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The Senate Republican campaign chair has a stark warning for his party as the GOP defends its 53-47 majority in the chamber in this year’s midterm elections.
National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chair Tim Scott, pointing to a ballot box deficit the GOP’s facing in the latest Fox News national poll, said it could impact specific Senate races this year.
And Scott said the toughest challenge may be in Maine, where longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins is running for re-election for a sixth six-year term in the blue-leaning northern New England state.
The straight talk from Scott, at a closed-door meeting earlier this week with fellow GOP senators, comes as Republicans, as the party in power in the nation’s capital, face traditional political headwinds in the midterms. And the GOP is also facing a rough political climate, with President Donald Trump‘s approval ratings remaining underwater while Democrats are energized as they work to win back the House majority and possibly recapture the Senate.
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An exterior view of the Senate side of the U.S. Capitol, on Jan. 12, 2026. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
While the NRSC remains optimistic they can not only defend but expand their majority, the GOP will be playing defense in half a dozen key races.
Here’s a look at the most vulnerable Republican Senate seats up for grabs in the midterms.
Maine
Collins is the only Republican senator running for re-election this year in a state that then-Vice President Kamala Harris carried in her 2024 presidential election defeat to Trump.
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And Collins has seen a deterioration of her poll numbers among Mainers from her last re-election six years ago.
But Collins, who has long been a top target of the rival Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee…
