The new chairman of the Democratic Senate campaign committee reveals the keys to regaining the majority
Kirsten Gillibrand’s dream says he will apply lessons learned from the 2024 election and other recent cycles as he works to regain the Senate majority for Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections.
“If we’ve learned anything in the last couple of cycles, if you’re not on the ground early, talking to voters about their concerns, what their issues are at the kitchen table, and then passing legislation to help them, they’re not going to feel like you’re watching their back, and it’s about the relationship with your voters,” said the new president Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee he told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.
Gillibrand, a longtime senator from New York who was re-elected in November, was nominated Monday by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New Yorker, to run the Democratic Senate campaign committee in the 2026 term.
“Electing more Democrats to the Senate in 2026 is the most important thing we can do to limit the damage from Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress and do more for working families,” Schumer said in a statement. “I have worked side-by-side with Kirsten Gillibrand for nearly two decades and know she will be an outstanding Chair of the DSCC. With her hard work, tenacity and discipline, Senator Gillibrand is the right person to lead our campaign to victory in 2026.”
MEET THE REPUBLICAN SENATOR TASKED TO DEFEND THE GOP MAJORITY IN THE SENATE IN 2026
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, DN.Y., leaves the Senate Democrats luncheon in the Mansfield Room at the Capitol on Wednesday, March 15, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
In a statement, Gillibrand pledged to “do everything in my power to support our Democratic candidates, recruit the strongest candidates possible and ensure they have all the resources they need to win. I am confident that we will protect our Democratic seats, mount strong challenges in our battleground races field, and we seek to extend our efforts to some unexpected states.”
Senator, as she looked ahead to her new mission of reconquest Senate majority or at least cut into the newly-won Republican 53-47 control of the House, she pointed to her re-election bid and her efforts to help House Democrats flip Republican-held seats in the 2024 cycle in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“I made sure that for my race and for the New York House race, our candidates were out in the community talking to voters two years before the election, talking to them about what was important to them. People were concerned about crime; they were concerned They were worried about fentanyl and the gun trade, they were also worried about the economy and the cost of food,” she said.
GILLIBRAND SAYS DEMOCRATS SHOULD HAVE PUT IMMIGRATION ON THE TABLE TWO YEARS AGO
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 you’re talking about the things voters want you to work on.”
Additionally, she said Democrats can learn from President-elect Donald Trump White House victory in 2024.
“President-elect Trump is a scary candidate. He showed in this last election that he was able to win over voters in states across this country, not just in red states,” Gillibrand noted. “I think it’s important to learn the lessons from the last cycle.”
President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP/Evan Vucci)
Senate Democrats faced an extremely difficult ticket in the 2024 cycle as they lost control of the majority. An early reading of the 2026 map shows it will continue to play defense in some states, but also offers opportunities to go on offense.
Among them is the southeastern belligerent state of North Carolina.
“There are a number of places where Democrats can win if they have the right candidate in the community early enough that speaks to the issues that voters care about. A state like North Carolina could be the last time we came very close,” Gillibrand said.
Speculation is rife that former Gov. Roy Cooper, who just finished running the state for two terms, could run for Senate against Republican incumbent Sen. Thom Tillis.
“There are some really incredibly good candidates in North Carolina, considering the former governor would be one of them. It’s the kind of state I’ll be watching across the country, states that Democrats have won in the past, where they could win again if they have a candidate who really resonates and does the hard work of engaging voters early,” Gillibrand said.
Another potential opportunity for Gillibrand could be blue Maine, where moderate Republican Susan Collins is up for re-election in 2026.
“Susan is pretty hard to beat,” Gillibrand admitted. But she added that “if we get a great candidate there, it’s a race in which we will be competitive.”
Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The 2026 map also gives Republicans a chance to flip seats controlled by Democrats.
In the swing state of New Hampshire, longtime Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who is taking over as the top member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is up for re-election.
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Senator Gary Peters, who chaired the DSCC in the 2022 and 2024 cycles, is up for re-election in battleground Michigan. As well as the first term of Senator Jon Ossoff 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 so I’m optimistic that we’ll keep her seat,” Gillibrand said. “I’m also optimistic about Gary Peters retaining his seat in Michigan. Again, he’s extremely bipartisan. He’s constantly working on behalf of the voters of Michigan to make sure they understand that he’s fighting for them. The same is true, I’d say for Jon Ossoff that he started as a new senator last term and I think it really resonates with voters in Georgia.”
