House Democrats on offense: Expand 2026 map with 5 new Republican targets

Emboldened congressional Democrats are once again expanding their battleground map for this year's midterm elections, when Republicans will be defending their razor-thin majority in the House.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) on Tuesday added five more offensive opportunities in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, South Carolina and Virginia to their list of what they consider are vulnerable Republican-held House districts.

That brings the total number of districts Democrats are hoping to flip to 44. The DCCC notes that all five of the new districts they're adding to their list of "offensive targets" were carried by President Donald Trump by 13 points or fewer in the 2024 elections.

Republicans currently control the House by a 218-214 majority, with two right-tilting districts and one left-leaning seat currently vacant. Democrats need a net gain of just three seats in the midterms to win back the majority for the first time in four years.

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The move by the DCCC comes as Democrats are energized, despite the party's polling woes. Democrats, thanks to their laser focus on affordability amid persistent inflation, scored decisive victories in the 2025 elections and have won or over performed in a slew of scheduled and special ballot box contests since Trump returned to the White House over a year ago.

Republicans, meanwhile, are facing traditional political headwinds in which the party in power in the nation’s capital normally suffers setbacks in the midterm elections. And the GOP is also dealing with Trump’s continued underwater approval ratings and national polls — including the latest Fox News survey — that indicate many Americans feel things are worse off than they were a year ago and remain pessimistic about the economy.

"Democrats are on offense, and our map reflects the fact that everyday Americans are tired of Republicans' broken promises and ready for change in Congress," DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene emphasized in a statement. "Healthcare, housing, groceries, energy bills — they are all going up, and it's directly because of Republican policies that favor the wealthiest few while leaving hardworking families behind."

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And DelBene predicted, "Going into the midterms, Democrats have the winning message, top-tier candidates, and the public on our side, paving the way for a new Democratic House Majority under the leadership of a Speaker Hakeem Jeffries."

But the rival National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) scoffed at the move by the DCCC.

"National Democrats are daydreaming while the ground collapses beneath them. Democrats are getting demolished in the money race, their incumbents are hanging by a thread, and their disastrous primaries are producing unelectable far-left socialists. The battleground favors Republicans," NRCC Spokesman Mike Marinella argued in a statement to Fox News Digital.

The NRCC is currently targeting what it considers 29 vulnerable House Democrats in the midterms.

The new districts being targeted by the Democrats are Colorado's 5th Congressional District, where Republican Rep. Jeff Crank won re-election in 2024 by 14 points. They also include Minnesota's 1st CD and Montana's 1st CD, where GOP Reps. Brad Finstad and Ryan Zinke are seeking re-election, and Virginia's 5th CD, where Republican Rep. John McGuire is running for another term.

The fifth district the DCCC is adding to their target list is the open seat race in South Carolina's 1st CD, where Republican Rep. Nancy Mace is running for governor rather than seeking re-election.