House Democrats are making a bold play for control of Congress in 2026, announcing an expanded roster of battleground districts that signals newfound optimism in the party’s prospects—even in areas that have traditionally favored Republicans. On December 10, 2025, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) unveiled a significant update to its list of target districts, adding five Republican-held seats: California’s 48th, Florida’s 15th, North Carolina’s 3rd and 11th, and Texas’s 35th Congressional Districts. The move comes in the wake of a string of Democratic overperformances in recent elections and amid a shifting political landscape shaped by redistricting battles across several key states.
According to The New York Times, this is the first formal expansion of the DCCC’s battleground map for the 2026 congressional elections, reflecting the party’s growing confidence after sweeping November victories and a surprisingly strong performance in a Tennessee special election earlier this month. In that contest, the Democratic nominee outpaced President Donald Trump’s 2024 margin of victory in a deep-red district by 13 percentage points—a result that has not gone unnoticed in party strategy circles.
Representative Suzan DelBene of Washington, who chairs the DCCC, wasted no time in touting her party’s momentum. In a statement quoted by multiple outlets including The Hill and NOTUS, DelBene declared, “The DCCC is confident we can win anywhere, and we are full speed ahead while Republicans are running scared. House Democrats have the better message, stronger candidates, and as the data shows, the American people are on our side.” She further pointed to the fact that Democrats have “overperformed by double digits” throughout 2025 and “carried every single competitive House district in New Jersey and Virginia” in November.
The newly added districts each present their own unique set of challenges and opportunities. In California’s 48th, a redrawn map has shifted the political balance to favor Democrats in what was once a Republican-leaning area, including Palm Springs. Republican incumbent Darrell Issa, despite speculation he might seek a safer seat in Texas, has decided to remain and defend his California turf. Several Democrats are already lining up to challenge him.
Florida’s 15th District, encompassing suburban Tampa, is another focal point. Republican Rep. Laurel Lee secured reelection in 2024 by a 12-point margin, in a district Trump carried by 11 points. However, Democrats are hoping for a repeat of 2020’s closer result, when Trump’s margin was just 3 points. The possibility of mid-year redistricting in Florida adds another layer of unpredictability to the contest.
North Carolina’s 3rd and 11th districts are particularly noteworthy, as both have been shaped by the state’s recent redistricting efforts. The 3rd District, held by Republican Greg Murphy, was redrawn to move west, ceding some of its more conservative coastal counties to the adjacent 1st District, now represented by Democrat Don Davis. Murphy won his seat by a landslide in 2024, but the new boundaries could make the race more competitive. According to the Durham Herald-Sun, Democrats George Papastrat and Christopher Schulte are expected to challenge Murphy, though neither has officially filed as a candidate yet.
In the 11th District, Republican Chuck Edwards will seek reelection in a district whose lines remain unchanged. Edwards triumphed in 2024 by about 14 points, but Democrats see an opening, especially with moderate Democrat Jamie Ager likely to run. Trump’s 2024 margin in the district was 10 points over Kamala Harris—his slimmest in the state—making it a potential battleground.
Texas’s 35th District rounds out the list of new targets. The Supreme Court’s recent ruling allowing Texas to implement its new congressional maps has sparked a nationwide redistricting battle. The 35th, which favored Trump by 10 points, is among five districts that Republican mapmakers have revamped in an effort to gain ground. With incumbent Democrats Greg Casar and Henry Cuellar running elsewhere, the seat is wide open—and very much in play.
Overall, the DCCC now counts 39 Republican-held and open seats as “districts in play,” plus one open Democratic-held seat in Maine’s 2nd District, where Rep. Jared Golden is retiring. The party had rolled out its initial list in April, but the recent additions reflect both political momentum and the impact of new congressional maps. In total, the DCCC is eyeing 40 pickup opportunities for 2026, as reported by The Hill.
Recent election results have emboldened Democrats. Last week, Democrat Eileen Higgins won the Miami mayoral race, flipping the seat blue for the first time in nearly three decades. Both parties saw the contest as a bellwether for the national mood heading into 2026, though observers caution that mayoral races in off-year elections are not always predictive of midterm outcomes. Nevertheless, the win—along with Democrats’ strong showing in a pro-Trump Georgia state House district—has fueled talk of a broader realignment.
Republicans, for their part, are downplaying the DCCC’s expanded ambitions. Mike Marinella, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), offered a scathing rebuttal in statements to several outlets, saying, “Democrats can daydream about ‘expanding’ the House map all they want, but reality keeps smacking them in the face. The Democrat Party is in a fight for its soul, dominated by far-left chaos and radical policies that don’t reflect the issues important to working families.”
Redistricting remains a wild card in many of these races. The Supreme Court’s decision last month to allow Texas to use its new maps has set off what NOTUS described as a “redistricting war” across the country, with Republicans challenging California’s new maps and Florida preparing for a possible mid-year redraw. These legal and political battles could reshape the competitive landscape in unpredictable ways.
Despite the uncertainty, Democrats are projecting confidence. Their recent overperformances in deep-red districts—such as the Tennessee special election where Republicans won by just 9 points in a district Trump carried by 22 points—have given the party hope that the 2026 midterms could defy historical trends. Traditionally, the party out of the White House makes gains in midterm elections, but with Trump having returned to the presidency in 2024, Democrats see an opportunity to flip the script.
As the 2026 campaign season heats up, both parties are sharpening their messages and preparing for high-stakes battles in districts that, just a year ago, might have seemed out of reach. While Republicans remain publicly dismissive of Democratic optimism, the expanded DCCC target list is a clear sign that the party believes the political winds may be shifting in its favor.
With new maps, new faces, and a string of recent victories, House Democrats are betting big on a broader electoral map for 2026. Whether that gamble pays off will depend on a host of factors—redistricting, candidate quality, and national mood among them—but one thing is certain: the fight for control of Congress is set to be one of the most fiercely contested in recent memory.
