Congressional Democrats targeting dozens of House Republican-held seats in 2026 midterm battle for majority

The House Democrats’ campaign arm is taking aim at nearly three dozen Republican-held seats in the chamber as they aim to win back the majority in next year’s midterm elections.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) on Tuesday released its initial 2026 target list, which included 35 GOP-controlled seats, and launched an effort to fundraise for the party’s eventual nominees in each of the districts.

The DCCC emphasized that their moves signal that “Democrats are on offense and poised to win the majority in 2026.”

The unveiling of the DCCC list comes three weeks after the rival National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) went up with its initial target list, which took aim at 26 districts controlled by House Democrats.

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Republicans currently control the House, when the chamber returns to full strength, with a razor-thin 220-215 majority.

“House Republicans are running scared, and they should be. They’re tanking the economy, gutting Medicaid, abandoning our veterans, and making everything more expensive. In short, they’ve lost the trust of their constituents, and it’s going to cost them the majority,” DCCC Chair Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington State charged in a statement announcing the moves.

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While the Democratic Party experienced major setbacks in last November’s elections – losing control of the White House and their Senate majority – House Democrats took a small bite out of the GOP’s House majority.

The DCCC noted that their 2026 map “is more expansive than at the start of the 2024 cycle, reflecting a political environment of eroding public support for House Republicans.” 

The US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, March 4, 2025.  (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Democrats, pointing to last week’s elections in Wisconsin and Florida, emphasize that their voters are angry and energized to resist President Donald Trump’s sweeping and controversial moves during the opening months of his second tour of duty in the White House, and claimed that the contests were an appetizer of things to come in next year’s midterms.

And the DCCC argued that the House GOP’s “refusal to stand up to Donald Trump and Elon Musk threatens the health care benefits and income security millions of Americans have earned, makes our country less safe, and has sent our economy into a tailspin.”

DelBene, pointing to the NRCC earlier this year urging its members to avoid holding town hall discussions, also claimed that “House Republicans are so scared, they’ve decided to hide from the public.”

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The districts the House Democrats are targeting are currently held by Rep. Nick Begich of Alaska (AK-AL), Reps. David Schweikert (AZ-01), Eli Crane (AZ-02), and Juan Ciscomani (AZ-06) of Arizona, Reps. David Valadao (CA-22), Young Kim (CA-40), and Ken Calvert (CA-41) of California, Rep. Gabe Evans (CO-08) of Colorado, Reps. Cory Mills (FL-07), Anna Paulina Luna (FL-13) and Maria Elvira Salazar (FL-27) of Florida, Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01), Ashley Hinson (IA-02) and Zach Nunn (IA-03) of Iowa, Rep. Andy Barr (KY-06) of Kentucky, Reps. Bill Huizenga (MI-04), Tom Barrett (MI-07), and John James (MI-10) of Michigan, Rep. Ann Wagner (MO-02) of Missouri, Rep. Don Bacon (NE-02) of Nebraska, Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (NJ-07) of New Jersey, Rep.  Mike Lawler (NY-17) of New York, Reps. Max Miller (OH-07), Mike Turner (OH-10) and Mike Carey (OH-15) of Ohio, Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01), Ryan Mackenzie (PA-07), Rob Bresnahan (PA-08) and Scott Perry (PA-10) of Pennsylvania, Rep. Andy Ogles (TN-05) of Tennessee, Rep. Monica De La Cruz (TX-15) of Texas, Reps. Rob Wittman (VA-01) and Jen Kiggans (VA-02) of Virginia, and Reps. Bryan Steil (WI-01) and Derrick Van Orden (WI-03) of Wisconsin.

The DCCC said it was also launching nominee fund pages, which it said provides “a way for grassroots donors to contribute now so that resources are available to the eventual Democratic nominee in these Districts in Play.”

While the party in power, which clearly is the Republicans, traditionally faces serious political headwinds in the midterm elections, the NRCC is optimistic they can defend their majority.

Rep. Richard Hudson (N.C.), Chair of National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), speaks on Day 4 of the Republican National Convention (RNC), at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S., July 18, 2024.  (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

“If you look at the landscape for the 2026 election, there are only three Republicans in districts that [former vice president and 2024 Democratic presidential nominee] Kamala Harris carried, but there are 13 Democrats in seats that Donald Trump carried, and half of those are majority Hispanic districts that President Trump has really put in play for us,” NRCC chair Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina reiterated Monday in a Fox News Digital interview.

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The NRCC also points to the growing number of House Democrats who are seeking statewide office in 2026 rather than running for re-election.

Hudson said the trend would “absolutely” help the GOP defend the majority next year.

“It’s much easier to win an open seat than a seat with a Democrat incumbent who’s entrenched.,” Hudson said. “I think it’s incredibly helpful, and I think you’re going to see a whole lot more Democrats running for other offices and retiring.”