Democrats Just Might Win the Senate
Democrats are looking to expand their Senate majority by targeting seats in Alaska, North Carolina, Ohio, and Maine. The party's prospects are bolstered by President Trump's low approval ratings and public dissatisfaction with the economy and ongoing conflicts.
Why it matters
The outcome of these races will determine control of the US Senate, significantly impacting the legislative agenda for the remainder of the presidential term.
The basic contours of the national map remain uphill for Democrats. They currently hold 47 seats in the Senate, meaning they need to flip four Republican seats and hold their current ones, including in Michigan and Georgia, which President Donald Trump won in 2024.
But presiding over an unpopular Iran war that has dragged on for six months and resulted in high gas and grocery prices, Trump’s approval rating is now consistently below 40 percent, a historically perilous level. A Reuters/Ipsos poll has shown his approval nearing 30 percent.
The last time a Republican president was presiding over an unpopular war and spiking gas prices with less than 40 percent approval—George W. Bush in 2006—Democrats picked up six seats and took control of the Senate.
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