Democrats have added six House seats Donald Trump carried by double digits in 2024 to their target list less than a month out from the midterms.
The reddest of the six are New York’s 21st District and Tennessee‘s redrawn 9th, both of which Trump won by 21 points. Blake Gendebien is running in the former and Justin Pearson in the latter.
Chris Jones is running in Arkansas‘ 2nd, which Trump carried by 16, and Eliott Rodriguez in Florida‘s 27th, which he won by 15.
Teresa Benitez-Thompson is contesting Nevada‘s open 2nd, which Trump won by 14, while Dwayne Romero is running in Colorado‘s 3rd, which he took by 10.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added the candidates to its ‘Red to Blue’ program on Sunday.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said ‘the strength of our frontline incumbent members is giving us the opportunity to more aggressively go on offense in places that Donald Trump won, in some instances, comfortably in 2024.’
Democrats are projected to pick up at least 15 House seats and between one and five in the Senate, according to Cook Political Report analysis published last month.
Republicans are also facing Democratic challenges for Senate seats in deep-red states, including Kansas, which hasn’t elected a Democrat to the chamber since 1932.
Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House alongside House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday
Teresa Benitez-Thompson (pictured) is contesting Nevada’s open 2nd, which Trump won by 14, while Dwayne Romero is running in Colorado’s 3rd, which he took by 10
The GOP’s own campaign chief, National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman Tim Scott, has conceded the race is in play.
‘I think if you look at Kansas, it’s a very competitive state, more competitive than I’d like to see it,’ Scott said on a press call on Wednesday, before adding, ‘but the fact of the matter is that we’re going to win in Kansas.’
Senator Roger Marshall is tied at 45 percent with Democrat Adam Hamilton, a megachurch pastor, according to a New York Times/Siena poll of 605 voters conducted between September 22 and 30.
Cook moved the race from ‘likely Republican’ to ‘lean Republican’ on September 23.
Marshall, a former OB-GYN, sued patients over unpaid medical bills, the New York Times reported, a controversy Cook cited when it shifted the race.
He has also faced residency questions since selling his Great Bend home 10 days after being sworn into the Senate in 2021, the Kansas City Star reported.
Democrats need to flip at least three seats in the House to regain control of the lower chamber, and four in the Senate, where Republicans hold a 53-47 advantage, including two independents who caucus with Democrats.
The current makeup of Congress is 218 Republicans to 214 Democrats, with one vacancy in each party and one seat held by Californian Kevin Kiley, a Republican who switched to independent earlier this year after his seat was redistricted.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York speaks during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, September 30, 2026
Senator Roger Marshall listens as Vice President JD Vance speaks during an event in Olathe, Kansas on September 14, 2026
The Iran war and its impact on the economy remains the number one issue facing Trump’s party.
Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana told reporters last week: ‘I’m not going to tell the voters, “Oh, it’s President Biden’s fault, and it’s not that bad, you shouldn’t believe your checkbooks.”‘
Kennedy, whose home state backed Trump by 22 points, added: ‘The main reason for the resurgence in inflation is the Iran war. I think they appreciate the truth, but they’re angry.’
