Entering the 2026 cycle with 47 Senate seats and an unfavorable map, few thought Democrats had any shot of flipping control of the chamber.
But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has notched the final pieces of a complex recruitment plan, successfully persuading top-tier candidates to run for GOP-held seats in Alaska, Maine, Ohio and North Carolina.
“We’re feeling great and we now have a clear, strong path to winning back the Senate,” Schumer told us in an interview Tuesday at the DSCC headquarters. “A year ago, no one thought we could do that.”
It’s true that Schumer has dramatically improved his chances with successful recruitment efforts paired with a more favorable political environment for Democrats. But reclaiming the majority — which means netting four seats — remains a steep uphill climb.
Schumer’s view. A new memo from the DSCC claims that “Democrats have created multiple paths to flip the majority in 2026.” Democrats believe they’ve recruited their best possible candidate in multiple states: Former Gov. Roy Cooper in North Carolina, former Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio, Gov. Janet Mills in Maine and, just this week, former Rep. Mary Peltola in Alaska.
“They’ve run because they care about their states and they care about America,” Schumer said. “Every one of them knows the danger if we don’t take back the Senate with the Supreme Court getting considerably worse.”
Democrats still have to defend Michigan — where there’s a bitter primary brewing — and Georgia, two states President Donald Trump won in 2024. And there are contested Democratic primaries in Iowa and Texas, too.
Primary problems? Schumer dismissed progressive favorite Graham Platner’s chances of taking down Mills in the Maine primary. Platner has put his campaign on “hiatus” as he and his wife seek IVF treatments in Norway.
“My current sense is we’re going to win,” Schumer said. “Susan Collins is in a very weak, weak position, and Janet Mills has been a two-term governor, and she’s the only Democrat who has won statewide in 20 years.”
Schumer wouldn’t discuss any of the Democratic candidates running in Michigan. The Senate minority leader responded to questions about the individual candidates by saying: “The bottom line is that we’re going to win Michigan.”
The GOP. Republicans, who just launched their road tour promoting the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, are looking to counter Democrats’ focus on affordability by highlighting the bill’s tax benefits, most of which won’t be fully realized until April at the earliest. Plus, the measure comes for massive Medicaid cuts starting next year, even as Obamacare premium subsidies expire, threatening the health care coverage for millions of Americans.
“Those issues don’t come close to the burden of increased costs,” Schumer said. “That is far and away the dominant issue. And I think it’s wishful thinking on their path.”
GOP candidates, meanwhile, are being careful not to completely dismiss concerns about the high cost of living, even as they tout Trump’s signature legislative accomplishment.
“Until your bacon, your eggs and your toast come down, you don’t see a difference,” Mike Rogers, the GOP Senate candidate in Michigan, told us at the kickoff for the OBBB sales pitch last week. “They’re not thinking about all of this. And so all the things that we’re doing to try to push those prices down and get their wages up will pay off, I believe it.”
