The campaign arm of House Democrats is making the first formal expansion of what it considers to be the battleground map for control of Congress in 2026, adding five new Republican-held seats.

Democrats are feeling emboldened after sweeping wins in November’s elections and a surprisingly strong showing in a special election this month in Tennessee, where the Democratic nominee outran President Donald Trump’s margin of victory in a ruby-red district by 13 percentage points.

Four of the new seats on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s list of “districts in play” were carried by Trump last year by that margin or less, and one he lost. The changes also reflect recent revisions to congressional maps because of redistricting.

“We are full speed ahead while Republicans are running scared,” said Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington, the chair of the DCCC. “All year long, Democrats have overperformed by double digits, and just last month we carried every single competitive House district in New Jersey and Virginia.”

The addition of these districts brings the new total number of Republican-held and open seats that the committee considers “in play” to 39. The party had rolled out its initial list in April. Only one open Democratic-held seat is on the list, for the district of Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, who is retiring.

Mike Marinella, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, responded that Democrats were “dominated by far-left chaos and radical policies” and that “Democrats can daydream about ‘expanding’ the House map all they want, but reality keeps smacking them in the face.”

Four of the additions are the result of the redistricting wars, including three in states where the GOP redrew congressional maps to be safely Republican but that Democrats see still as potentially competitive.

In North Carolina, Republicans pushed through a partisan gerrymander to wipe out two Democratic incumbents. But the process of diluting Democratic strength in those seats has weakened the Republican tilt of two other districts, belonging to Reps. Greg Murphy and Chuck Edwards.

The DCCC now sees both congressmen as vulnerable to challengers. Trump won their new districts by 13 percentage points and 9 percentage points, respectively.

In Texas, Democrats now believe the 35th district in the San Antonio area can be competitive. Trump carried the seat by 10 percentage points in 2024 after making major gains with Hispanic voters last year — but there are fresh doubts those gains will hold. Hispanic support for Republicans appeared fleeting in the recent New Jersey governor’s race.

Another redistricting-related addition is in California, for the seat of Rep. Darrell Issa, a Republican whose district Democrats redrew to lean Democratic. Issa had briefly considered moving to Texas to run for a seat there before ultimately deciding to seek reelection.

The final new seat belongs to Rep. Laurel Lee, R-Fla., which Trump carried by 11 percentage points.

All told, four of the seats that Democrats see as “in play” are in districts where Trump lost, 21 are in districts he carried by less than 10 percentage points, and 14 are now in seats he won by at least 10 points.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Shane Goldmacher/Eric Lee
c. 2025 The New York Times Company