2026 United States Senate Elections (Dark Brandon)

The 2026 United States Senate elections were held on November 3, 2026, concurrently with the midterm elections at the federal, state and local level, including the 2026 U.S. House of Representatives elections. Regularly scheduled elections were held for 35 of the 104 seats in the U.S. Senate, the winners of which will serve six-year terms in the U.S. Congress from January 3, 2027, to January 3, 2033, starting with the 120th United States Congress. The Democratic Party, led by Chuck Schumer of New York, held onto their control of the Senate for the 4th consecutive election cycle, defeating the Republicans, led by retiring Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
Senators are divided into three classes whose terms are staggered so that a different class is elected every two years. In early 2025, D.C. became the 51st state; with class 3 already having 34 seats, and classes 1 and 2 having 33 seats, D.C.'s senators were automatically placed into Class 1 and 2. Puerto Rico, on the other hand, became a state in November of 2025, after its citizens voted in a binding referendum to be admitted to the Union. Because the Senate classes were evenly divided, Puerto Rico's two senators drew from lots that determined their class. [Breaking character: Yes, this is exactly how it's has been done since the Founding Fathers. If we do eventually have a 52nd state, the end of those senators' first terms will be completely random. Of course, this makes trying to predict the Senate classes of the 52nd state just as intellectually sound as attempting to predict the next roll on the roulette wheel. For the purposes of this prediction, I just gave Puerto Rico to Class 1 and Class 2.] The Puerto Rican senators were selected for Classes 1 and 2. However, because the senators of D.C. and Puerto Rico had been appointed by their state's governor, all four were required to run for a special election in 2026.
After D.C.'s admission to the Union, special elections were held in 2025, resulting in the election of two Democrats. Muriel Bowser, who won one of the special elections for the Senate, drew the lot for Class 2 and therefore had to run in the 2026 cycle. [Breaking Character: again, this is completely made up, because the Senate class lot drawings are COMPLETELY RANDOM] After Puerto Rico's admission, special elections were held in early 2026, resulting in the election of one senator from Puerto Rico's New Progressive Party, who caucused with the Republicans, and one senator from the Popular Progressive Party, who chose to caucus with the Democrats. Jenniffer González, who was a member of the New Progressive Party, drew the lot for Class 2 and therefore had to run in the 2026 cycle.
All 35 Class 2 Senate seats, last elected in 2020 (except for those of the two new states), were up for election in 2026; prior to the elections. The winners of these elections began serving in the 120th U.S. Congress. Prior to the elections, Democrats had held a majority in the Senate since January 20, 2021. There were 53 Democratic senators and two independent senators who caucused with them.
For the first time in American history, both before and after the ratification of the 17th amendment, no senate seat flipped from one party to the other. For only the second time in American history after the passage of the 17th amendment, the only other time having been just four years prior in 2022, no incumbent senator lost a bid for re-election. All but one senate seat, Maine, was won the party that had lost that state in the 2020 presidential election. Political analysts called the 2026 senate elections "the most shocking and sobering display of America's decades-long process of political calcification."
While the election resulted in no change to the partisan makeup of the Senate, incumbents of both parties survived close races for re-election. Of the senators that won by less than 5%, two were Republicans: Tom Tillis from North Carolina and Susan Collins from Maine; and one was a Democrat: Jon Ossoff from Georgia.
Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who was age 84 on the day of the election, and whose seat was up for re-election in 2026, decided to retire instead of seeking re-election to an eighth term. After serving as Republican leader for 20 years, both in the majority and in the minority, he retired as the longest serving Senate party leader in history. He was replaced as leader of the Senate Republicans by John Thune of South Dakota, who won a competitive race for the position against John Barrasso of Wyoming, Barrasso would become 2nd in the caucus, serving as Minority Whip starting in 2027.
== Partisan Composition ==
All 37 Class 2 senators were up for election in 2026; prior to Election Day, Class 2 consisted of 15 Democrats, 20 Republicans, and 2 Puerto Rican New Progressives (one caucusing with Democrats and the other with Republicans). Of the senators not up for election, 36 were Democrats and 29 were Republicans.
