The Capitol in Washington, July 22, 2026.
Aaron Schwartz | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The battle for the U.S. Senate is still tight, but prediction market traders think Democrats have close to their best chances yet of taking the upper chamber.
Speculators on Kalshi now give Democrats a 55% chance to win the Senate, nearly matching a level reached in mid-April. On Polymarket, the odds are even higher, with a 59% chance that Democrats will wrest control.
Republicans are defending majorities in both the House of Representatives and Senate this November, but the upper chamber was always viewed as more difficult for Democrats to flip. Republicans already control 22 of the 35 Senate seats up for grabs this year, including two seats up for special elections in Ohio and Florida. Democrats would have to flip several seats in states where President Donald Trump won by 10% or more in 2024 — including in Alaska, Texas and Ohio — to take control.
Odds that the Democrats win the Senate have improved significantly in 2026 on prediction markets. Before the Iran war began on Feb. 28, Republicans had about 60% odds to hold onto the Senate on both Kalshi and Polymarket. Odds declined as rising gas prices helped drive down Trump’s approval rating.
Odds that Democrats would win the Senate topped Republican odds of keeping control in April, but the GOP’s chances recovered in May and throughout the summer as the U.S. and Iran de-escalated the war, easing pressure on gas prices.
GOP fortunes have darkened in recent weeks. U.S. oil prices are now above $100 per barrel, gasoline is above $4 a gallon nationally and diesel prices are at an all-time high. Prediction market traders now think gas prices will hit new highs this year.
This week has brought several recent polls showing Democrats with a favorable environment heading into November. A New York Times/Siena University poll released Wednesday showed likely voters nationwide favoring Democratic candidates over Republicans in their congressional districts by close to 9 percentage points.
Disclosure: CNBC and Kalshi have a commercial relationship that includes customer acquisition and a minority investment.
Correction: This story has been revised to reflect that 35 U.S. Senate seats are up for election this year and that Republicans currently control 22 of them. A previous version misstated the number of seat up for grabs.