Congressional Democrats widen 2026 battlefield, zero in on new House Republican targets
Emboldened congressional Democrats are expanding their battleground map for next year’s midterm elections, when Republicans will be defending their razor-thin majority in the House.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) on Wednesday added five more offensive opportunities in California, Texas, Florida and North Carolina to their list of what they consider are vulnerable Republican-held House districts.
The DCCC’s move comes in the wake of Democrats’ decisive ballot box victories in last month’s 2025 elections and their overperformance in last week’s special congressional showdown in a solidly red district in Tennessee, where a progressive Democratic nominee lost by nine percentage points, shaving 13 points off the margin that President Donald Trump carried the district in the 2024 election.
Four of the new districts the DCCC is adding to their list of “offensive targets” were carried by Trump by 13 points or fewer in last year’s elections. The president lost the fifth district added to the Democrats’ map.
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“The DCCC is confident we can win anywhere, and we are full speed ahead while Republicans are running scared,” Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington state, the DCCC chair, touted.
DelBene emphasized, “In election after election this year, voters have sent a simple message: they are ready for change. The American people are souring on Republicans’ broken promises to lower costs and their reckless policies that are making everything more expensive from groceries to health care, housing, and utilities.”
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The change in the DCCC’s map is also due to the ongoing high-stakes congressional redistricting battle between Republicans and Democrats, including Texas and North Carolina, where Republicans have created more right-leaning districts, but that Democrats still see as competitive, and California, where Democrats have redrawn maps to create more left-leaning seats.
The House members added to the list due to redistricting are Republican Reps. Darrell Issa of California, and Chuck Edwards and Greg Murphy of North Carolina. In Texas, the heavily redistricted 35th Congressional District in the San Antonio area was also added to the list.
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The new list also includes the seat held by GOP Rep. Laurel Lee of Florida, and Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, a large mostly rural district carried by Trump in his three presidential elections where incumbent Democratic Rep. Jared Golden is retiring rather than seek re-election next year.
Former two-term GOP Gov. Paul LePage of Maine is running for the seat.
The additions bring to 39 the number of House seats the DCCC considers to be “in play” next year.
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The rival National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) scoffed at the move by the DCCC.
“Democrats can daydream about ‘expanding’ the House map all they want, but reality keeps smacking them in the face. The Democrat Party is in a fight for its soul, dominated by far-left chaos and radical policies that don’t reflect the issues important to working families.” NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella argued in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Republicans, pointing to four GOP-held seats added to the DCCC’s map, noted their party’s electoral success in those districts over the past decade.
The NRCC is currently targeting what it considers are 29 vulnerable House Democrats in next year’s midterm elections.
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