United States Congress elections, 2026

	← 2024 2028 → ;
	; ; United States Congress elections, 2026
	Election Date ; November 3, 2026
	U.S. Congress elections, 2024
	U.S. Congress elections, 2022
	U.S. Congress elections, 2020
	U.S. Congress elections, 2018
	U.S. Congress elections, 2016

Elections to the U.S. Congress will happen on November 5, 2024. All 435 districts in the U.S. House of Representatives and 33 seats in the U.S. Senate are up for election. Five of the chamber's six non-voting members are also up for election.

Heading into the 2026 general elections, Republicans control both chambers of Congress. They hold a 53-45 majority in the Senate with two independents who caucus with the Democrats. In the House, Republicans have a 219-212 majority with four vacancies.

As a result of the 2024 general elections, Republicans won a 53-45 majority in the chamber. Additionally, two independents caucus with the Democrats. Heading into the 2024 general election, Democrats had a 47-49 majority with four independents. Three of those independents caucused with the Democratic Party, and one other counted towards the Democratic majority for committee purposes. Democrats could not lose any seats and retain a majority in the chamber. Meanwhile, Republicans needed to gain a net of two seats and retain a majority in the chamber. In the 2024 general elections, Republicans gained a net of four seats.

Looking ahead at the 2026 general elections, Democrats need to gain a net of four seats to win a majority in the chamber. Meanwhile, Republicans can only lose two seats and retain a majority in the chamber.

As a result of the 2024 general elections, Republicans gained a 220-215 majority in the chamber. Heading into the general elections, Republicans had a 220-212 majority with three vacancies. Two vacancies happened because Democratic members died and one happened because a Republican member left office early. Democrats needed to retain control of the two vacant seats and gain a net of four seats to win a majority. They retained control of both seats and gained a net of one seat. Republicans could only lose a net of three seats—including the vacant seat—and retain control of the chamber.

Looking ahead at the 2026 general elections, Democrats need to gain a net of three districts to win a majority in the chamber. Meanwhile, Republicans can only lose a net of two districts and retain a majority in the chamber.

As of September 1, 2026, seven incumbent senators and 23 incumbent representatives are not running for re-election in 2026.

Two special elections will also happened on November 3, 2026, One special election is to fill the last two years of the six-year term that Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) was elected to in 2022. The other special election is to fill the last two years of the six-year term that J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) was elected to in 2022.

Those elected to the U.S. Senate in the regularly scheduled elections on November 5, 2024, will begin their six-year terms on January 3, 2025. Additionally, those elected to the U.S. House in the regular scheduled elections on November 5, 2024, will begin their two-year terms on January 3, 2025.

Explore Ballotpedia's coverage of these elections:

Partisan breakdown
The partisan balance of Congress before and after the election
Read more
U.S. Senate
Information about U.S. Senate elections
Read more
U.S. House
Information about U.S. House elections
Read more
Incumbents defeated
Information about incumbents defeated in past elections
Read more
Important dates and deadlines
A list of important dates and deadlines for the 2026 election cycle
Read more

Partisan breakdown

Click the tabs below to view the current and historical partisan balance of each chamber of Congress.

U.S. Senate

U.S. House

Partisan composition, U.S. Senate
119th Congress
Party	Members
Democratic	45
Republican	53
Independent	2^[1]
Vacancies	0
Total	100

Partisan composition, U.S. House
119th Congress
Party	Members
Democratic	213
Republican	219
Vacancies	3
Total	435

U.S. Senate

See also: United States Senate elections, 2024

See also: United States Senate elections, 2022

As of August 26, 2022, there were 13 seats held by Democrats and 20 seats held by Republicans up for election in 2026. The map below shows what seats are up for election and the incumbent ahead of the election. Two seats are also up for special election in 2026.

Seats that changed party hands in 2020

See also: United States Senate elections, 2020

In 2020—the last time these 33 seats were up for regular election—five seats changed party hands. Democrats picked up four seats and Republicans picked up one seat.

Senate seats that changed party hands, 2020
State	Pre-election incumbent	2020 winner	Margin of victory (percentage points)
Alabama	Doug Jones	Tommy Tuberville	20.4
Arizona (special)	Martha McSally	Mark Kelly	2.4
Colorado	Cory Gardner	John Hickenlooper	9.3
Georgia	David Perdue	Jon Ossoff	1.2
Georgia (special)	Kelly Loeffler	Raphael Warnock	2.0

U.S. House

See also: United States House of Representatives elections, 2024

See also: United States House of Representatives elections, 2022

All 435 U.S. House seats are up for election in 2026.

Incumbents defeated

Between 1988 and 2024, 489 incumbents in the U.S. Senate and House lost re-election in either a general or primary election. The chart and table below show the number of incumbents who ran for re-election in each election cycle and the number who lost re-election.

Seats open as a result of an incumbent losing re-election in a primary
Year	Incumbents who ran for re-election	Incumbents who lost re-election	Percentage of incumbents who lost re-election
1988	436	11	2.52%
1990	435	16	3.68%
1992	378	39	10.32%
1994	410	39	9.51%
1996	404	23	5.69%
1998	439	10	2.28%
2000	429	15	3.50%
2002	426	20	4.69%
2004	430	10	2.33%
2006	434	30	6.91%
2008	429	28	6.53%
2010	422	62	14.69%
2012	414	42	10.14%
2014	418	23	5.50%
2016	421	15	3.56%
2018	410	39	9.51%
2020	427	26	6.09%
2022	412	23	5.58%
2024	404	18	4.46%

Important dates and deadlines

This section will provide important dates throughout the 2026 congressional election cycle, including filing deadlines, primaries, and campaign finance reporting deadlines, when available.