New CNN Poll: Democrats Lead in Key Senate Battlegrounds
James Talarico and Abdul El-Sayed have opened up substantial leads
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
New CNN Poll: Democrats Lead in Key Senate Battlegrounds
CNN’s latest polls show Democrats with leads in Michigan and Texas, and tight races in Maine and Kansas, putting them in a strong position to potentially take control of the Senate in the 2026 midterms The Sacramento Bee +1 .
Key Findings
According to CNN’s SSRS-conducted surveys (Oct. 20–27, 2026), Democrats are ahead in four pivotal Senate races The Sacramento Bee +1 :
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Michigan – Democrat Abdul El‑Sayed leads Republican Mike Rogers by 7 points (49%–42%), outside the ±4.7% margin of error. This is a long‑shot GOP seat The Sacramento Bee .
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Texas – Democrat James Talarico leads Attorney General Ken Paxton by 6 points (49%–43%). Texas last elected a Democrat in 1988 The Sacramento Bee .
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Maine – Democrat Troy Jackson leads Republican Sen. Susan Collins by 4 points (49%–45%), within the ±4.5% margin of error The Sacramento Bee +1 .
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Kansas – Democrat Adam Hamilton leads Sen. Roger Marshall by 4 points (49%–45%), in a race where Democrats haven’t won a Senate seat since 1932 The Sacramento Bee .
Political Context
Republicans currently hold a 53–47 Senate majority . Democrats need to flip four seats to reach a 51–49 majority, which would also protect their majority from the vice presidential tiebreaker The Sacramento Bee +1 .
Methodology
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Conducted by SSRS for CNN, online and by phone.
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Margins of error: ±4.2 to ±4.7% depending on state SSRS .
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Samples: 768 likely voters in Michigan, 923 in Texas, 783 in Maine, 838 in Kansas SSRS .
Broader Implications
These results suggest Democrats are in a strong position to gain Senate control, with two races (Michigan, Texas) showing leads outside the margin of error and two others (Maine, Kansas) very close The Sacramento Bee +1 . In other battlegrounds not polled by CNN, Democrats also have notable leads in North Carolina (+11) and Georgia (+8) according to other recent polls The Sacramento Bee .
Bottom line: The CNN poll underscores a favorable Democratic outlook in key Senate races, with the potential to shift the Senate balance in the 2026 midterm election.
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We are entering a very fraught week. Polling indicates a likely takeover of Congress by the Democrats.
What will Trump do? One thing that we know he wont do is accept the results.
...unless Republicans win.
Pretending that Trump or his supporters even care about an actual free and fair election is laughable. They've already convinced the gullible idiots that the Democrats are the cheaters and illegals must be voting so anything goes for them. They see nothing wrong with cheating if they think they're opponent is already doing it.
We saw it with the blatant gerrymandering. We all agree that its horrid, but if one side is going to do it then the other has to follow suit. Of course, in the case of voter fraud, they have yet to prove any widespread voter fraud or millions of illegal immigrants voting as they continue to claim, but that won't stop them from using the fantasy fraud as an excuse to pull every dirty trick in the book. And Trump is the worst of them and they love him for it. He just does things that are clearly unconstitutional and unethical and then blames Biden and Democrats for doing worse even though he hasn't proven any of the claims he's made about the prior administrations. This administration and the Trump sycophants going along with this are all fucking criminals and want to be a part of trumps mob boss family so when Republicans lose in a week there is zero chance they will accept the losses and let Democrats take over. Their dear leader will demand they 'rise up' and claim voter fraud in every single loss and it's going to get ugly.
Next Wednesday may be one of the most consequential days in modern American history. If Trump contests the results the result will be chaos.
I read an article the other day which said Susie Wiles is compiling a team to contest election results along a wide basis and with multiple methods.
I bet she has more than a few skeletons in her closet. She should be investigated
He will have 2 more years to stripmine America's pockets and this time it will be with a vengeance.
Eat KFC and hate tweet at 3am.
LOL
He blocked me on twitter during his first term...
I used to have a screen shot of it but that was 2 computers ago...
I voted today, all Democrats...(had to vote for two republicans because.......no choice).
I'm voting after work. I think I'm going to leave a little early (I really mean sneak out)_
I would, stop and have a drink while yer at it!
Actually, there's beer in the cooler on the deck. Mr G sets me up on the Thursday nights before the Fridays I don't have to work.
(had to vote for two republicans because.......no choice)
My aversion to R is deep. That race doesn’t get a vote from me.
It's his unjustifiable tariff war on Canada that is costing him Maine and Michigan.