US midterms 2026: Why Republicans are defending more red states as Democrats expand their fight

US midterms 2026: Republicans are defending more red states as Democrats target Georgia, Kansas, Nebraska and traditionally safe House districts.

Republicans are now defending Senate and House seats in states that were once considered safely Republican. Less than seven weeks before the 2026 midterm elections, the political battlefield has expanded into deeply Republican states and districts, including places that President Donald Trump carried by double-digit margins.

Georgia has become a major concern for Republicans. Republican strategists are privately discussing whether the Senate race there may have moved beyond the party’s reach. Democrat Jon Ossoff is running for re-election against Republican nominee Mike Collins, and Collins has trailed Ossoff in polls.

Georgia was once seen as one of the Republican-held Senate seats most likely to be competitive, but other races are now drawing Republican money too. Senate contests in Michigan and New Hampshire, where Democrats currently hold the seats, are also becoming more competitive for Republicans, according to strategists from both parties.

Georgia is also showing a major difference in campaign spending. As of Wednesday, it was the only one of the nine leading Senate battleground states where Republicans had not reserved more advertising money than Democrats, according to AdImpact data.

Some Republicans are discussing whether to move money away from Georgia and spend it elsewhere. At a recent donor meeting in Dallas, a presentation listed four Republican Senate candidates as key recruits: Ashley Hinson in Iowa, Michael Whatley in North Carolina, former Representative Mike Rogers in Michigan and former Senator John E. Sununu in New Hampshire.