The Senate map suddenly looks a lot better for Democrats. But still not a slam dunk. [View all]

[RandySF]

Democrats are starting to finally see their path back to power in the Senate — if they squint really, really hard.

Party leaders have landed top recruits in Ohio and North Carolina, both pickup opportunities. They hope a snowball effect will push their favorite candidate in Maine, another offensive target, into that race in a state former Vice President Kamala Harris won.

There are other, rockier potential targets: Perhaps they could finally win Texas, where Republicans are locked in a messy, expensive primary. Or Alaska, where senior Democrats are courting a dynamic former representative. Or maybe, they hope, Iowa could become a purple state again.

There’s no doubt that Republicans are still favored to hold onto the Senate after next year’s midterms. Democrats need to flip four GOP-held seats while also holding onto states that President Donald Trump won like Michigan and Georgia. Everything would have to go perfectly for them to pull it off — and this is not an era when things have typically gone perfectly for Democrats.




https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/15/senate-brown-ohio-cooper-north-carolina-00510180?nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&nname=playbook&nrid=c5db6854-8af2-4966-9f1d-dd3301b48325