Democrats got a top Senate recruit in North Carolina. Now they're trying to find more

CNN

4 days ago

Congressional news
Senate election
US elections
Donald TrumpFacebookTweetLink
Follow
Democrats landed the biggest recruiting win of the 2026 midterm elections to date when former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper launched his Senate run Monday, boosting party hopes of winning the seat opened by retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis.
They are looking for several more wins just like it to have a chance of flipping four Republican-held seats and going after a goal that seemed far out of reach earlier this cycle: taking the Senate majority next fall.
The Senate recruiting landscape has been a mixed bag for both parties with uncertainty over President Donald Trump's popularity, the role he'll play in Republican primaries, and questions about the political futures of several high-profile figures — both incumbents and potential candidates — hanging over the early stages of the election cycle.
Democrats hope they can run strong candidates in Maine and GOP-friendly states like Iowa and Texas. They also have to defend seats in four potentially competitive states: Georgia, where Sen. Jon Ossoff is up for reelection, and Michigan, Minnesota and New Hampshire, where the party's incumbents are all retiring.
In New Hampshire, Rep. Chris Pappas, another top Democratic recruit, is running for Senate, while on the Republican side, former Gov. Chris Sununu passed on the race. In Georgia, popular Republican Gov. Brian Kemp passed on a Senate race in a break for Ossoff. And in Maine, Democrats are hoping Gov. Janet Mills will challenge longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
But Democrats are trying to resolve conflicts in other races on the board and prevent drawn-out primaries that could hurt their chances next November.
'Governor Cooper is a formidable candidate who will flip North Carolina's Senate seat, and his announcement is the latest indication that the Republicans' Senate majority is at risk in 2026,' Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his Senate campaign chief, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, said in a statement to CNN.
Michigan's open Senate race is the one that most worries national Democrats, according to half a dozen lawmakers, senior aides and strategists.
Republicans are largely uniting behind former Rep. Mike Rogers, the party's losing nominee in the 2024 Senate race. Rogers got a boost in recent days when Rep. Bill Huizenga passed on a Senate run, a decision that followed a push from Trump and other Republicans to defend a potentially competitive House seat in western Michigan, a source familiar with the matter said.
Rogers' supporters argue that he now has advantages that he didn't when he lost last year to then-Rep. Elissa Slotkin, including a primary field free of other major contenders and stronger early fundraising.
Democrats are facing a competitive primary that includes three well-known contenders: Rep. Haley Stevens, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and progressive former gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
Several of the Democratic sources CNN spoke to said Schumer and his team have privately signaled they believe Stevens is the strongest general election candidate. In another nod to Stevens' Democratic establishment support, she earned an endorsement from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier this summer. And two people involved in Michigan politics said Gillibrand has privately encouraged donors to support Stevens.
A spokesperson for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee declined to comment on Gillibrand's behalf, but offered an upbeat statement that Democrats would hold the seat next November.
'Republicans have not won a Senate race in Michigan in 30 years — and 2026 will be no different with failed candidate Mike Rogers on the ballot,' spokesperson Maeve Coyle said in a statement.
Democrats there have also been surprised by the strong fundraising power of El-Sayed — backed by independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders — who has been urging his party to take a more aggressive stance on Trump.
Democrats in the state are still hoping they can unite behind a candidate before next August's primary. But there have been some hurdles, including interpersonal disputes between Slotkin and other major players in the state, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
They also fear that the state's race for governor won't help either: Mike Duggan, the popular Detroit mayor, has decided to run as an independent, potentially splintering the Democratic base and raising questions about what that could mean for Michigan's Senate and House races.
'I don't think people understand how dysfunctional the Senate race is,' one Michigan Democrat told CNN of the bruising three-way primary. 'If we don't pull people together, we are screwed.'
Texas is a red state, but Republicans face an increasingly bitter primary battle between Sen. John Cornyn and his conservative challenger, MAGA-aligned state Attorney General Ken Paxton — one that intensified with the news that Paxton's wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, had filed for divorce. National Republicans believe that Cornyn is in trouble, and pro-Cornyn groups are already spending heavily this summer in a bid to demonstrate he can keep pace with Paxton in polls.
A third potential candidate, Rep. Wesley Hunt, has not ruled out a bid and has been spending small sums on advertising, with more expected in the coming weeks. Another Republican often mentioned as a possible contender, Rep. Ronny Jackson, is one of Trump's closest allies in Texas. But two people familiar with discussions about Jackson's future said he is expected to remain in the House and one said he is interested in a Trump administration role in the future.
Democrats believe Paxton would be a weaker general election candidate if he wins the Republican primary. But they could face a messy primary of their own.
Former Rep. Colin Allred, the party's losing nominee in the 2024 Senate race, has already launched his campaign, with his supporters pointing to how he outran Kamala Harris in key parts of the state last November. Beto O'Rourke, who lost the 2018 Senate race and the 2022 governor's race, is also considering a run and is hitting the road like a candidate. He held 16 town halls across the state in May, June and July, including 12 in Republican-held congressional districts. And other Democrats are also considering Senate runs.
Some officials and donors have sought to steer potential Senate candidates into other races, urging state Rep. James Talarico to run for governor and US Rep. Joaquin Castro to run for attorney general, three people familiar with the matter said. However, it's not clear that Talarico or Castro are moving toward those races themselves.
Talarico told CNN last week he is 'certainly thinking about' running for higher office, and will make decisions about his political future after Texas' special legislative session, which began last week and can last no more than 30 days.
'Once that's over, I am going to look at how I can best serve, and that includes the US Senate,' Talarico said. 'I'm not taking anything off the table right now.'
Castro and his office did not respond to CNN's request for comment. He testified in a Texas legislative hearing last week, opposing a GOP push during the special session to redraw the state's congressional lines. Castro told state lawmakers they are 'being used by the White House and Donald Trump.'
O'Rourke's political action committee has hosted events with many of the Texas Democrats weighing statewide runs. Talarico, Castro, Rep. Jasmine Crockett and others spoke at a rally Friday in Austin. In late June, O'Rourke, Talarico and Castro all participated in a similar town hall in San Antonio hosted by O'Rourke's group.
Uncertainty looms over two other states Democrats hope to target: Ohio and Iowa.
The party's hopes of defeating Ohio Republican Sen. Jon Husted — who was appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine in January to fill the seat formerly held by Vice President JD Vance — largely depend on whether former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who lost his reelection bid in 2024, attempts a comeback.
Iowa is also a question mark, with operatives buzzing for months over rumors that Republican Sen. Joni Ernst — who faced backlash after dismissing concerns about Medicaid funding cuts by telling a crowd that 'we are all going to die' — could retire.
'There's always all kinds of chitter-chatter everywhere, but I have a lot left to do in the United States Senate, so I am not slowing down any time soon. We'll have an announcement this fall,' Ernst told Radio Iowa this month.
However, Republicans have a deep bench in the red state. Many within the party believe Rep. Ashley Hinson would be the favorite in a primary to replace Ernst.
The still-growing Democratic field in Iowa already includes state Rep. J.D. Scholten, state Sen. Zach Wahls and Knoxville Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Nathan Sage.
Another likely long shot for Democrats is Alaska, where Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan is up for reelection. Democrats are waiting for a decision from former Rep. Mary Peltola, who lost her House seat to GOP Rep. Nick Begich last year but is viewed as perhaps the only Democrat who could turn that Senate race into a competitive one.
CNN's Ed Lavandera contributed to this report.