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The top 10 Senate seats most likely to flip, less than two weeks before the midterms

With the November election in sight, Democratic excitement about the party winning control of the US Senate is running high, but it’s far from a sure bet.

CNNArlette Saenz, David Wright查看原文 ↗
中期选举不到两周,最有可能易手的10个参议院席位

With the November election in sight, Democratic excitement about the party winning control of the US Senate is running high, but it’s far from a sure bet.

Democrats have a 10-point advantage over Republicans nationwide in voters’ choice in their own congressional district, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS . President Donald Trump’s approval rating sits at 33% among US adults, the CNN Poll of Polls average shows, and cost-of-living concerns, including the economic fallout from the war with Iran, weigh heavily on many voters’ minds.

But the red makeup of this year’s Senate map should not be underestimated. Trump won many of the most competitive states on this list in 2024 by double digits, and Republicans are dedicating large sums for advertising to defend their turf. A review of AdImpact data for the final two weeks of the midterms shows more than $300 million pouring into races from both sides for the 10 seats on this list.

Kansas and New Hampshire have switched spots on this list as the Midwest as a whole grows more competitive in recent weeks. We also included four other states we consider to be on the bubble, offering potential surprises on Election Day.

Our ranking of the seats most likely to flip in November is based on CNN reporting, including conversations with strategists involved in Senate races, as well as our analysis of candidate fundraising, polling and the partisan environment in the states. The rankings are a snapshot of where the contests stand at this point and can shift as the midterm election season enters its final days.

The Senate is up for grabs. Plot each party’s best path to winning

North Carolina once again sits atop the list, as Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper is leading in polls over GOP candidate Michael Whatley. Republicans have pulled back on their spending in the race with GOP groups reserving only $2.5 million for the final two weeks of the campaign compared to the $13.2 million from Democrats, according to AdImpact data.

No midterms contest is expected to see more ad spending over the final two weeks of the election than Ohio, with about $75 million combined remaining. A CNN Poll of Polls average shows Democrat Sherrod Brown, a former senator, with a narrow advantage over Republican Sen. Jon Husted, 49% to 44%. That includes a recent CNN poll conducted by SSRS that showed Brown is more well-known and better viewed than Husted, who was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Vice President JD Vance.

Gene J. Puskar/AP/File

Like much of the Senate landscape, Ohio is a state Trump won by double digits. But the president is deeply underwater in the state, with only 36% of likely voters approving of his performance, the CNN poll found.

Brown is hoping to ride anti-Trump sentiment into November and is seizing on political vulnerabilities for Republicans in his ads, including a new TV spot knocking Husted over data centers and the Epstein files.

Jeff Dean/Getty Images

Trump is working to rally the GOP base, holding two events in Ohio and another in neighboring Kentucky, which borders Cincinnati, just this month. Republicans are on track to outspend Democrats here in the final two weeks by about $9 million.

One wildcard: An 11th-hour ad from Republican gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign featuring his opponent’s estranged mother. Husted distanced himself from the video, telling The Associated Press, “I would not have run that ad.”

Alaska keeps its spot at No. 3. Democrat Mary Peltola, a former congresswoman, appears to be in a strong position against Republican GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan.

Nathaniel Wilder/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Polling in the large, remote state has been sparse, but a New York Times/Siena poll released earlier this month showed Peltola up 7 points over Sullivan.

The two candidates clashed in a debate last week. Sullivan questioned Peltola’s character as he cited allegations that she mistreated her staff, while the Democrat accused the senator of lying and dishonesty.

The debate also highlighted the difficult position Trump’s war with Iran has created for GOP candidates. Sullivan said the war “needs to end soon” as the economic fallout has hit the state, where gas prices are particularly high.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins is locked in one of her toughest reelection bids yet against Democrat Troy Jackson.

Charly Triballeau/AFP/Getty Images

Recent polling has shown no clear leader, but much of the race hinges on frustration with the president and Collins, who Democrats argue doesn’t stand up to Trump when it matters most. Her vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who later joined the majority that overturned Roe v. Wade, has made abortion rights an issue in this contest.

