Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand says she will apply lessons learned from the 2024 elections and other recent cycles as she works to win back the Senate majority for Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections.
“If we’ve learned anything over the last few cycles, if you’re not on the ground early on, talking to voters about what they’re worried about, what their problems are at the kitchen table, and then coming up with solutions legislative efforts to help them, they’re not going to feel like you’re supporting them. So it’s a relationship with your constituents,” the new Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chairman told Fox News Digital in a statement. recent interview.
Gillibrand, a longtime senator from New York who was re-elected in November, was named Monday by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a fellow New Yorker, to lead the Senate Democrats’ campaign committee for the 2026 cycle.
“Electing more Democrats to the Senate in 2026 is the most important thing we can do to limit the damage caused by Donald Trump and congressional Republicans and do more for working families,” Schumer said in a statement. “I have worked alongside Kirsten Gillibrand for nearly two decades and know she will be an exceptional DSCC president. “With her hard work, tenacity and discipline, Senator Gillibrand is the ideal person to lead our campaign to victory in 2026.”
MEET THE REPUBLIC SENATOR CHARGED WITH DEFENDING THE GOP SENATE MAJORITY IN 2026
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., leaves the Senate Democrats’ luncheon in the Mansfield Room of the Capitol on Wednesday, March 15, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Gillibrand pledged in a statement to “do my best to support our Democratic incumbents, recruit the strongest possible candidates, and ensure they have all the resources necessary to win.” I am confident we will protect our Democratic seats and mount strong challenges in our battleground races, and we are looking to expand our efforts into unexpected states.
The senator, as she contemplated her new mission to regain the majority in the Senate or, at least, reduce the newly won control of the Republican Party (53-47) over the chamber, emphasized in her interview on Fox News Digital his own re-election and his efforts to help House Democrats flip Republican-controlled seats in the 2024 cycle.
“I made sure that for my race and for the House races in New York, our candidates were out in the community talking to voters two years before the election, talking to them about what mattered to them. People were concerned about crime; they were concerned about fentanyl and gun trafficking. They were also concerned about the economy and the cost of food, the cost of housing,” she said.
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Gillibrand emphasized that “we’ve really done the outreach and engagement that you really need to do in this day and age to make sure that you’re talking about the things that voters want you to work on.”
Additionally, she said Democrats can learn lessons from President-elect Donald Trump’s White House victory in 2024.
“President-elect Trump is a formidable candidate. He showed in these last elections that he was able to convince voters in every state in the country, not just red states,” Gillibrand noted. “I think it’s important to learn from the last cycle.”
President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP/Evan Vucci)
Senate Democrats faced an extremely difficult situation in the 2024 cycle as they lost majority control. An early reading of the 2026 map shows they will continue to play defense in some states, but also provide opportunities to move on offense.
Among them is the battleground state of southeastern North Carolina.
“There are a number of places where Democrats can win if they have the right candidate in the community who speaks early enough on the issues voters care about. A state like North Carolina could be where we came close last time,” Gillibrand said. .
There’s plenty of speculation that former Gov. Roy Cooper, who just finished running the state for two terms, could make a bid for the Senate against incumbent Republican Sen. Thom Tillis.
“There are some really remarkable candidates in North Carolina, considering the former governor would be one of them. This is the kind of state I’ll be watching across the country, from States where Democrats have won in the past, where they could win again if they have a candidate that really resonates and does the hard work of engaging voters as early as possible,” Gillibrand said.
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Another potential pickup opportunity for Gillibrand could be blue-leaning Maine, where moderate Republican Susan Collins is up for re-election in 2026.
“Susan is pretty tough to beat,” Gillibrand admitted. But she added that “if we find a good candidate, this is a race where we will be competitive.”
Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The 2026 map also gives Republicans the opportunity to flip Democratic-controlled seats.
In the swing state of New Hampshire, longtime Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who takes over as ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is up for re-election.
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Sen. Gary Peters, who led the DSCC in the 2022 and 2024 cycles, is up for re-election in battleground Michigan. The same goes for Senator Jon Ossoff, who is in his first term, in the swing state of Georgia.
“The great thing about Jean Shaheen is that she’s out in her community every week, talking to people about the things she’s working on, on their behalf. She’s common sense, she’s bipartisan, and I’m so optimistic that we will retain his seat,” Gillibrand says. “I am also optimistic about my ability to ensure that Gary Peters retains his seat in Michigan. Again, he is extremely bipartisan. He is constantly working on behalf of Michigan voters to make sure they understand that he is fighting for them. The same is true, I would say for Jon Ossoff, he debuted as a new senator last term, and I think he really resonates with Georgia voters.
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