Democrats are feeling optimistic ahead of the midterms, but what challenges remain? NPR’s A Martinez asks Devan Barber, who leads the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
Transcript
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Let’s hear from someone who’s working to elect Democrats in these midterms. Devan Barber is executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and she’s on the line with us. Devan, we just heard from Domenico Montanaro that the super PAC affiliated with Senate Republicans is moving money into usually unfamiliar territories such as Kansas. Why do you think that is?
DEVAN BARBER: Well, look, I think it helps to remember where we started to understand where we are today. You know, we started the cycle with Republicans incredibly bullish about keeping or even expanding their majority to 55 seats. And over the course of the cycle, what we’ve seen is the combination of, you know, a backlash against this party in power, you know, the strong issue set that’s working across our battleground. And most importantly, you know, really strong candidates who we know can overperform in their states and formidable campaigns have really pushed the Senate battleground deeper and deeper into Republican territory. And now, you know, we’re sitting here with, you know, six clear offensive opportunities on the Senate battleground and states like Kansas even moving into the battleground, where maybe they were more expansion opportunities just a few weeks ago.
MARTÍNEZ: Is that where you see the best opportunity for Democrats, in states that are previously considered Republican strongholds?
BARBER: Well, look, we have multiple paths at this point to potentially take back the Senate. So from states like North Carolina, Maine, Ohio, Alaska, Iowa and Texas, you know, we have clear opportunities to pick up those seats and, you know, get back the Senate majority. And then we have states like Kansas who even just in the past few weeks are now moving into that battleground territory where Democrats could potentially have a shot to win.
MARTÍNEZ: Now, one fly in the ointment possibly, as we just heard from Domenico, the Democratic Party as a whole has a popularity problem. So I’m wondering how you encourage Democratic voters to turn out for your candidates and not just stay at home.
BARBER: Well, you know, we had a theory at the beginning of the cycle that in a Trump midterm, the electorate would look a little more favorable for Democrats in general and that our turnout would be strong, Republicans might struggle with turnout without Trump on the ballot and that swing voters might be more up for grabs for us. And we’ve seen that play out over the course of special elections and off-year elections last year. We saw it play out in reality. And then of course, when you look at each of the individual races, these are ultimately candidate versus candidate battles. And on the Democratic side, we have candidates who are really in touch with the voters they’re seeking to represent, who are really speaking to the concerns voters have this cycle. And we see opponents on the Republican side who are out of touch and who are, in many cases, part of the problem in Washington right now and the backlash we’re seeing that voters are reacting to.
MARTÍNEZ: Thing is, though, Democrats are being outspent. There is a cash gap between Democrats and Republicans. How do you think that’s playing out?
BARBER: Well, you know, it’s a challenge for us in this final stretch. I think we have an advantage on candidate quality. We have an advantage on messaging. We have an advantage on, you know, voter enthusiasm. But one thing Republicans have is more money, and you’re seeing them run that play in the final stretch. Our candidates and our campaigns are doing the best they can to stay competitive. And, of course, you know, if anyone wants to get involved, feel free to visit dscc.org and help us, you know, cobble together the money to support our candidates and help them in the final stretch.
MARTÍNEZ: One thing, Devan, because when polls show that your candidate is leading or has a shot where maybe they didn’t have before, they sound great, right? I mean, it sounds like everything’s wonderful. But I’m thinking about South Carolina Senate race in 2020. That’s where polls showed a tight race. But the Democratic candidate, Jaime Harrison, wound up losing by 10 points to the incumbent, Lindsey Graham. So is there a risk that Democrats might be putting too much stake in polling today?
BARBER: Well, look, I think what polls show us is a trend line. And we use polling as one tool out of many in our toolbox to assess and analyze these races day to day. And then I think the polls are showing us across the battleground, a very clear trend, which is that the battleground is moving deeper into Republican territory. Democrats have some enthusiasm at our backs. Republicans should be worried. So I think we use polling less as a tool to perfectly predict any particular race and more as a trend to see kind of what are voters thinking and how is the battleground shaping up over the whole country.
MARTÍNEZ: Devan Barber is executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Devan, thanks.
BARBER: Thanks.
Copyright © 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
