Democrats in the nation’s capital have a huge numeric advantage over Republicans in the 2026 elections that they need to push to retake the U.S. Senate. With 35 seats up for grabs next year, Democrats will defend just 13, while Republicans have to defend 22 to keep their three-vote advantage in the chamber.
But in these tumultuous political times and with an undistinguished crop of Republican do-nothing senators in Washington who you’ve probably never heard of, Democrats might actually have a chance to retake the Senate and help to restore some sanity in Washington. But they’ve got to get their mess together and be more than possums crossing roads on the way to being roadkill.
The fate of the United State Senate in 2026 runs straight through South Carolina where long-time Republican chameleon and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham is running for a fifth term. Once a no-B.S. conservative who buddied around with straight-talking U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Graham has become a slippery sycophant and lapdog of the current president. And despite an early endorsement from the MAGA leader, Graham’s opportunistic politics have irritated the hard right and the left.
So you might think that the mother’s milk of politics — money — would be enough to take Graham out of the political limelight he seems to crave. But if you buy that, you should consider Graham’s 2020 challenger. Democratic candidate Jaime Harrison, you might remember, spent $130 million — a record at the time for a Senate race — to just under $100 million by Graham to lose by 10 points. Despite outspending Graham by 30%, Harrison fell short by more than 258,000 votes out of 2.5 million cast.
So if money isn’t the answer to defeating Graham and helping to return the Senate to its traditional role as a chamber that cools the tempestuous flamboyance of the U.S. House (which can flip three to five seats for the Dems to take control), then what can South Carolinians do besides throw up their hands?
They can be strategic. They can focus on this race.
They can be smarter. And they can get a good candidate who will appeal to moderate Republicans frustrated by the incivility of the political miasma of the moment.
In short, they have to organize and be smart about how they do it. Instead of throwing money down the toilet on television ads, they can get their butts out into scores of communities throughout the state and organize. Do it early. Do it often. And build a movement.
Democrats used to excel at organizing the electorate and turning out people to the polls. Now they seem unable to organize funerals. If state Democrats can get back to the basics, they won’t have to raise $130 million to lose. They can raise expectations, build hope and move feet on election day to say no to Graham and the authoritarian disease that’s been tearing America apart.
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