Collins is the only Republican senator running in a state won by former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024. But Collins has defied her state’s leftward lean in the past and promoted the benefits she’s brought to Maine as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. On Wednesday, she campaigned with former West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, who switched his party affiliation from Democrat to independent.

In the final two weeks, Republicans are on track to spend nearly $17 million, compared to about $14 million from Democrats.

The race between Democrat James Talarico and Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton is generating some of the biggest attention of this midterm cycle.

A CNN Poll of Polls average in the Senate race shows a tight race between Talarico and Paxton, 49% to 47%. The new Fox News poll finds a tied contest there. While most of the surveys included show the race within the margin of error, none have found an advantage for Paxton.

One of the biggest developments in this race since the last rankings: A frenzy over Talarico’s more than weeklong absence from the campaign trail , sparking conspiracy theories promoted by Republicans about his whereabouts. Talarico set the record straight in a CNN and Jubilee Media town hall, saying he had the flu and calling the conspiratorial focus a distraction from the issues that matter to voters.

Talarico’s ability to make this race so competitive and Paxton’s political baggage are giving Democrats hope they finally might break their 32-year losing streak in statewide races. But to do so, Talarico must still win in a state Trump carried by nearly 14 points in 2024.

The GOP’s money bomb to save Paxton, fueled in large part by political groups linked to tech billionaire Elon Musk , will continue into the final two weeks. Republicans are set to spend three times what Democrats have reserved, even if the massive amount of spending may not be dinging Talarico’s standing as much as Republican strategists had hoped.

All told, Republicans are set to spend more than $380 million on ads for the Senate race in Texas, including the primary and the general election – a staggering total for a state that the GOP has dominated .

The race between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and former Rep. Mike Rogers has become one of the most contentious matchups of the year.

A new CNN Poll of Polls average showed no clear leader, with El-Sayed at an average of 49% among likely voters and Rogers at an average of 47%.

The Muslim Brotherhood has emerged as a flashpoint in the campaign as Republicans attempt to cast El-Sayed as sympathetic to the interests of Islamic terror. El-Sayed, who would become the first Muslim senator if elected, last weekend denounced the Muslim Brotherhood in a heated exchange at a campaign event while also arguing he’s been unfairly accused of the same “dual loyalties” that former Presidents John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama were.

On Saturday, Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed responded to an attendee who asked him to disavow the Muslim Brotherhood, saying he's "running for Senate and happens to be Muslim."

Both candidates are facing real challenges. El-Sayed still needs to win over Black voters who sided with his opponent in the Democratic primary and Jewish Democrats skeptical of his candidacy . Rogers is grappling with Trump’s unpopularity in the state, as a recent Marist survey showed 44% of likely voters viewed their decision as mainly against Trump.

But Republicans are set to outspend Democrats by almost double over the final two weeks, about $27.2 million to $15 million.

Trump will campaign in the state on Sunday in Port Huron, across the border from Canada, while Obama will appear with El-Sayed for a Detroit rally Saturday that could help with Black voters.

Michigan is key to Democrats’ path to the Senate majority, and this race feels far from settled. If El-Sayed loses, it would require Democrats to win at least five Republican-held seats, many in states Trump won by double digits in 2024.

A CNN Poll of Polls average shows no clear leader here, with Democrat Josh Turek polling at 47% and Republican Ashley Hinson at 46%. A CNN poll conducted by SSRS last month found likely voters favored a Republican-controlled Senate (53% to 46%).

Charlie Neibergall/AP

Trump won the state by double digits in 2024, and his approval rating in the state stands at 41%, higher than the national average. But economic headwinds are playing heavily in the race. About three-quarters of people in the state say the president’s policies have increased the cost of living.

Turek could benefit from a strong performance by the Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand, who has led his GOP opponent in polls.

Republicans are set to spend about $23.5 million in Iowa and Democrats close to $30 million.

Kansas moves up one spot to No. 8 as Republicans race to save this seat in a state that hasn’t elected a Democratic senator in 94 years .

Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal/USA Today Network/Imagn Images

Democrat Adam Hamilton is running a competitive race against GOP Sen. Roger Marshall. A NYT/Siena poll last month showed the two candidates tied.

