2026 midterms watch
Texas and Minnesota are gearing up for intense battles across the ideological spectrum
The 2026 midterms across the United States are going to be wild this year. As in most midterms, the elections will show how voters feel about the direction of the country. Recent immigration raids have pushed polling in favor of Democrats in generic matchups, adding to momentum from special elections in 2025. As we gear up for a year of campaigning, here are some of the races we are watching.
The Senate race in Texas is drawing a lot of attention
Democrats have been hopeful for years that Texas can flip a Republican seat to Democrats. Texas Democrats had hoped for more than one election cycle that Beto O’Rourke could take Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) seat. Sen. Cruz, who fled to California to avoid the latest winter storm in Texas, isn’t up for re-election this year.
However, longtime Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) has held his seat since 2002. He is facing his own challengers within the Republican Party in the primary. He is being challenged by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is in the middle of a divorce brought by his wife on biblical grounds.
On the Democrat side, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas 30th) and Texas State Rep. James Talarico are locked in a heated primary. Rep. Crockett made a name for herself holding powerful people accountable in Congressional hearings and refusing to back down or sanitize the truth. State Rep. Talarico was one of the Texas Democrats who fled the state to delay the vote on partisan-drawn Congressional maps.
The primary election is set for March 3, 2026.
All eyes are on Minnesota in the 2026 midterms
The Trump administration has honed in on Minnesota as part of its dangerous mass deportation campaign. The 2026 midterms in Minnesota experienced a shake-up when Gov. Tim Walz announced that he would not be seeking re-election to a third term. This prompted Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) to announce her candidacy for governor.
Sen. Klobuchar has served as senator for the Land of 10,000 Lakes for four terms. She is a well-liked politician in Minnesota who currently has a favorability rating of 50 percent, with 33 percent disapproving.
The Republican Party has two people running for governor. One is State House Speaker Lisa Demuth. The other is the former MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who is a Trump loyalist and peddled the election fraud conspiracy.
If national trends from last year carry over to 2026, things look good for Democrats. In the case of Minnesota, the unrelenting and violent raids that caused the death of two American citizens have galvanized voters.
There are several races around the country in the 2026 midterms, and we will be reporting on them throughout the year, so stay tuned.