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SSPA 2026 Flip the Senate Slate

AK – Rep. Mary Peltola

ME – Troy Jackson

OH – Sherrod Brown

GA – Sen. Jon Ossoff

MI – Abdul El-Sayed

TX – James Talarico

IA- Josh Turek  

NC – Roy Cooper

AK – Mary Peltola

A candidate who has already proven her ability to win statewide, Mary Peltola (D) is seeking to unseat the two-term Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan in this challenging red-leaning state of Alaska. Peltola was the first Alaskan Native elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where she served from 2022-2025. She has also served in the Alaska House of Representatives, and in leadership positions for several tribal and local government entities. As a member of Congress, Peltola was a member of the Blue Dog Coalition and exemplifies the independent mindedness of Alaskans, who describe her as having “her boots on the ground, on the riverbanks, and in the mud.” In the Senate, she wants to focus on affordability issues and on “fixing the rigged system in D.C.” by establishing 12-year term limits, stopping insider trading, and strengthening campaign finance laws. Although early in the year for a cold weather state like Alaska, Peltola started traveling statewide this spring, and has already gained ground against Sullivan according to early May polls showing her with a slight lead.

GA – Jon Ossoff

Jon Ossoff is running to keep his Senate seat. Both Georgia Senate seats are held by Democrats and Republicans are hell bent on taking back one of them. This will be an expensive race and a must-win for the Democrats. Ossoff is y oung, energetic, articulate, scandal free, working hard for Georgians. He was born in Atlanta, attended Georgetown University the got a master’s degree from the London School of Economics. Ossoff wor ked on the Hill with John Lewis and ran an investigative tv production company. He won his Senate seat in 2020 by 1.2 points after a runoff with former GA Senator David Perdue. Ossoff attracts large crowds and holds regular rallies around the state. He is investigating things like ICE detention centers and mistreatment and deaths in prisons. Trump won Georgia in 2024 by 2.2 points; Biden won by .2 points in 2020. The presumed challenger is MAGA Rep Mike Collins.

IA – Josh Turek

With incumbent Joni Ernst retiring, Democrats have found a terrific candidate to flip this crucial Senate seat. Josh Turek is a member of the state House of Representatives from Des Moines. He has a short but impressive electoral track record =- having won his first election by six votes, which he credits to his hard work canvassing. He was born with spina bifida from his father’s exposure to agent orange in Viet-Nam and is confined to a wheel chair. He also is a two-time gold medal winner as part of the men’s paralympic basketball team. Josh is campaigning on important issues such as reducing the price of prescription drugs, achieving Social Security solvency without benefit cuts and cracking down on monopolies. He has a robust fundraising operation but his Republican opponent has significantly more cash on hand.

ME – Troy Jackson

The race for the Maine Senate seat has been regrettably dramatic – with the eloquent (faux-?) populist Graham Platner forced to drop out after multiple revelations about allegations of sexual abuse. But Democrats in Maine organized quickly and coalesced behind Troy Jackson, a former state senator and state assembly member, union organizer, and fifth generation logger from the far north of the state. The son of a 16-year-old single mother, he got involved in politics to protect his fellow loggers from anti-worker practices, Troy Jackson is the genuine working class populist candidate many Mainers saw in Platner.

Jackson faces Republican Susan Collins, the chair of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee seeking her sixth six-year term. Despite boasting of her ability to direct funding to every county in Maine, Collins is remarkably unpopular, in part because of her failure to stand up to Trump when it matters most. She has voted against Trump nominees like the odious Todd Blanche, for example, only when she knows that the nominee will pass with other Republican votes. Mainers are on to this, and Jackson will run hard on issues of affordability, anger at Trump policies, and genuine commitment to the interests of Mainers. Jackson holds a slight lead over Collins in early polling, but faces an enormous financial disadvantage.

MI – Abdul El-Sayed

Mike Rogers is running for the Senate in Michigan just two years after he narrowly lost the 2024 Senate race to then-Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin. He previously served in the House for 15 years. He has the endorsement of President Trump. If he wins, he will be a another bland but consistent soldier for Trump. He would vote along party lines to inflict the likes of Todd Blanche, RFk Jr, Pete Hegseth, and countless new blights on our body politic.

But it need not be so. His opponent in November will be Abdul El-Sayed, a Rhodes Scholar, physician, epidemiologist and the former Director of Health, Human, and Veterans Services of Wayne County (Detroit). He now has the gracious support of Haley Stevens, whom he defeated in the closely fought Democratic primary held August 4th. El-Sayed, an engaging and eloquent speaker, won on a platform of “Money out of politics. Money in your pocket. Medicare for All” – repeated and chanted back in call-and-response fashion by enthusiastic supporters across the state. He proudly rejected PAC and corporate funding. His volunteer supporters knocked on over 200,000 doors before the primary. He will need all that energy, his considerable union support, and more from people like us to overcome Rogers’s financial advantage.

Let’s do our part to keep Mike Rogers out of the Senate once again.

NC – Roy Cooper

Roy Cooper, a fomer two-term governor, is running for Senate in North Carolina – perhaps the purplest of states. Democratic Senate nominees in NC have come close but it has been 18 long and frustrating years since a Democrat has pulled off a win. Cooper is the kind of candidate that can break the streak. He left office with high approval ratings and he is a great campaigner. As governer, he expanded Medicaid to provide health insurance to over 600,000 people; he created more than half a million new jobs and raised teacher pay in an effort to keep more people in the profession. As governor, he pushed North Carolina toward a clean energy economy and set goals for carbon neutrality. In contrast, his opponent is a former oil company executive and the former chair of the national Republican Party under President Trump. Roy Cooper’s campaign is an essential step in the Democrats’ effort to retake the Senate and part of a larger effort to rebuild the state party for 2028 and beyond.

OH – Sherrod Brown

This election is among the keys to flipping the US Senate for Democrats. Two years ago, Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown lost his seat to Republican Bernie Moreno while the Trump/Vance ticket took the state. As JD Vance vacated his seat to become vice president, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine appointed Republican Jon Husted to fill it. Now Brown seeks a return to the Senate with a special election victory over Husted in November. In his tenure in the Senate, Brown earned a strong reputation on progressive issues, especially on the economy, the environment and financial regulation and reform. Brown is in a tough race in a swing state, but he’s won election to the Senate three times and Trump’s economic policies have hurt Ohions badly during the past 18 months. This will be a close race. Currently, it is rated “Lean Republican” by the Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball. Race to the White House rates it a toss-up and the New York Times aggregate of polls is 3 to 6 points in favor of Husted. But Trump’s policies make a Brown victory within reach. And that victory would be a major step toward Democrats regaining the Senate majority.

TX – James Talarico

This promises to be among the most exciting races of 2026. Now that Texan Republicans have chosen scandal-plagued Ken Paxton as their candidate and Democrats have in special elections seen gains among Hispanic voters, a statewide seat in Texas could go blue for the first time in decades and potentially help deliver Democratic control of the Senate. The Democratic candidate, James Talerico has already ignited excitement about his inclusive campaign seeking to expand the Texas Democratic coalition. Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian and former public school teacher, has been a member of the Texas House of Representatives since 2018. His campaign’s message — unity against billionaires who seek to divide people, and a willingness welcome Republicans and independents into the fold, despite political differences – has been well received by Texas voters. While Talarico has the fundraising advantage right now, we know that with GOP primary over, the Republican party is expected to pour tens of millions of dollars into this race to support Paxton. Running in an expensive media market, Talarico will need help to win this race against the formidable GOP fundraising machine.