This map shows key states. Light orange states have at least one key House race. Darker orange indicates states with multiple House races or a Senate race. These deserve your strongest focus! Check out the tables below the map for details about each race.
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Key Senate Races
| State | Incumbent | Partisan Lean | Cook Rating | Sabato Rating | Primary Date | Democratic Candidate | Republican Candidate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | Dan Sullivan, R | R+6 | Lean R | Lean R | 18-Aug-26 | Mary Peltola | Dan Sullivan |
| Georgia | Jon Ossoff, D | R+1 | Tossup | Tossup | 19-May-26 | Jon Ossoff | |
| Iowa | OPEN - (Joni Ernst, R) | R+6 | Likely R | Likely R | 2-Jun-26 | Ashley Hinton | |
| Maine | Susan Collins, R | D+4 | Tossup | Tossup | 9-Jun-26 | Susan Collins | |
| North Carolina | OPEN -- (Thom Tillis, R) | R+1 | Tossup | Tossup | 3-Mar-26 | ||
| Ohio | Jon Husted, R | R+5 | Lean R | Lean R | 5-May-26 | Sherrod Brown | Jon Husted |
There are just six competitive Senate races, five of which are currently held by Republicans, and one by a Democrat. Two of the Republican seats will be open due to retirements: Iowa (Joni Ernst) and North Carolina (Thom Tillis). Mary Peltola has entered the Alaska Senate race, which puts that race in reach for Democrats.
The Partisan Lean measures how partisan a state or congressional district is as compared to the nation as a whole, based on how that state or district voted in the previous two presidential elections.
Key House Races
In 2026, Democrats will need to flip three seats to take control of the House. Competitive seats exist all over the country! California, New York and Arizona all have multiple opportunities for flipping seats. NOTE: We are still in the process of updating this table for 2026!
