# Senate races 2026 **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 28, 2025, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534 "2025-01-28T15:04:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2026, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/181 "2026-06-01T18:32:15Z")
And in Maine: > **[Graham Platner’s extramarital sexting further complicates Democratic hopes of...](https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/31/politics/graham-platner-democrats-campaign-revelations)** > > Democrats already facing a difficult path to recapture control of the US Senate are grappling with the latest revelations about Graham Platner, the presumptive Democratic nominee set to face Sen. Susan Collins in a must-win race for the party. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2026, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/182 "2026-06-12T15:11:54Z")
Two candidates, very similar names: ballot shenanigans in Alaska?: > **[Alaska election official threatens to disqualify challenger Dan J. Sullivan...](https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/12/politics/alaska-dan-sullivan-senate-election)** > > A top Alaska elections official has threatened to disqualify from the state’s August primary a US Senate candidate who shares the same name and party affiliation as incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2026, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/183 "2026-06-12T15:45:11Z")
I’m not even sure what the right ruling would be, there. Allowing him to run or not allowing him to run would either one set a dangerous precedent. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2026, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/184 "2026-06-12T18:02:32Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Two candidates, very similar names: ballot shenanigans in Alaska?: The Republicans have done that before. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/185 "2026-06-15T01:58:55Z")
[Bulwark: Talarico Deviates From the Beto Model](https://www.thebulwark.com/p/james-talarico-deviates-from-the-beto-orourke-model-texas-senate) > [@](#): > > He’s [talked about](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jHOnCxbhuY&t=1533s) his belief that “everyone has a God-given right to bear arms.” In April, Talarico called for [suspending](https://www.texastribune.org/2026/04/21/james-talarico-federal-gas-tax-suspension-iran-war/) the federal gas and diesel tax. He’s backed away from some of the woke social justice language he embraced during the era of COVID and Black Lives Matter protests, [calling](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/james-talarico-says-missed-mark-cringey-comments-texas-general-electio-rcna347174) it “[cringey](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/james-talarico-says-missed-mark-cringey-comments-texas-general-electio-rcna347174).” And in a podcast interview last week, Talarico [said](https://youtu.be/0srbD2hn2vM?si=N5eRP124DkPuF93N&t=601) he opposed gender-reassignment surgeries for minors. > > “It’s smart. He needs to keep the focus on Trump, inflation, and Paxton being a piece of shit. He can’t do that if the whole conversation is about trans kids,” said Matt Bennett, cofounder of the centrist Democratic think tank Third Way. If a Texas, would I vote for Talarico if I was trans, or had a trans child? Doubt it. Not even if I wanted to avoid surgery for my child. It’s a lack of acceptance message. Given that I don’t have a trans child, or a relative who was gunned down, would I vote for Talarico? I want to read the text of him debating Paxton, but, probably, yes. Do I think Talarico is right to move to the center after winning the primary? Absolutely. Otherwise he is wasting his time running. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/186 "2026-06-15T02:41:18Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > If a Texas, would I vote for Talarico if I was trans, or had a trans child? Doubt it. So, Talarico is wishy washy on that issue, vs Paxton would send the child to a “special” “camp” to be “cured”. Gee, if I had a trans child, which one would I vote for? Hmm, the evil man or the good man who is not perfect. “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good”. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/187 "2026-06-15T10:22:29Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Gee, if I had a trans child, which one would I vote for? Hmm, the evil man or the good man who is not perfect. “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good”. There are seven U.S. Senate candidates on the November ballot: [Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/United_States_Senate_election_in_Texas,_2026) I agree in the rationality of voting for someone good but imperfect. I do not vote for the lesser of evils, except maybe in a local race where it really could be decided by one vote. This is not saying Talarico is evil. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/188 "2026-06-15T10:41:43Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > except maybe in a local race where it really could be decided by one vote It isn’t only local races that sometimes come that close. > **[List of close election results](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_close_election_results)** > > This is a list of close election results on the national level and within administrative divisions. It lists results that have been decided by a margin of less than 1 vote in 1,000 (a margin of less than 0.1 percentage points): single-winner elections where the winning candidate was less than 0.1% ahead of the second-placed candidate, as well as party-list elections where a party was less than 0.1% short of the electoral threshold or two lists that obtained seats are less than 0.1% apart. This ... ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/189 "2026-06-15T11:43:28Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > It isn’t only local races that sometimes come that close. > > [List of close election results - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_close_election_results) The number of votes cast in the biggest example in the link is roughly 1/80 of what Talarico will get, win or lose. And it is less than what the vote will be in any other 2026 U.S.Senate race. Beyond that, I would have to get into a debate over the wisdom of strategic voting, something beyond this thread and not really worth a separate thread because it would be anti-strategic me against everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/190 "2026-06-15T12:01:50Z")