Elections analysts have noted that, in recent cycles, partisanship in Senate elections has much more closely matched partisanship in presidential elections, and the number of senators representing states won recently by presidential candidates of the opposite party has dwindled. This pattern held true in 2026, with every state except for Maine aligning with the 2020 presidential election, and every state except for Maine, Texas, and North Carolina aligning with the 2024 presidential election. With no senator losing re-election for the second midterm election in a row, and no state flipping from one party to the other for the first time ever, many political commentators said that 2026 was one of the "most depressing election cycles in modern times." One New York Times editorial columnist noted, "What was the point in even holding this week's elections for the Senate?"
== Alabama ==
Incumbent Republican senator Tommy Tuberville was easily re-elected to a second term.
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== Alaska ==
Incumbent Republican senator Dan Sullivan easily won re-election to a third term.
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== Arkansas ==
Incumbent Republican senator Tom Cotton easily won re-election to a third term.
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== Colorado ==
Incumbent Democratic senator John Hickenlooper easily won re-election to a second term.
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== Delaware ==
Incumbent Democratic senator Chris Coons easily won re-election to a third term.
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== Georgia ==
Incumbent Senator Jon Ossoff ran for re-election to a second term. He faced Marjorie Taylor Greene in the general election, a far-right House Republican who was endorsed by President Trump.
Greene, while popular in the Republican primary, was wildly unpopular in the general election. Ossoff won by 8.4%, the largest margin of victory for a Democrat in a major statewide race since Roy Barnes' victory in the 1998 gubernatorial race. He avoided a runoff, unlike Democrat Lucy McBath; she received more votes in the concurrent general election for governor, but did not achieve a majority, forcing a runoff election in December, which McBath won. 
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== Idaho ==
Incumbent Republican Senator Jim Risch decided to retire at the age of 83, opening up the seat for the first time since 2008. 
Raúl Labrador, the state's Attorney General, ran for the open seat and easily won the primary and the general election.
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== Illinois ==
Incumbent Democratic Senator Dick Durbin easily won re-election to a sixth term.
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== Iowa ==
Incumbent Republican senator Joni Ernst was re-elected to her third term by a comfortable margin, but not a landslide.
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== Kansas ==
Incumbent Republican senator Roger Marshall was easily re-elected to a second term.
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== Kentucky ==
Incumbent Senator and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell decided to retire instead of seeking an eighth term. Kentucky's Secretary of State, Michael Adams, received the Republican nomination and easily won the general election.
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== Louisiana ==
Incumbent Republican Senator Bill Cassidy was up for re-election in 2026. He was one of seven Republican senators to vote to convict President Donald Trump of impeachment in 2021, making him vulnerable to a challenge from the right. However, Louisiana uses the jungle primary system, making Cassidy's bid a bit easier than if he were in a GOP primary. Clay Higgins, a GOP U.S. Representative, challenged Cassidy in the primary. Gary Chambers, a civil rights activist and perennial candidate, ran as the main Democratic nominee.
Chambers finished in 1st place in the November primary, but south of 40% of the vote, far below the required majority of votes to win outright. Cassidy finished in 2nd ahead of Higgins, allowing him to advance to a 1 on 1 against Chambers.Cassidy won the December runoff easily against Chambers.
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== Maine ==
Incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins ran for re-election to a sixth term. While Collins was one of the only blue-state Republicans left, she had remained relatively popular enough to survive. Collins was challenged by Maine's Secretary of State, Shenna Bellows, who had lost against Collins in 2014.
Collins narrowly won re-election, but by a narrower margin than her 9-point victory in 2020.
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== Massachusetts ==
Incumbent Democratic senator Ed Markey ran for re-election to a third term and won easily.
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== Michigan ==
Incumbent Democratic senator Gary Peters ran for re-election to a third term. He was challenged by far-right conspiracy theorist and chair of the Michigan GOP Kristina Karamo, who was helped through the GOP primary with backdoor money from the DSCC. Peters defeated Karamo with ease in the general election.
