Editorial: The challenges Democrats face on path to Senate majority

Baltimore Sun Editorial Board, The Baltimore Sun on Oct 27, 2026

Published in Op Eds

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Democrats have a path to the Senate majority, but it runs through a difficult map. They must defend competitive seats and win several Republican-held states. Their choices in Maine and Michigan have complicated that effort, while New Hampshire, once viewed as a safe Democratic hold, is now a real contest.

Maine was supposed to be Democrats’ clearest pickup opportunity. The party nominated Graham Platner to challenge Sen. Susan Collins, then had to start over when Platner withdrew amid serious personal allegations, which he denied. Democrats selected former state Senate President Troy Jackson as his replacement. Jackson is now the nominee, but Republicans had months to portray the party as careless about vetting and divided over its direction. His support for Medicare for All and dismantling ICE also gives Collins an opening to argue that Democrats are out of step with Maine voters.

Michigan presents a different risk. Abdul El-Sayed defeated Rep. Haley Stevens in the Democratic primary. His platform includes Medicare for All and abolishing ICE. Those positions energized progressive voters, but Republicans were eager to face him: Their campaign arm attacked his views during the primary, and Republican-aligned groups have invested heavily in defining him as radical. El-Sayed now faces Mike Rogers in a state Democrats must hold to have a chance at the majority.

New Hampshire adds another warning. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s retirement opened a seat Democrats once expected to hold comfortably. Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas now faces former Republican Sen. John Sununu. Pappas leads in recent polls, but Sununu’s name recognition and the state’s competitive politics make this a genuine race. Democrats cannot treat the seat as settled while Republicans are working to turn it into a pickup opportunity.

Together, these contests are becoming a national argument about what the Democratic Party stands for. Republicans can point to Maine and Michigan and say the Democratic agenda is too far left, then use the same charge against candidates in other battlegrounds even when their records and positions differ. That can force Democrats in states such as Iowa, Ohio and Texas to spend precious campaign time explaining how they differ from the party’s most progressive voices. This is an inference from the way Republicans have used El-Sayed’s platform to define him and from the importance of those states to the Senate map.

The answer is not for Democrats to abandon their principles. It is to nominate candidates who can advance those principles without embracing positions many voters see as far outside the mainstream. A primary victory shows a candidate can win over party voters; it does not prove that candidate can build a statewide majority. Democrats must also explain how their proposals would address the costs voters face in housing, healthcare, groceries and energy.

Control of the Senate may turn on a handful of states. Maine’s disrupted nomination, Michigan’s ideological primary and New Hampshire’s newly competitive open seat show how quickly the path can narrow. Democrats must answer the central question: Can they build a coalition broad enough to govern, or will their nomination battles give Republicans a simple story to tell voters everywhere?

_____