There’s an mistake in my last post with the editing window past. > [@PhillyGuy](#): > > the biggest example in the link I should have written: > [@](#): > > the biggest single vote margin example in the link ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/191 "2026-06-15T15:28:44Z")
Doesn’t pretty much everyone, including the relevant medical professionals, frown on gender reassignment surgery for minors, except in rare extraordinary circumstances? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/192 "2026-06-15T15:40:08Z")
Yup. Which makes it pretty stupid that it even needs to be said. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/193 "2026-06-15T15:46:49Z")
> [@Thing.Fish](#): > > Doesn’t pretty much everyone, including the relevant medical professionals, frown on gender reassignment surgery for minors, except in rare extraordinary circumstances? I guess it depends on how rare and how big a frown, but really — I lack expertise. Talarico is conceding a bit of MAGA framing in order to win an election. I’m fine with that, especially if the issue is one of secondary importance to me, as here. You do not win in a state like Texas without going a bit further to the center right than where my head is nowadays. What I do object to is making any candidate into a paragon who we should strain to avoid criticizing. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/194 "2026-06-15T16:36:35Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Which makes it pretty stupid that it even needs to be said. Conservatives in general and the Republican party in particular excel at making up bullshit stories to get outraged about and pass laws against. As examples, the illegal horde that was making its way across Mexico in order to invade the US with _millions_ of them before the 2016 election and Haitians eating their neighbors’ cats and dogs in Ohio last election. Litter boxes in classrooms so kids could pretend to be cats turned out to be there so they had a place to pee when the school is locked down over fear of some shooter… in the only country where this happens with any regularity. So, even if you find some surgeon willing to do pediatric gender reassignment surgery are they going to to it in an afternoon, without the child’s parents’ permission, so little Tommy leaves in the morning with his tallywhacker and comes back that evening without it? The stories deserve all the derision we can muster. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/195 "2026-06-15T17:22:58Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Litter boxes in classrooms so kids could pretend to be cats turned out to be there so they had a place to pee when the school is locked down over fear of some shooter… in the only country where this happens with any regularity. Those actually exist somewhere? I thought they made the whole thing up. Do you have a cite? I’m curious. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/196 "2026-06-15T17:36:13Z")
[Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litter_boxes_in_schools_hoax#United_States) > The only known official instance of cat litter being placed in school classrooms for potential use by students was in the late 2010s by the [Jefferson County Public School District](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_County_R-1_School_District "Jefferson County R-1 School District") in Colorado, where the 1999 [Columbine High School massacre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbine_High_School_massacre "Columbine High School massacre") took place. Some teachers were given “go buckets” that contained cat litter to be used as a toilet in an emergency lockdown situation, such as during a [school shooting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_shooting "School shooting").[[13]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litter_boxes_in_schools_hoax#cite_note-nbcnews-13)[[37]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litter_boxes_in_schools_hoax#cite_note-37)[[38]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litter_boxes_in_schools_hoax#cite_note-38) [Snopes](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/litter-boxes-bathrooms/) – Michigan, specifically. No lockdown mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/197 "2026-06-15T17:56:19Z")
Thanks. Also not, apparently, a cat pan, but something more suited for a human to squat over. But I bet somebody did take that tiny basil seed and blow it up into a full sized oak tree. The snopes artcle cited, by the way, doesn’t even mention that much of a seed; it reads that the woman either heard a rumor or joke from some unknown source, or just made it up. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/198 "2026-06-15T19:05:44Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > There are seven U.S. Senate candidates on the November ballot: Meaningless, There are just two- the MAHA bigot and the guy who didnt want to get dragged into a lifeboat issue. He is still in favor of LGBT+ rights. Paxton is against such rights. > [@Thing.Fish](#): > > Doesn’t pretty much everyone, including the relevant medical professionals, frown on gender reassignment surgery for minors, except in rare extraordinary circumstances? Yep, and how does this make Talarico a transphobe? > [@PhillyGuy](#): > > Talarico is conceding a bit of MAGA framing in order to win an election. Not really. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/199 "2026-06-15T19:13:57Z")
I would say that not mentioning the “except in rare circumstances” part is a small concession to MAGA framing. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2026, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534/200 "2026-06-15T19:16:34Z")
Maybe, but since that is so very very rare, why get into that morass anyway? Should he really make his whole campaign over this issue? Because that is what the MAGAs and Paxton would want. Not to mention a Senator has little to do over that issue, it is more at the state or courts issue. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/senate-races-2026/1013534.md?page=11)