Despite just coming out of the last election cycle, it appears that the next election is already ramping up, and the sides are starting to take form.

As it stands, the margins for Republicans holding both the House and the Senate are so small that the party needs to hold all the seats they can get, as The Hill reported.

Since name recognition is so valuable in a campaign, any senator backing away from a long-held seat could open the party up to losses, which is being considered as we look forward to the 2026 and 2028 election cycle.

On Wednesday, Republican Ron Johnson of Wisconsin hinted that he might not seek reelection in 2028, casting a shadow over a possible challenge for a vacant Senate seat in a state that is seen as a key battleground in the coming years.

From Johnson

“I learned in my second run, when I absolutely meant ‘second and final,’ you can’t say never, never, OK?” Johnson said during a Milwaukee Press Club event Wednesday when asked about a 2028 run.

“I don’t want to,” he added. “Yeah, I’d like to dig my heels in now, set this nation on a sustainable course and then go home.”

Johnson defeated Democratic challenger Mandela Barnes in the 2022 midterm elections by a razor-thin margin.

In a state that former President Biden narrowly won two years ago, Democrats saw Johnson's election as an opportunity to unseat an incumbent Republican senator.

Johnson was first elected to the Senate in 2010 when he rode a wave of support from the Tea Party that helped Republicans take control of the House.

Party Strategy

After the 2024 elections and President Trump's surprising reelection, which had been the subject of much debate in the years leading up to it, talk quickly turned to the strategy of the two main parties for the 2026 and 2028 elections.

At an event hosted by the Milwaukee Press Club, Johnson stated that he did not "covet" the position of senator.

“I don’t revel in the, ‘You know, I’m a U.S. senator,’” Johnson said, adding later that he is “just a guy from Oshkosh, just trying to — literally, trying to save this country.”

What's Ahead

It appears as if Republicans will have their work cut out for them if they want to keep control of the Senate in 2026.

Considering that it will be only half way through the presidential term, it's likely that Trump will be stumping hard in battleground areas in order to keep his ability to implement his and the Republican agenda for the second half of his last term in office.