US midterm elections 2026: Five key Senate races that could determine control of Congress

Americans head to the polls on Tuesday for midterm elections.

Ahead of the elections, here are The Jerusalem Post’s key Senate races to watch.

Michigan

The race between Democrat Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and MAGA favorite Mike Rogers has been the source of many national headlines.

El-Sayed has hammered his planks of universal healthcare and overall affordability in the state, but has gained significant attention for his criticism of Israel and outreach to Jewish voters.

Rogers’s platform mostly aligns with US President Donald Trump, and has specifically highlighted his plank of bringing manufacturing jobs back to America.

A poll recently released by CBS Detroit has El-Sayed leading by seven percentage points, or 51% to Rogers’s 44%.

Texas

Democrat James Talarico is poised to be the first Democrat to hold statewide office in conservative-stronghold Texas since the 1990s.

He is taking on the state’s Attorney-General Ken Paxton, a MAGA loyalist who has been plagued by scandals for the last decade.

Throughout the course of the campaign, Talarico has framed politics as a struggle between billionaires and working people. His platform includes raising the federal minimum wage, expanding universal childcare, raising public school teacher pay, creating pathways for long-term immigrants and DREAMers to gain US citizenship, and expanding pathways for legal immigration.

Paxton's platform includes Trump-aligned immigration policies, cutting taxes and government spending, America First foreign policy, and supporting crypto growth

Overall, Paxton promised to "carry the torch for Trump's agenda" on his website.

North Carolina

North Carolina could be one of the least competitive races on the ballot.

Though Trump endorsed ex-RNC chair Michael Whately in 2024, he admitted in October that he was “worried” about him.

Whately is running against two-term former governor Roy Cooper.

Whately’s platform is mostly focused on crime, immigration, and tax cuts. He supported Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill and has pledged to push Trump’s policies in the Senate.

Cooper’s “make stuff cost less” platform targets healthcare, child care, utility bills, and the standard cost of living in the state.

He’s pushed for expanded Medicaid access in the state, but has tried to pitch himself as an “independent voice” for voters on both sides of the aisle.

Cooper is currently leading in polls by 10 points, according to MS NOW.

Georgia

Jewish Sen. John Ossoff is defending his seat against GOP Congressman Mike Collins. Notably, Ossoff is the only Democrat in the Senate up for re-election in a state Trump won in the 2024 presidential race.

Ossoff’s platform calls for a ban on stock trading while in federal office, expanding rural broadband access, lowering housing prices, protecting abortion rights, and protecting voting rights. He is a critic of the war in Iran, but describes his support for Israel as “ironclad”, though he voted to block weapons sales in 2025.

Collins’s platform focuses on Trump-aligned immigration policies, rural hospital funding, reducing medicare spending, and other conservative fiscal policies that he claims will help small businesses.

Ossoff is up 52.6% to Collins’s 42.3% in the latest polls released by MS NOW.

Alaska

The race in Alaska has caused a stir after Republicans called for an investigation into a ballot-stacking scheme by Democrats.

Trump and his allies accused Democrat Mary Peltola of recruiting candidates with the same name as her and her opponent, Republican Dan Sullivan, to purposefully confuse voters when they cast their ballots.

Peltola has since denied the accusations and said that she is “not out soliciting more competition.”

“I knew nothing about any other candidates on the ballot except for me and the incumbent. That is all I have ever known about. I am not interested in tricking voters.”

Federal prosecutors are now investigating the matter.

Peltola’s platform includes targeting corruption and influence in Washington, more benefits for Alaskan military families, balancing oil production with environmental protections, and supporting the state’s fishing industry.

Sullivan’s platform includes pieces on energy strategy and environmental standards to support the energy industry.

Peltola is up by two percentage points, 50.2% to Sullivan’s 48.4%, in the race.

Notably, Democrats would need to win seven seats to gain a 51-seat majority in the Senate.

Additionally, the president’s party historically loses House seats in the midterms. The Trump administration and Republicans have stressed to their base for months the importance of voting.