<p>The 2026 midterms are about as high-stakes as elections can be.</p>
<p>Thirty-five Senate seats are up for grabs next November, as are all 435 House seats. Republicans currently hold slim majorities in both houses of Congress — one that could get even slimmer with the<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/marjorie-taylor-greene-is-resigning-heres-what-happens-now?author=Amber+Jo+Cooper&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Marjorie+Taylor+Greene+Is+Resigning.+Here%E2%80%99s+What+Happens+Now." target="_blank" rel="noopener"> coming resignation</a> of Marjorie Taylor Greene. The results of the elections could shape the final two years of President Donald Trump&#8217;s time in the White House. The midterms will also loom over the 2028 presidential election, particularly for Democrats, who do not have an obvious candidate waiting in the wings.</p>
<p>We&#8217;re still a ways out, but many of the most crucial races are already heating up. Here are five races to keep an eye on.</p>
<h3><strong>Texas</strong></h3>
<p>The cycle&#8217;s most heated election began months ago when Trump ally and Texas Attorney General <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ken-paxton-to-probe-womens-weightlifting-competition-after-trans-identified-athlete-wins-gold?author=Tim+Pearce&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Ken+Paxton+To+Probe+Women%E2%80%99s+Weightlifting+Competition+After+Trans-Identified+Athlete+Wins+Gold" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ken Paxton</a> announced a challenge to longtime Sen. John Cornyn.</p>
<p>Paxton has argued that Cornyn is too establishment to continue representing the state, saying that “Cornyn’s Swamp friends are spending tens of millions of dollars to attack me.&#8221; Cornyn in turn has called Paxton a “conman and a fraud,&#8221; the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/texas-senate-paxton-cornyn-bc9dcc271c97ad1d724383397e5807c6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Associated Press</a> reported earlier this year.</p>
<p>The winner of that primary will face off against either Colin Allred, a former congressman, or State Rep. James Talarico, who made national headlines in 2021 when he and a group of Democrat colleagues <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrats-who-fled-texas-to-subvert-democracy-mocked-for-playing-victim-card-you-guys-are-pathetic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fled Texas</a> to prevent the state legislature from voting on bills they opposed. More recently, Talarico — who has pitched himself as a Christian Democrat — came under fire after it was revealed that he followed a number of <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/11/15/us-news/james-talarico-caught-following-more-onlyfans-models-and-prostitutes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">OnlyFans models</a> on Instagram.</p>
<p>Rep. Jasmine Crockett, whose radical outbursts are almost too numerous to mention, is also weighing entering the race — which has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/crazy-radical-democrats-republicans-welcome-jasmine-crocketts-potential-senate-bid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Republicans thrilled.</a></p>
<h3><b>Maine</b></h3>
<p>Like John Cornyn, Susan Collins has caught plenty of flak from her fellow Republicans in recent years. But the moderate senator&#8217;s main concern as she runs for a fifth term comes from Democrats, not a primary challenger.</p>
<p>Maine Governor Janet Mills lost an early lead to populist upstart Graham Platner — though the oyster farmer blew an early lead with a series of scandals, including resurfaced <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-senate-hopeful-called-himself-a-communist-made-racist-comments-in-reddit-posts?author=Cameron+Arcand&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Dem+Senate+Hopeful+Called+Himself+A+Communist%2C+Made+Racist+Comments+In+Reddit+Posts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reddit posts</a> in which he slammed cops and called himself a “communist,” and the revelation that he had a<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/graham-platner-has-known-about-his-tattoos-nazi-connotations-since-2012?author=Cameron+Arcand&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Graham+Platner+Has+Known+About+His+Tattoo%E2%80%99s+Nazi+Connotations+Since+2012" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Nazi symbol</a> tattooed on his chest.</p>
<p>Platner has been<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/graham-platners-treasurer-switch-marks-yet-another-exit-from-campaign" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> bleeding staff</a> in the wake of these revelations, including his campaign manager, political director, and national finance manager.</p>
<p>Despite all this, Platner still seems to be the Democrat to beat — though a<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/maine-voters-embrace-susan-collins-the-more-they-learn-about-graham-platner-poll?author=Cameron+Arcand&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Maine+Voters+Embrace+Susan+Collins+The+More+They+Learn+About+Graham+Platner%3A+Poll" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> recent poll</a> found that voters favor Collins the more they learn about Platner.</p>
<h3><b>Michigan</b></h3>
<p>In Michigan, Rep. Haley Stevens, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, and Abdul El-Sayed are seeing who can run furthest to the Left.</p>
<p>McMorrow recently held a fundraiser with a leftist blogger who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/michigan-democrat-teams-up-with-leftist-blogger-who-mocked-charlie-kirk-after-assassination" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mocked</a> Charlie Kirk&#8217;s assassination. Stevens, who endorsed by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), once <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-democratic-lawmaker-screams-at-constituents-over-nra-support" target="_blank" rel="noopener">screamed at her constituents</a> for supporting the Second Amendment. And El-Sayed, who&#8217;s backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), blamed Israel for &#8220;invading&#8221; Gaza in October 2023, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-senate-candidate-accuses-israel-of-invading-gaza-in-oct-7-fundraising-email" target="_blank" rel="noopener">failing to mention</a> that the &#8220;invasion&#8221; in question was a military response to Hamas&#8217;s October 7 massacre of Israeli civilians.</p>
