Thune says Republicans won’t accept 2026 Senate elections

FREMONT, Neb. — Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., predicts that Republicans will outperform the polls and maintain their narrow Senate majority, even as Republican-aligned groups withdraw millions of dollars from struggling candidates and redirect their resources to races that have suddenly become more competitive.

Thune has traveled the country campaigning for vulnerable Republicans ahead of the Nov. 3 election. He is confident they can maintain their slim 53-47 majority in the Senate, but acknowledges that the Republican Party as a whole faces headwinds.

And as Election Day draws closer and closer, several elections across the country have tightened, like in Kansas, while others could shift away from Republicans, like in North Carolina or Georgia.

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks with reporters as he walks to his office after arriving at the U.S. Capitol September 28, 2026, in Washington, DC. Senators will return to the Capitol for another week before retiring for the midterm elections. (Getty Images)

Thune, in an interview with Fox News Digital on the trail supporting Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., was still optimistic about the GOP’s chances.

“I think there are a lot of races right now just looking at the polls that are up for grabs,” Thune said. “I mean, you could call them popping balloons, whatever you want to say. They’re races with a margin of error, and there are some that are maybe a little bit outside the margin. But I think the current polls, as has been the case in previous elections, are underreflecting the Republican vote.”

“And I think you’ll see some of that. So we’re not giving up on any of them,” he continued.

Republicans hope to defend six toss-up races this cycle, according to Cook Political Report. And several that previously appeared to be safe bets, like Mississippi and South Carolina, have recently tilted more favorably toward Democrats.

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The flow of campaign funds has been staggering this midterm cycle, with Republican political action committees (PACs) and outside groups pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into key elections across the country.

But where the money goes might be more telling.

Earlier this month, the Senate Leadership Fund, a PAC closely aligned with Thune, moved money from Georgia to Kansas, where Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., is engaged in one of the most unexpected contests of the cycle.

The Senate Leadership Fund initially pledged $44 million to support Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., in his quest to unseat Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga. But the first-term incumbent senator raised campaign donations and regularly led Collins in the polls.

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President Donald Trump arrives to speak during a campaign rally at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center in Wasilla, Alaska October 13, 2026. (Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images)

And in North Carolina, where former Republican National Committee (RNC) co-chair Michael Whatley is running to hold retiring Sen. Thom Tillis’ seat against former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, outside funding has begun to dissipate.

The Senate Leadership Fund also cut nearly all of its spending in the state earlier this month, a sign that confidence in Whatley’s ability to beat Cooper was waning. Even President Donald Trump, who held a rally for Whatley on Tuesday, has concerns about the race.

“I think he’s a great man and I’m worried about him,” Trump told reporters earlier this month. “I hope he wins. He was a great leader of the entire Republican Party when I won, and he would be a great senator.”

Meanwhile, Thune was still optimistic that Republicans could hold on, but ultimately it would come down to pushing out “low-propensity voters, especially Trump voters, and then it’s going to take work to win over the middle of the electorate.”

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“Turnout is going to play a big role in whether or not we succeed. And in every state I’ve been to, it’s a clear-eyed concern of our candidates,” Thune said.

“That’s where the resources are invested. And I think that could make the difference for us on Election Day, whether or not we win a lot of these close races,” he continued. “And I think we’re definitely going to outperform the polls on Election Day.”