2026 Senate Debate Tracker: Debate Season Is Over. Here’s What Happened

Debate season ended on October 21, when Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers met for the last time in Detroit and Kansas’s Roger Marshall and Adam Hamilton debated on Kansas City television. We found no further Senate debates scheduled before November 3.

Below: the final round of debates (October 13–21), the full list of everything held this cycle, and the original recaps of the October 6–8 debates in Maine, Iowa, Michigan and Georgia.

The final round: October 13–21

Michigan, Oct. 21: security clearances and “shameful”

The final Michigan debate, moderated by Chuck Stokes, Carolyn Clifford and Alicia Smith, centered on tariffs, the Iran war and fuel prices, with Michigan gas at about $4.44 a gallon. Rogers suggested El-Sayed has Hamas-like supporters and questioned whether he could get a security clearance; El-Sayed called that shameful. Earlier that week, El-Sayed acknowledged a relative’s 2016 watchlist lawsuit, and Rogers accused him of lying about family ties. Trump has endorsed Rogers, and MAGA Inc. announced a $25 million ad buy for him the day of the debate. A Marist poll released October 21 had El-Sayed ahead 50–48 among likely voters.

Maine, Oct. 13 and 15: “shut up”

In the third debate, Collins attacked Jackson for not having filed an FEC report, and Jackson called ICE a “rogue agency” and repeated his call to abolish it. At the final debate in Bangor, Jackson told Collins to “shut up” after she tied a heckler, a 19-year-old Bowdoin student, to his campaign. He later said on CNN that he had no regrets. The two also disputed Collins’s record with Trump: Jackson put her support for the president at 96% of votes, Collins at 72%.

Iowa, Oct. 13: sharper the second time

Moderated by Amanda Krenz (WHO 13) and Tim Seaman (KCAU), with the Libertarian candidate excluded, the second and final Hinson–Turek debate was sharper than the first. They clashed over the Iran war, gas and diesel prices, and corruption, and both opposed a Russia diesel deal. Marist (released Oct. 15) had Turek ahead 48–45 among likely voters.

Georgia, Oct. 13: round two

Ossoff and Collins met again at the Atlanta Press Club and again fought over extremist content posted by Collins’s son-in-law, the Iran war and tariffs. An AJC/University of Georgia poll (Oct. 7–15) had Ossoff ahead 48–40.

New Hampshire, Oct. 13: the first meeting

In their first general-election debate, Sununu kept Trump at arm’s length and tied Pappas to Joe Biden. Inside Elections moved the race from Toss-Up to Tilt D a week later.

Texas, Oct. 14: a town hall, alone

Talarico held a roughly 90-minute CNN/Jubilee town hall in Fort Worth. He said he does not back abolishing ICE and supports oil and gas alongside renewables. Paxton did not take part.

Everything held this cycle

• Aug. 27 & Sept. 12 · AlaskaSullivan and Peltola debated on energy, then on fisheries in Kodiak.
• Sept. 1 · NebraskaSen. Pete Ricketts and independent Dan Osborn met at the State Fair in what was billed as their only debate.
• September · KansasMarshall and Hamilton debated before a loud State Fair crowd; Hamilton supporters shouted Marshall down several times.
• Sept. 15 · MichiganFox 2 debate held with an empty podium after Rogers declined, objecting to the moderator.
• Oct. 6 & Oct. 8 · MaineCollins vs. Jackson, debates 1 and 2 (recaps below).
• Oct. 7 · IowaHinson vs. Turek on Iowa PBS (recap below).
• Oct. 8 · Michigan and GeorgiaEl-Sayed vs. Rogers in Grand Rapids; Ossoff vs. Collins in Atlanta (recaps below).
• Oct. 13 · Iowa, Maine, Georgia, New HampshireFour debates in one night.
• Oct. 15 · Maine and AlaskaFinal debates in both races.
• Oct. 16 · MinnesotaFlanagan vs. Tafoya.
• Oct. 21 · Michigan and KansasThe last Senate debates of the cycle.

Earlier recaps: October 6–8

Maine: Collins vs. Jackson

Cook: Toss-Up

Debate 1 (Oct. 6): Collins runs from Trump; Jackson ties her to him

Sen. Susan Collins spent the first debate putting distance between herself and the president. She told the moderators she is “not exactly his favorite senator,” said she doesn’t expect Trump to come to Maine, and pointed to her breaks with him on the Iran war and tariffs against Canada. Her core argument was seniority: as chair of the Appropriations Committee, she says, she delivers for Maine. She also turned the state’s high energy and housing costs on Jackson, who led the state Senate until 2024.

