risk Republican incumbent heading into the 2026 cycle. be. Former Vice President Kamala Harris defeat Trump in the state is almost 7% points.
Collins, chairman of the powerful Senate Budget Committee; announcement She plans to run for her sixth Senate term last November. Her campaign has over $2.5 million in the bank. According to Go to FEC disclosure data. NRSC could invest heavily in races.
The two-term democratic Maine Governor Janet Mills, Collins' team's Recognised He is a scary candidate and does not rule out the challenging Collins for the seat.
Collins, who certainly represents a blue nation at the presidential level, has been pleased in the past, surpassing Trump. She has voted for all Trump Cabinet candidates so far, except for Defense Secretary Pete Hegses.
Collins ignored the election odds by winning his contest to almost 10% points in 2020 despite former President Joe Biden winning Maine about 7%. All polls listed by RealClearPolitics totalling During the final weeks of the race between Collins and her democratic challenger Sarah Gideon, the Republican incumbent has shown that she is heading for critical losses.
Republican North Carolina Sen. Tom Tillis
North Carolina Republican Sen. Tom Tillis (R-NC) will depart from a luncheon with Senate Republicans at the U.S. Capitol on June 1, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Anna Money Maker/Getty Images)
The Senate GOP's campaign division is also likely to invest heavily in defending Republican North Carolina Sen. Tom Tillis from competitive primary and general election contests.
The former democratic North Carolina Roy Cooper is not ruled out Challenging Tillis is likely to be a competitive general election. Cooper won the gubernatorial elections in 2016 and 2020 despite Trump being at the top of the president's ticket and winning both cycles.
Tillis has previously voted for all Trump's Cabinet candidates, but is reportedly Shaking Regarding Hegseth's nomination at the final time before the confirmation vote. Senator It was introduced Trump's FBI candidate Kash Patel during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Tillis' campaign has over $2 million in hand. According to For FEC disclosure.
GOP Hold: Republican Ohio Senator John is Hasted
Republican Ohio Sen. John Husted was appointed Senator on January 21, 2025 by Vice President J.D. Vance (Photo: Kent Nishimura/Getty Images).
The NRSC must also be attacked newly with Republican Ohio Sen. John being a stalked in the November 2026 special election set.
Husted must run a special election in the mid-2026 to serve the remainder of Vice President JD Vance's Senate term. He must also seek re-election in 2028 in order to seek another term in the Senate.
Trump Break Last November, Ohio's Harris was more than 11 percent points, with Republican Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno winning over former Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown with just 200,000 votes.
Brown isn't like that I've excluded A challenging hasted or running at the Ohio Governor's Contest set in 2026.
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