With less than a month until Election Day, Democrats are seeing some of their strongest signs yet that the Senate majority is within reach.
A new batch of YouGov polls released Oct. 6 shows Democratic candidates, or an independent who caucuses against Republicans, leading in six of seven closely watched Senate races. The surveys suggest several GOP-held seats in states considered Republican strongholds, including Texas, Ohio, Kansas and Nebraska, have become competitive as Republicans work to defend their 53-47 majority.
Democrats need a net gain of four seats to reclaim control of the chamber. While many of the contests remain within the margin of error, the latest polling points to multiple potential pickup opportunities for a party trying to overcome
a difficult Senate map.
Good signs for Democrats
The biggest surprise may be in Texas, where Democratic state Rep. James Talarico leads Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton by 6 percentage points in a state Democrats have not won statewide since 1994.
In Ohio, former Sen. Sherrod Brown is ahead of Republican Sen. Jon Husted by 4 points as he seeks a return to Washington after losing his seat in 2024.
Kansas is another unexpectedly competitive race. Democrat Adam Hamilton leads incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall by 3 points, according to the YouGov survey.
Some of the closest contests are in Michigan and Nebraska. Democrat Abdul El-Sayed holds a 1-point edge over Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan, while independent Dan Osborn leads incumbent Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts by 1 point in Nebraska.
Democrats appear to have their largest advantage in New Hampshire, where Rep. Chris Pappas leads Republican John Sununu by 8 percentage points.
Florida was the lone bright spot for Republicans among the seven races surveyed. Sen. Ashley Moody holds a 5-point lead over Democratic challenger Angie Nixon.
Taken together, the surveys highlight an increasingly volatile Senate landscape. With control of the chamber at stake, Republicans are defending several seats that now appear far more competitive than many strategists expected at the start of the cycle, while Democrats are looking to turn favorable polling into the four-seat gain needed to reclaim the majority.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New polls put Democrats in position for Senate control
