Republicans dispute Democrats’ expanding of House target map in 2026 midterms

Emboldened Democrats in Congress are expanding their battleground map this year Midterm electionswhen Republicans defend their narrow majority in the House of Representatives.

but National Republican Congressional Committee NRCC Chairman, Rep. Richard Hudson, is not convinced.

“I mean, I’ve read novels my whole life, and I recognize them when I see them,” Hudson said in an exclusive interview with Fox News.

Republicans currently control the House by a vote of 218 to 214, with two right-leaning districts and one left-leaning seat currently vacant. Democrats need a net gain of just three seats in the midterms to regain the majority for the first time in four years.

House Democrats are on the offensive: Expand the GOP’s list of targets

An outside view of the House side of the U.S. Capitol, on January 12, 2026, in Washington, D.C (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee This week, the DCCC added five more offensive opportunities in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, South Carolina and Virginia to its list of what it considers vulnerable Republican-controlled House districts.

That brings the total number of districts Democrats hope to flip to 44. The DCCC notes that all five of the new districts they are adding to their list of “attack targets” have been carried by the president. Donald Trump By 13 points or less in the 2024 elections.

Fox News poll: An early look at the 2026 midterm elections

“Democrats are on the offensive, and our map reflects the reality that ordinary Americans are tired of Republican broken promises and are ready for change in Congress,” DCCC President Susan DelBene asserted earlier this week.

DCCC spokesman Vit Shelton told Fox News Digital: “In a political environment where Democrats are leading by more than 17 points in special congressional elections, it is abundantly clear that we are poised to take back the majority. Momentum and the American people are on our side while Republicans run in fear.”

Asked about the DCCC’s move, Hudson scoffed.

“They should have a list they can give to their donors,” he said, referring to the DCCC. “But that’s not realistic. I mean, if you look at the map, there are very few seats up for grabs, and the majority of those seats are held by Democrats, but they are seats that Donald Trump won or came very close to. If you look at the seats that we’re going to be competing for this fall. They all favor Republicans.”

the house “If you look at the map, it’s a Republican map. We just have to go out and win those races,” the GOP campaign chairman added.

The move by the DCCC comes at a time when Democrats are energized, despite the polling problems the party is facing. Democrats thanks to the laser Focus on affordability Amid persistent inflation, he has scored decisive victories in the 2025 election, winning or beating a slew of scheduled and special ballot box contests since Trump returned to the White House more than a year ago.

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Meanwhile, Republicans face traditional political headwinds, with the ruling party in the nation’s capital typically suffering setbacks in midterm elections. The GOP is also dealing with Trump’s persistent below-average approval ratings.

Latest national surveys, including the most recent Fox News pollindicates Democrats lead Republicans by average numbers on the so-called general ballot question, which asks respondents whether they would support the Democratic or Republican candidate in their congressional district without providing specific candidate names.

Asked about the polls, Hudson said: “We’re almost no lead in the general poll. But in the single-digit general poll, we’re doing very well.”

The House GOP campaign chairman added that he remains “very optimistic.”

Concerns about the cost of living helped boost Trump and Republicans to sweeping victories in 2024, but affordability and overall economic concerns may work against them this year.

While recent national polling by AP/NORC suggested the GOP has a slight advantage over Democrats on the economy, a host of polls, including a recent Fox News poll, suggest that many Americans feel things are worse than they were a year ago and remain pessimistic about the economy.

But on Friday, the latest government figures indicated that inflation fell during January.

Hudson says the economy is still a winning issue for Republicans.

Criticism increases: House GOP breaks fundraising records as Republicans prepare to defend razor-thin majority

Pointing to the numerous tax cuts that took effect this year in one big, beautiful GOP bill that Trump signed into law last summer, Hudson said: “We have put policies in place that will bring prosperity to the American people, and they are starting to feel it.”

“And as we move into tax season…people who work overtime, people who work for tips, they’re going to see a lot more money in their pockets with no tip tax, no overtime tax,” he added.

The GOP is also dealing with the problem of low propensity: MAGA voters who don’t always go to the polls when Trump’s name isn’t on the ballot.

“Our voters tend to be working-class voters, and you have to go the extra mile to get them to the polls,” Hudson said. “We know this is our challenge. President Trump knows this is the challenge, and he is committed to helping us.”

President Donald Trump gestures as he arrives to deliver remarks about the economy and affordability at the Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, on December 9, 2025. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Pointing to the NRCC’s annual fundraiser, which Trump will headline again this year, Hudson said this dinner will be a great kickoff to the year. We raised a lot of money with President Trump last year. “We plan to raise a lot of money in March with President Trump, and then he will go out on the campaign trail and help us attract those voters and get that cause going.”

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In response to a question about midterm election expectations, Hudson declined to give any specific numbers.

He predicted, saying: “I will not give you a number, but we will maintain the majority.” “President Trump was elected with a very specific agenda. We have delivered almost his entire domestic agenda, and we will go back to the voters and tell them promises kept, promises kept, and they will retain that majority in the House.”