House Democrats add Laurel Lee to list of targets in 2026 Midterms

House Democrats just added U.S. Rep. Laurel Lee’s seat to its list of “Districts in Play” in 2026.

That makes the Thonotosassa Republican one of four GOP incumbents in Florida being targeted by Democrats in the Midterms.

“Laurel Lee represents the worst of what voters hate about Congress — an out of touch politician who cares more about prioritizing the wealthy and well connected over helping Florida’s working families,” said U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene, Chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC).

“As Republicans continue to push their failing agenda that leaves everyday Americans behind in favor of Laurel Lee’s wealthy donors, Democrats will fight to ensure that next November, Florida’s 15th Congressional District will elect a representative that cares about them and their issues.”

The addition of Florida’s 15th Congressional District to its target list comes as Democrats feel increasingly confident about the Midterms. Following off-year victories in Virginia, New Jersey and elsewhere, the DCCC added several seats to an existing list of 35 GOP-held seats. Democrats were already targeting U.S. Reps. Anna Paulina Luna, a St. Petersburg Republican, Cory Mills, a New Smyrna Beach Republican, and María Elvira Salazar, a Coral Gables Republican.

For comparison, the DCCC in 2024 targeted only Luna and Salazar.

But Lee’s seat has earned national interest in the past. It was drawn following 2022 redistricting, and was widely considered Florida’s “new” district that year when the state picked up a House seat in the decennial reapportionment process.

At that point, the district was the most evenly divided congressional district in the state based on the 2020 Presidential Election. But Lee in 2022 won the seat after defeating Democrat Alan Cohn with 58.5% of the vote. In 2024, she won re-election over Democratic challenger Pat Kemp with 56.5% of the vote, while Republican Donald Trump won 54.7% of the vote in the district in the Presidential Election.

As of the closing of voter rolls before the 2024 election, more than 171,000 registered Republicans outnumbered 146,000 Democrats, with independents and members of other parties representing another nearly 138,000 voters there. Of course, Gov. Ron DeSantis and lawmakers in the GOP-controlled Legislature also signaled plans to redraw districts ahead of the Midterms.

But DCCC officials said overperformance in several elections since 2024, including two congressional Special Elections in Florida in April, provide “further proof” that a path to victory in CD 15 exists.

Four Democrats have already filed to challenge Lee in 2026. Most notably, Darren McAuley through September raised almost $208,000 to run in CD 15. At that point, Lee had more than $1 million in cash on hand.