11 races that could determine control of the Senate

Politics 11 races that could determine control of the Senate By Kaia Hubbard Kaia Hubbard Politics Reporter Kaia Hubbard is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C. Read Full Bio Kaia Hubbard Updated on: April 14, 2026 / 1:50 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Washington — Over a third of the Senate's seats are up for election in 2026, and until recently, Republicans appeared exceedingly confident about their prospects of remaining in control after the midterm elections this fall. While Republicans are defending more seats, many of them are in states that President Trump won by comfortable margins in the last election. With few opportunities for pickups and a handful of open seats to defend, the 2026 cycle has posed an uphill battle for Democrats. But the unpopular war with Iran and stubborn affordability issues have given Democrats cause to be more hopeful about their chances of flipping key seats and even winning control of the Senate. In CBS polling released last month, more voters said they'd prefer to see Democrats control Congress than Republicans.  Political wisdom holds that the party controlling the White House typically loses seats in the House in the midterm elections. Accordingly, Republicans are pushing to hold onto their majority of 53 in the upper chamber to avoid the possibility that Democrats might win majorities in both houses of Congress. Democrats must net four more seats to take the majority.Here are the key races that will decide control of of the upper chamber:Maine race pits governor against progressive oyster farmer in primary as Democrats vie to unseat Susan CollinsGOP Sen. Susan Collins is fighting to hold onto her seat in the Senate. The five-term senator has fended off a handful of challenges from Democrats in previous races. But whether she can prevail in a state that Kamala Harris won by almost seven points in 2024 remains to be seen.Maine Gov. Janet Mills and veteran and oyster far...