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As Pappas exits his House seat, the Democratic National Committee now faces the grim reality of defending New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District—one of the tightest races on the map. The Cook Political Report gives the district a D+2 rating, meaning it’s just barely leaning blue. And with no incumbent running? It’s ripe for a flip.
Photo: Tim Pierce
But the exodus doesn’t stop there.
Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), a freshman who represents a district with a nearly identical D+2 partisan rating, is reportedly testing the waters for a Senate run as well. According to Valley News, she’s been holding town halls around the state to gauge public interest. If she jumps ship, that’s another battleground Democrats may have to defend without an incumbent advantage.
This emerging trend has top Democrats rattled.
Back in March, Axios reported that party leaders were increasingly concerned about vulnerable House members chasing Senate seats. One Capitol Hill insider warned, “The worst outcome for Jeffries would be multiple House departures for a single Senate seat.”
Unfortunately for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), that “worst outcome” is unfolding in real-time.
And the tremors aren’t limited to New Hampshire.
In Ohio, Rep. Greg Landsman is reportedly considering a statewide campaign in 2026, while Rep. Emilia Sykes has begun strategizing with political consultants and abortion advocacy groups about a possible Senate bid.
Meanwhile in Minnesota, Rep. Angie Craig is also mulling a Senate run. She stoked the rumors by penning a lengthy op-ed aimed at rural voters in Time magazine—a clear attempt to broaden her appeal statewide. That Senate seat, like so many others, is expected to be vacated by a retiring Democrat.
Over in Michigan, freshman Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet is following a similar playbook. Her recent profile in The Washington Post only added fuel to speculation that she, too, may leave her House seat in search of a Senate promotion.
And in Maine, the most vulnerable House Democrat in the country may be preparing to walk away from his post as well.
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Rep. Jared Golden, who represents a rural district that Trump won by nearly 10 points in 2020, is reportedly eyeing a run against GOP titan Sen. Susan Collins. Golden’s seat—graded R+6 by the Cook Partisan Voting Index—would almost certainly flip red without his name on the ballot.
The GOP is loving every second of it.
“House Democrats are scurrying away from competitive districts like rats fleeing a sinking ship,” said NRCC Spokesperson Ben Petersen in a statement to Breitbart News. “Democrats’ abandonment of these seats leaves Hakeem Jeffries with a skeleton crew and hands Republicans an open path to flip crucial swing districts without facing entrenched incumbents.”
The NRCC has already placed all of these districts at the top of their midterm hit list.
As Democrats scramble to patch the holes in their sinking ship, Republicans are circling with harpoons in hand. The red wave might not be coming—it might already be here.