Troy Jackson, a logger from Allagash and former state Senate president, made the race a referendum on Collins’s record with Trump. He hit her on the Kavanaugh confirmation, new ICE funding, and the Iran war. He wants to abolish ICE; Collins says it needs reform. The Boston Globe noted that Jackson repeatedly and falsely claimed Collins voted for last year’s tax-and-spending law. A Marist poll released hours before the debate found only 1% of likely voters undecided.

Debate 2 (Oct. 8): personal attacks, and one point of agreement

• The sharpest exchange: Jackson accused Collins and her husband of profiting from the Iran war through stock holdings. Collins called the charge outrageous and demanded an apology; Jackson didn’t give one. Collins in turn accused Jackson of reversing himself on corporate donations, tying it to his son’s lobbying.
• Voting with Trump: Jackson said Collins votes with Trump 96% of the time. A CQ Roll Call analysis found about 95% for the first seven months of 2025. Collins said she has voted against Trump 137 times.
• Abortion: Collins called Jackson an extremist on the issue, citing his past opposition to a bill on health-threatening pregnancies. Jackson said he changed his views after listening to women: “Mine has gotten better — hers has gotten worse.”
• Agreement: both said higher earners should pay more into Social Security. Jackson would scrap the earnings cap; Collins would adjust it and proposed an expert panel.

Iowa: Hinson vs. Turek (Oct. 7)

Cook: Toss-Up

Iowa’s open-seat race came into its first debate essentially tied: the latest NYT/Siena poll (Sept. 22–Oct. 1, 606 likely voters) had Rep. Ashley Hinson ahead 48–47, and Kalshi priced her chances at about 55%.

• Hinson’s wealth. Turek said her family’s wealth has grown 15-fold since she entered Congress. Hinson said the gains came from her husband selling his insurance business in 2021, and that the couple sold their individual stocks that year.
• Turek’s attendance. Hinson said Turek missed 58% of votes in the Iowa House this year and called on him to return nearly $20,000 in per diem pay. Turek didn’t directly explain the absences, pointing instead to his bipartisan record.
• Social Security. Turek would apply the payroll tax to all income, not just earnings up to $184,500, and opposes raising the retirement age. Hinson didn’t say whether she’d lift the cap or raise the age; she proposed a bipartisan commission.
• Agreement: both want AI protections from Congress, more action on record diesel costs, and no tax breaks for data centers. They split on the Iran war.

Michigan: El-Sayed vs. Rogers (Oct. 8)

Cook: Toss-Up

Michigan’s first general-election debate, in Grand Rapids, was the roughest of the week. The moderator struggled to keep order as the two traded personal attacks. When Rogers suggested a member of El-Sayed’s family might be on a terrorism watch list, El-Sayed dared him: “Just say it.” El-Sayed, for his part, painted Rogers as a yacht-owning millionaire who cashed in on public office.

On policy, both want the Iran war to end but disagree on whether it should have started. Rogers backs continued aid to Israel; El-Sayed wants it ended and the money spent at home. Both called for a less militarized deportation operation; El-Sayed supports abolishing ICE. Rogers distanced himself from the trade war and said he wants a deal with Canada.

Georgia: Ossoff vs. Collins (Oct. 8)

Cook: Likely D

Sen. Jon Ossoff leads in the polls and in fundraising, but he debated like a challenger. The AJC described him framing the hour as a “trial of Mike Collins,” pressing the Republican more than a dozen times on reported ties to white nationalists, an ethics investigation, and his support for Trump’s agenda.

Collins called Ossoff a trust-fund kid who has never held a job and tied him to Bernie Sanders, Hasan Piker and Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed. He defended the tariffs and the Iran war, saying Trump has the right to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. Ossoff called the war a disaster and said tariffs and rising diesel costs are hurting Georgia farmers. They also clashed over Medicaid cuts and rural hospitals, voter ID, and immigration, including the Laken Riley Act, which Collins helped write. Asked about Israel, Ossoff said there was no doubt Israel had violated the law of armed conflict.

They meet again Tuesday, Oct. 13, at the Atlanta Press Club — the same day early voting opens in Georgia.