<p>Whichever Democrat emerges victorious from the fray will face off against <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/former-michigan-gop-congressman-launches-2nd-senate-bid-after-coming-up-short-in-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mike Rogers</a>, a Trump-endorsed former congressman who lost his 2024 Senate race by a tiny margin.</p>
<h3><b>Ohio</b></h3>
<p>Rogers isn&#8217;t the only lawmaker staging a political comeback in 2026. In Ohio,<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ohio-dem-sherrod-brown-plots-senate-comeback?author=Daniel+Chaitin&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Ohio+Dem+Sherrod+Brown+Plots+Senate+Comeback" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Sherrod Brown</a> — a longtime leftist fixture in the Upper Chamber who fell last year to Republican Bernie Moreno — is running against Republican Sen. Jon Husted, who was tapped to fill Vice President JD Vance&#8217;s seat.</p>
<p>Brown was dogged with allegations of hypocrisy throughout his time in the Senate, something The Daily Wire<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ohio-dem-sherrod-brown-plots-senate-comeback" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> frequently covered</a>. The leftist was slammed for taking <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ohio-democrat-senator-took-thousands-of-dollars-in-donations-from-pharma-companies-at-center-of-opioid-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">donations</a> from drug companies at the center of the opioid crisis and<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/east-palestine-is-still-suffering-but-ohios-democrat-senator-took-time-for-a-hollywood-fundraiser" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> attending</a> a ritzy Hollywood fundraiser while constituents worried about the water quality at their home after the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine.</p>
<h3><b>California</b></h3>
<p>Of all the House seats up for grabs in 2026 — and, remember, that&#8217;s all of them — the most closely-watched is California, where Democrats are fighting to fill former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi&#8217;s soon-to-be-vacated seat.</p>
<p>Pelosi <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/potential-pelosi-successor-pushed-a-bill-so-woke-even-the-new-york-times-has-doubts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> wants San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan to succeed her. But the candidate to beat is California State Senator Scott Wiener, a man so radical that even the New York Times <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/potential-pelosi-successor-pushed-a-bill-so-woke-even-the-new-york-times-has-doubts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has its doubts</a> about him.</p>
<p>From radical trans activism to legalizing prostitution and pedophilia, there&#8217;s almost nothing Wiener doesn&#8217;t want the state to permit — unless of course parents don&#8217;t want their minor children to undergo radical gender procedures, in which case he thinks the state should be able to take custody of those children.</p>
<p>Wiener&#8217;s record is almost too insane to believe, but The Daily Wire recently published the definitive account of this wannabe congressman. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meet-scott-wiener-nancy-pelosis-likely-replacement-probably-thinks-youre-a-bigot" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Give it a read here.</a></p>
<h3><b>Georgia</b></h3>
<p>Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff will be defending his seat against a Republican challenger yet to be determined. The current frontrunners are Reps. Mike Collins and Buddy Carter, and former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley.</p>
<p>The race is expected to be extraordinarily expensive, as Ossoff already has $21 million in cash on hand, according to Federal Election Commission<a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/S8GA00180/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> data</a>. Although it&#8217;s unclear who the nominee on the Republican side will be, millions are already pouring in for the individual candidates at this stage,<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inside-the-expensive-race-to-unseat-a-vulnerable-democratic-senator" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> The Daily Wire</a> reported in October.</p>
<p>Ossoff most recently made waves for his vote against reopening the government, a vote that Republicans will likely lord over him throughout the cycle.</p>
<h3><strong>But Wait, There&#8217;s More&#8230;</strong></h3>
<p>North Carolina’s Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is set to square off against Republican Michael Whatley. Former Senators John Sununu and Scott Brown are <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ex-gop-senator-enters-highly-competitive-race-in-hopes-to-flip-new-hampshire-red" target="_blank" rel="noopener">duking it out</a> in a New Hampshire primary. Redistricting battles are sure to make house races <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/americas-redistricting-battle-keeps-getting-messier" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spicy</a> in Texas, Indiana, North Carolina, and more. And just for fun, the weirdest scion of the Kennedy family is running alongside about a dozen other Democrats to represent a district in the heart of Zohran Mamdani&#8217;s Manhattan.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s going to be a heck of a cycle. Stick with The Daily Wire, we&#8217;ll be covering it all!</p>

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These Are The Most Important Races To Watch In The 2026 Midterms

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These Are The Most Important Races To Watch In The 2026 Midterms