Hamilton, a Methodist megachurch pastor, describes himself as an “independent-minded Democrat” and would need the support of Republican voters in a state Trump carried by 16 points in 2024. Marshall, a doctor, is contending with voter frustration on the economy and the Iran war while facing backlash over a New York Times report detailing his tactic of suing hundreds of patients for outstanding medical bills.

Both parties are surging resources to the state few envisioned would be in play at the start of the cycle, each party with more than $11 million booked over the last two weeks.

In a sign of the party’s shifting resources, the GOP is set to spend more in Kansas during this period than in Georgia and North Carolina combined. And Trump campaigned with Marshall in the state this week, casting the race as a choice between “radical” Democrats who will destroy America and a continuation of his self-described “golden age.”

New Hampshire moves down one spot as Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas appears on more stable ground in his contest against GOP former Sen. John Sununu.

Joseph Preziozo/AFP/Getty Images

A University of New Hampshire poll conducted in September showed Pappas up 8 points over Sununu while a NYT/Siena survey showed the race within the margin of error.

One factor aiding Pappas is Trump’s unpopularity in the state as the NYT/Siena poll showed his approval rating at 38%. While his opponent works to link him to Trump, Sununu has gone as far as releasing a TV ad this week distancing himself from the president, saying “I’ve never even met the man.”

Pappas has embraced high-profile Democrats campaigning on his behalf, including an upcoming visit from Harris, who won the state by 3 points in 2024.

Georgia sits at the bottom of the battleground states most likely to flip in November as Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff appears to have a lock on the state Trump won in 2024. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll conducted by the University of Georgia found Ossoff with an 8-point lead over Republican Rep. Mike Collins, 48% to 40%.

It could be argued that the state should move off this list entirely. But Georgia was included in the rankings from the beginning. Its low position now reflects the GOP’s lost opportunity in one of their few offensive targets outlined at the start of the cycle.

The list above includes many toss-up states that could determine the midterm election. But there is another tier of states on the bubble where a variety of factors could cause a surprise upset on Election Day. Here are those states – two in the Midwest and two in the South – that we’re watching in the final stretch:

GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts is facing off against Dan Osborn, an independent candidate who unsuccessfully ran for Senate in 2024. Nebraska is another midwestern state Trump won in 2024 that is now feeling the economic pinch from Trump’s war with Iran. Republicans are set to spend $10 million in the final weeks compared to nearly $6 million from Osborn and his allies.

Republican Sen. Darline Graham is running against Democrat Annie Andrews, a pediatrician, for a full term after being appointed to her late brother Sen. Lindsey Graham’s seat. Darline Graham entered the race with little political experience of her own, and the GOP has sent in reinforcements to prevent this seat from moving toward Democrats. The GOP-aligned Senate Leadership Fund has allotted $5 million for ads in the final two weeks, and Trump campaigned in the Palmetto State on Wednesday. Voters have not elected a Democratic senator in the state in nearly three decades.

Minnesota has largely flown under the radar in this election, but a GOP win has the potential to sneak up on Democrats’ efforts to hold this blue seat. Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan is facing off against Republican Michele Tafoya, a former sports broadcaster turned conservative activist. The GOP feels the state’s welfare fraud scandal hurts Flanagan. But Republicans have not spent substantive money to try to move the needle in the race, and Flanagan could be aided by Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s appearance on the ballot in the governor’s race.

Mississippi is another southern state Democrats believe could end up in play with their nominee, Scott Colom, challenging GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. Colom’s allies argue the GOP’s political headwinds and the state’s sizable percentage of Black voters (35%) could work in their favor. The Democrat-aligned Senate Majority PAC announced a $1.2 million ad campaign this week and Harris is expected to join Colom on Thursday. In one buzzy ad, Colom’s campaign mocked Hyde-Smith for a comment suggesting there are “so many proteins to choose from” when asked about rising beef prices.

This is still a state Trump won by 23 points, making it an uphill battle for Democrats. But in one sign of its potential competitiveness, the president plans to campaign in Mississippi on Monday.

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