2026 Senate Elections: Complete Race and Candidate Guide

Thirty-five U.S. Senate seats are on the ballot in 2026, including special elections in Florida and Ohio. The general election is Tuesday, November 3, 2026.

Republicans currently hold a 53–47 Senate majority. The Democratic total includes two independents who caucus with Democrats, meaning Democrats need a net gain of four seats to win control of the chamber in 2027.

This page tracks every 2026 Senate contest, the incumbent or open-seat status, current Democratic and Republican candidates, notable independent or third-party candidates, and any remaining primary or runoff dates. Use the search box to find a state or candidate, or sort the table by any column.

2026 Senate elections at a glance

Complete list of 2026 Senate races and candidates

Table last updated August 20, 2026. Candidate and nomination status will be revised as the remaining primaries and runoffs are completed.

State	Incumbent / Seat Status	Democratic Candidate	Republican Candidate	Primary / Runoff
Alabama	Tommy Tuberville (R) — retiring to run for governor	Everett Wess	Barry Moore	May 19; runoff June 16
Alaska	Dan Sullivan (R) — running	Mary Peltola; David B. Leslie	Dan Sullivan; Dan J. Sullivan	Aug. 18
Arkansas	Tom Cotton (R) — running	Hallie Shoffner	Tom Cotton	March 3; runoff March 31
Colorado	John Hickenlooper (D) — running	John Hickenlooper	Mark Baisley	June 30
Delaware	Chris Coons (D) — running	Primary: Chris Coons, Jeff Appelhans, E. No-Trump Hansen, Mary Louve	Primary: Michael Katz, John Shulli	Sept. 15
Florida	Ashley Moody (R) — appointed; running	Angela Nixon	Ashley Moody	Aug. 18
Georgia	Jon Ossoff (D) — running	Jon Ossoff	Mike Collins	May 19; runoff June 16
Idaho	Jim Risch (R) — running	David Roth	Jim Risch	May 19
Illinois	Dick Durbin (D) — retiring	Juliana Stratton	Don Tracy	March 17
Iowa	Joni Ernst (R) — not seeking reelection	Josh Turek	Ashley Hinson	June 2
Kansas	Roger Marshall (R) — running	Adam Hamilton	Roger Marshall	Aug. 4
Kentucky	Mitch McConnell (R) — retiring	Charles Booker	Andy Barr	May 19
Louisiana	Bill Cassidy (R) — defeated in primary	Jamie Davis	Julia Letlow	May 16; runoff June 27
Maine	Susan Collins (R) — running	Troy Dale Jackson	Susan Collins	June 9
Massachusetts	Ed Markey (D) — running	Primary: Ed Markey, Seth Moulton	John Deaton	Sept. 1
Michigan	Gary Peters (D) — retiring	Abdul El-Sayed	Mike Rogers	Aug. 4
Minnesota	Tina Smith (D) — retiring	Peggy Flanagan	Michele Tafoya	Aug. 11
Mississippi	Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) — running	Scott Colom	Cindy Hyde-Smith	March 10; runoff April 7
Montana	Steve Daines (R) — not seeking reelection	Alani Bankhead	Kurt Alme	June 2
Nebraska	Pete Ricketts (R) — running	No Democratic nominee	Pete Ricketts	May 12
New Hampshire	Jeanne Shaheen (D) — retiring	Primary led by Chris Pappas; additional Democratic candidates	Primary led by John Sununu and Scott Brown; additional Republican candidates	Sept. 8
New Jersey	Cory Booker (D) — running	Cory Booker	Justin Murphy	June 2
New Mexico	Ben Ray Lujan (D) — running	Ben Ray Lujan	Larry E. Marker	June 2
North Carolina	Thom Tillis (R) — retiring	Roy Cooper	Michael Whatley	March 3; runoff May 12
Ohio	Jon Husted (R) — appointed; running	Sherrod Brown	Jon Husted	May 5
Oklahoma	Alan Armstrong (R) — appointed; not seeking full term	Runoff: Jim Priest, N'Kiyla Thomas	Kevin Hern	June 16; runoff Aug. 25
Oregon	Jeff Merkley (D) — running	Jeff Merkley	David Brock Smith	May 19
Rhode Island	Jack Reed (D) — running	Primary: Jack Reed, Connor Burbridge, Luis Daniel Munoz	Raymond McKay	Sept. 9
South Carolina	Darline Graham (R) — appointed; running	Annie Andrews	Runoff: Darline Graham, Ralph Norman	Aug. 11; runoff Aug. 25
South Dakota	Mike Rounds (R) — running	No Democratic nominee	Mike Rounds	June 2; runoff July 28
Tennessee	Bill Hagerty (R) — running	Marquita Bradshaw	Bill Hagerty	Aug. 6
Texas	John Cornyn (R) — defeated in primary runoff	James Talarico	Ken Paxton	March 3; runoff May 26
Virginia	Mark Warner (D) — running	Mark Warner	Bert Mizusawa	Aug. 4
West Virginia	Shelley Moore Capito (R) — running	Rachel Fetty Anderson	Shelley Moore Capito	May 12
Wyoming	Cynthia Lummis (R) — retiring	James Byrd	Harriet Hageman	Aug. 18

Remaining 2026 Senate primaries and runoffs

Most Senate nominees have already been selected. The principal nomination contests still pending as of August 20 are:

• Oklahoma Democratic runoff: August 25
• South Carolina Republican special-election runoff: August 25
• Massachusetts primary: September 1
• New Hampshire primary: September 8
• Rhode Island primary: September 9
• Delaware primary: September 15

Senate races to watch in 2026

The contests drawing the most national attention include open seats, recent battleground states, and states where a strong challenger could affect control of the Senate. Among the races to follow are Alaska, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas.

Separate race pages can build on this directory with polling averages, candidate profiles, fundraising totals, election forecasts, and an AI-assisted Senate model. This master list will remain the central index linking those state pages together.

Sources and update policy

Candidate and election-status information was compiled from Ballotpedia’s 2026 Senate election directory, the Federal Election Commission, and official state election agencies. Race-status information should be treated as current through the date shown above; pending contests will be updated after results are certified.