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== Minnesota ==
Incumbent Democratic-DFL senator Tina Smith ran for re-election to a second term and won relatively easily.
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== Mississippi ==
Incumbent Republican senator Cindy Hyde-Smith ran for re-election to a second term and won easily.
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== Montana ==
Incumbent Republican senator Steve Daines ran for re-election to a third term and won easily.
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== Nebraska ==
Incumbent Republican senator Pete Ricketts ran for re-election to his first full term and won easily.
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== New Hampshire ==
Incumbent Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen ran for re-election to a fourth term. She was challenged by former New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, who was a very popular moderate Republican governor who had won by staggering margins, even in years when Democrats won the state, such as in 2020, when Sununu received over 60% of the vote despite Joe Biden defeating Donald Trump by 7% in New Hampshire.
Sununu had run for President in 2024 and lost to Donald Trump in the primary. He decided to forgo re-election to his fifth term as governor; the seat was flipped by the Democrats. In the process of running for President in 2024, Sununu had been forced to make many more right-leaning statements on TV including the debates, both on social issues such as abortion and transgender persons, as well as wanting to partially privatize Social Security and Medicare. Shaheen used his own previous statements against him in the general election, and campaigned on the message that Sununu was "two-faced" and would be "one way at home, and an extremist in Washington." The strategy worked, and Shaheen won re-election narrowly against Sununu, by a margin of 3.7%, despite many Republicans believing they had the race locked up in their favor when Sununu had declared his intention to run.
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== New Jersey ==
Incumbent Democratic senator Cory Booker easily won re-election to a third term.
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== New Mexico ==
Incumbent Democratic senator Ben Ray Luján easily won re-election to a second term.
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== North Carolina ==
Incumbent Republican Senator Thom Tillis ran for re-election to a third term. Joe Biden narrowly won the state of North Carolina in 2024, but lost it in 2020, making the state a closely watched race in 2026. He was challenged by Jeff Jackson, a former Democratic U.S. Representative who lost his seat in 2024 due to mid-decade redistricting.
Tillis narrowly won the election against Jackson, displaying North Carolina's consistent narrow lean toward Republicans.
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== Oklahoma ==
Incumbent Republican senator Markwayne Mullin easily won re-election to his first full term. 
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== Oregon ==
Incumbent Democratic senator Jeff Merkley easily won re-election to his fourth term.
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== Puerto Rico ==
Incumbent New Progressive Jenniffer Gonzalez, who caucuses with the Republicans, won re-election to a full term.
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== Rhode Island ==
Incumbent Democratic senator Jack Reed easily won re-election to a sixth term.
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== South Carolina ==
Incumbent Republican senator Lindsey Graham easily won re-election to a fifth term.
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== South Dakota ==
Incumbent Republican senator Mike Rounds retired to run for Governor of South Dakota. Kristi Noem, the outgoing Governor, ran for the open seat and won easily.
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== Tennessee ==
Incumbent Republican senator Bill Hagerty easily won re-election to a second term.
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== Texas ==
Incumbent Republican Senator John Cornyn ran for re-election to a fifth term. Cornyn had become very unpopular with far-right conservatives in Texas after leading negotiations on the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which included a red-flag law. He was challenged in the Republican primary by U.S. Representative Ronny Jackson of the Texas 13th district, along with various other challengers. 
In the primary, Cornyn received the most votes, but was forced into a runoff against Jackson, as he received under 50% of the vote. A month later, Cornyn won the runoff, but with just 53.4% of the vote to Jackson's impressive 46.6% against an incumbent senator.Cornyn won the general election relatively easily, over-performing Republican Governor Greg Abbott in the concurrent general election.
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== Virginia ==
Incumbent Democratic senator Mark Warner easily won re-election to a fourth term against former Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin.
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== Washington DC ==
Incumbent Democratic senator Muriel Bowser was re-elected to her first full term.
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== West Virginia ==
Incumbent Republican senator Shelley Moore Capito easily won re-election to a third term.
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== Wyoming ==
Incumbent Republican senator Cynthia Lummis easily won re-election to a second term.
Category:Dark Brandon