House Democrats vying to flip control of the lower chamber in next year’s midterm elections may face a new challenge: the exodus of battleground incumbents seeking higher office.

A number of vulnerable House Democrats are eyeing runs for the Senate or other offices in a handful of states around the country, including Michigan and Maine. If they do make the leap, they would vacate tough House seats, eliminate the Democrats’ advantage of incumbency, and force party campaign operatives to recruit new candidates — and spend more money — to keep those districts in the next Congress.

The trend could complicate the Democrats’ path to winning back control of the House in the 2026 midterms, when party leaders are optimistic about their chances of seizing the Speaker’s gavel after four years in the minority wilderness.

The midterm cycle has been historically brutal for the party that controls the White House, and House Republicans are already clinging to just a tiny majority in the current Congress. If Democrats net three House seats in November of 2026, they’ll control the chamber — an outcome Democrats are confident they’ll achieve.

For the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), seeing talented politicians who can win in swing districts reach for higher office is just a reality of the job.

“House Democrats’ overperformance last cycle proves no one is better at recruiting and working to elect genuine and authentic candidates than the DCCC — and we’ll do it again this cycle," DCCC spokesperson Viet Shelton said in a statement.

Still, the razor-thin margins in the House have left leaders in both parties scrambling to maximize every small advantage that comes along. With that in mind, Republicans are practically drooling at the prospect that a few of their top Democratic targets might leave the lower chamber on their own accord before voters ever go to the polls.

“House Democrats aren’t just fighting amongst themselves, they’re........

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