US Senate Races to Watch in Midterm Elections
Key contests in Michigan and Texas are highlighted as pivotal for control of the Senate.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Für US-Präsident Trump steht bei den Wahlen am Dienstag viel auf dem Spiel. Foto: Seth Wenig/AP/dpa
Photograph: saarbruecker-zeitung.de (embedded from source)
What this story says
- The US Senate, currently held by Republicans with 53 seats to the Democrats' 45, is a focal point of the midterm elections.
- Seven Senate races are identified as head-to-head contests, with most currently held by Republicans.
- Michigan's Senate race features Democrat Abdul El-Sayed against Republican Mike Rogers.
- Texas's Senate race pits Democrat James Talarico against Republican Ken Paxton.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 7 of the 13 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
50/100
Craft
85/100
Hype
15/100
13 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
The upcoming US midterm elections will determine the composition of the House of Representatives and a significant portion of the Senate. While hundreds of seats are up for grabs, attention is focused on a smaller number of highly competitive races that are likely to decide the balance of power. The Senate, with 35 seats being contested, is particularly crucial. Republicans currently hold 53 seats, while Democrats have 45, with two independents supporting them. A net gain of four seats for the Democrats would shift the Senate majority.
According to analysts at The Cook Political Report, seven Senate races are projected to be close contests. The majority of these competitive seats are currently held by Republicans. Among the most closely watched Senate contests are those in Michigan and Texas. The Michigan race is seen as a test of the Democratic left wing's appeal in swing states, with Democrat Abdul El-Sayed facing Republican Mike Rogers. In Texas, a state historically a Republican stronghold, Democrat James Talarico is challenging Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Disagreements in reporting
All reports agree on the current Senate seat distribution and the identification of Michigan and Texas as key races. However, the specific details and framing of these contests vary. The German-language reports from Saarbrücker Zeitung and Volksfreund provide extensive detail on the candidates and the potential implications of their races, including El-Sayed's potential to become the first Muslim US Senator and Paxton's controversial history. Other reports, primarily digests, offer a more general overview of the importance of these races without delving into such specifics.
What the coverage left out
None of the centre or right-rated reports mentioned the specific number of independents in the Senate or the exact number of seats up for election in the House of Representatives. The digests from the right-rated outlets did not name any specific candidates or races, unlike the centre-rated reports.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 6 times, most recently on 2 Nov 2026, 11:45, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
3 rated outlets
- The centre-rated reports from Saarbrücker Zeitung and Volksfreund provided detailed accounts of key Senate races, focusing on Michigan and Texas. They highlighted the political stakes, introducing the candidates and their backgrounds. For Michigan, the reports noted the contest between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers, and the potential significance of El-Sayed's candidacy. In Texas, the reports detailed the race between Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton, mentioning Paxton's controversial status and Talarico's campaign focus. These reports also discussed the Alaska Senate race, involving a candidate with a similar name to the incumbent, and touched upon gubernatorial races in Ohio and Wisconsin, as well as the balance of power in the House of Representatives.
Right
3 rated outlets
- The right-rated reports from n-tv, Focus.de, and Handelsblatt, all presented as digests, focused on the general significance of the midterm elections and the potential for shifts in power in both chambers of the US Parliament. They highlighted that the outcome would likely be determined by a smaller number of contested races. These digests did not provide specific details on individual Senate or House races, nor did they name the candidates involved in the key contests mentioned in the centre-rated reports.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover US Senate Races to Watch in Midterm Elections?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 50% are rated centre, 50% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 13. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is US Senate Races to Watch in Midterm Elections left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of US Senate Races to Watch in Midterm Elections biased?
- US Senate Races to Watch in Midterm Elections is one event reported by 13 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting US Senate Races to Watch in Midterm Elections?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered US Senate Races to Watch in Midterm Elections?
- 13 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What is the current balance of power in the US Senate?
- The US Senate is currently composed of 53 Republican seats and 45 Democratic seats, with two additional seats held by independents. Control of the Senate is a key focus of the upcoming midterm elections.
- Which Senate races are considered particularly competitive?
- Analysts identify seven Senate races as head-to-head contests. Many of these closely watched races are currently held by Republicans, making them critical for either party to retain or gain a majority.
- Who are the main candidates in the Michigan and Texas Senate races?
- In Michigan, the Senate race features Democrat Abdul El-Sayed against Republican Mike Rogers. In Texas, the contest is between Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton, the state's Attorney General.
Read it at the source
13 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
3- Watch Out for These Races in the U.S. Interim Elections (opens wz.de in a new tab)
- Midterms: Watch Out for These Races in the U.S. Interim Elections (opens volksfreund.de in a new tab)
volksfreund.de — is volksfreund.de biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Midterms: Watch Out for These Races in the U.S. Interim Elections (opens saarbruecker-zeitung.de in a new tab)
saarbruecker-zeitung.de — is saarbruecker-zeitung.de biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
3- Several Head-to-Head Races: US Midterms: Where It Gets Particularly Exciting on Election Night (opens n-tv in a new tab)
- Watch Out for These Races in the U.S. Interim Elections (opens focus.de in a new tab)
focus.de — is focus.de biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Midterms: Watch Out for These Races in the U.S. Interim Elections (opens Handelsblatt in a new tab)
Handelsblatt — is Handelsblatt biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
7- Watch Out for These Races in the U.S. Interim Elections (opens mainwelle.de in a new tab)
mainwelle.de — is mainwelle.de biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Watch Out for These Races in the U.S. Interim Elections (opens op-online.de in a new tab)
op-online.de — is op-online.de biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Watch Out for These Races in the U.S. Interim Elections (opens bbv-net.de in a new tab)
bbv-net.de — is bbv-net.de biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Watch Out for These Races in the U.S. Interim Elections (opens RN in a new tab)
- Watch Out for These Races in the U.S. Interim Elections (opens onetz.de in a new tab)
onetz.de — is onetz.de biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
- Watch Out for These Races in the U.S. Interim Elections (opens noz.de in a new tab)
- Watch Out for These Races in the U.S. Interim Elections (opens nordbayern.de in a new tab)
nordbayern.de — is nordbayern.de biased? Our profile of this outletOpinion
How did this read?
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