Democrats' new Senate campaign committee chair reveals keys to winning back majority

Gillibrand, the longtime senator from New York who was re-elected in November, was named on Monday by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a fellow New Yorker, to steer the Senate Democrats' campaign committee in the 2026 cycle.

"Electing more Democrats to the Senate in 2026 is the most important thing we can do to limit the damage of Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans and do more for working families," Schumer argued in a statement. "I have worked side by side with Kirsten Gillibrand for nearly two decades and I know she will be an outstanding DSCC Chair. With her hard work, tenacity, and discipline, Sen. Gillibrand is the right person to lead our campaign to victory in 2026."

Gillibrand pledged in a statement to "work my hardest to support our Democratic incumbents, recruit the strongest possible candidates, and ensure they have every resource needed to win. I am confident that we will protect our Democratic seats, mount strong challenges in our battleground races, and look to expand our efforts into some unexpected states."

"I made sure that for my race and for the House races in New York that our candidates were in the community talking to voters two years before the election, talking to them about what mattered to them. People were concerned about crime; they were concerned about immigration. They were concerned about fentanyl and gun trafficking. They were also concerned about the economy and the cost of food, the cost of housing," she said.

Gillibrand emphasized that "we really did the outreach and engagement that you really need to do in this day and age to make sure you're talking about the things that voters want you to be working on."

"President-elect Trump is a formidable candidate. He showed in this last election that he was able to win over voters in states across this country, not just red states," Gillibrand noted. "I think it's important to learn the lessons of last cycle."

Senate Democrats faced an extremely difficult map in the 2024 cycle as they lost control of the majority. An early read of the 2026 map shows they will continue to play defense in some states, but also offers opportunities to go on offense.

Among them is the southeastern battleground state of North Carolina.

"There's a number of places where Democrats can win if they have the right candidate in the community early enough talking about the issues that voters care about. A state like North Carolina might be one where we got very close last time.," Gillibrand said.

There is plenty of speculation that former Gov. Roy Cooper, who just finished steering the state for two terms, may make a bid for the Senate against Republican incumbent Sen. Thom Tillis.

"There are some really remarkably good candidates in North Carolina, considering the former governor would be one of them. That's the kind of state I'm going to be looking at around the country, states where Democrats have won in the past, where they might be able to win again if they have a candidate that really resonates and does the hard work of engaging voters early," Gillibrand said.

Another potential pickup opportunity for Gillibrand may be blue-leaning Maine, where moderate Republican Susan Collins is up for re-election in 2026.

"Susan is quite tough to beat," Gillibrand acknowledged. But she added that "if we get a great candidate there, that's a race where we will be competitive."

The 2026 map also gives Republicans opportunities to flip Democrat-controlled seats.

In swing state New Hampshire, longtime Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who's taking over as ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is up for re-election.

Sen. Gary Peters, who steered the DSCC in the 2022 and 2024 cycles, is up for re-election in battleground Michigan. So is first-term Sen. Jon Ossoff in swing state Georgia.

"The great thing about Jean Shaheen is she is in her community every week, talking to people about the things she works on, on their behalf. She's common sense, she's bipartisan, and so I'm optimistic we will hold her seat," Gillibrand said. "I'm also optimistic about making sure Gary Peters holds 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 fights for them. The same is true, I'd say for Jon Ossoff. He hit the ground running as a new senator last term, and I think he really does resonate with Georgia voters."