All posts by Teri

U.S. Senate Seats Up for Reelection

Politics, ,

[This article was updated on April 24, 2025]

Republicans have won the Senate in 2025, giving them control for at least the next two years and creating a path for President-elect Donald Trump’s priorities. Of the current 100 Senators, 53 are Republicans, 45 are Democrats, and 2 are Independents. Republicans successfully defended all their own seats for the first time since 2014.

But it’s never too early for reelection vision time. The time to start organizing is now.

There are 535 Members of Congress, 100 of whom serve in the U.S. Senate and 435 of whom serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Each state sends two Senators to represent it in the U.S. Senate. The majority has the power to schedule when various bills come to the floor for voting, but a single Senator can slow legislation from coming to the floor for a vote.

Since debate in the Senate is not concluded until 60 Senators vote for a cloture motion to approve a bill for consideration, the majority must also coordinate with the minority party to set the rules for debate on legislation.

Under this system, legislation can be debated for one or two weeks on the Senate floor alone.

Senators serve a six-year term, and elections to the Senate are staggered over even years, so approximately one-third of the Senate is up for reelection during any election.

To contact your Senator, click here.

Below are the Senate seats up for reelection in alphabetical order by political party, reelection year, and state.

Democrats up for reelection in 2026:

Colorado: John Hickenlooper

Delaware: Chris Coons

Georgia: Jon Ossoff

Illinois: Dick Durbin (Retiring)

Massachusetts: Ed Markey

Michigan: Gary Peters (Retiring)

Minnesota: Tina Smith (Retiring)

New Hampshire: Jeanne Shaheen (Retiring)

New Jersey: Cory Booker

New Mexico: Ben Ray Lujan

Oregon: Jeff Merkley

Rhode Island: Jack Reed

Virginia: Mark Warner

Republicans up for reelection in 2026:

Alabama: Tommy Tuberville

Alaska: Dan Sullivan

Arkansas: Tom Cotton

Idaho: James Risch

Iowa: Joni Ernst

Kansas: Roger Marshall

Kentucky: Mitch McConnell (Retiring)

Louisiana: Bill Cassidy

Maine: Susan Collins

Mississippi: Cindy Hyde-Smith

Montana: Steve Daines

Nebraska: Pete Ricketts

North Carolina: Thom Tillis

Oklahoma: Markwayne Mullin

South Carolina: Lindsey Graham

South Dakota: Mike Rounds

Tennessee: Bill Hagerty

Texas: John Cornyn

West Virginia: Shelley Moore Capito

Wyoming: Cynthia Lummis

Democrats up for reelection in 2028:

Arizona: Mark Kelly

California: Alex Padilla

Colorado: Michael Bennet

Connecticut: Richard Blumenthal

Georgia: Raphael Warnock

Hawaii: Brian Schatz

Illinois: Tammy Duckworth

Maryland: Chris Van Hollen

Nevada: Catherine Cortez Masto

New Hampshire: Maggie Hassan

New York: Chuck Schumer

Oregon: Ron Wyden

Pennsylvania: John Fetterman

Vermont: Peter Welch

Washington: Patty Murray

Republicans up for reelection in 2028:

Alabama: Katie Britt

Alaska: Lisa Murkowski

Arkansas: John Boozman

Florida: Ashley Moody

Idaho: Mike Crapo

Indiana: Todd Young

Iowa: Chuck Grassley

Kansas: Jerry Moran

Kentucky: Rand Paul

Louisiana: John N. Kennedy

Missouri: Eric Schmitt

North Carolina: Ted Budd

North Dakota:  John Hoeven

Ohio: John Husted

Oklahoma: James Lankford

South Carolina: Tim Scott

South Dakota: John Thune

Utah: Mike Lee

Wisconsin: Ron Johnson

Democrats up for reelection in 2030:

Arizona: Ruben Gallego

California: Adam Schiff

Connecticut: Chris Murphy

Delaware: Lisa Blunt Rochester

Hawaii: Mazie Hirono

Maryland: Angela Alsobrooks

Massachusetts: Elizabeth Warren

Michigan: Elissa Slotkin

Minnesota: Amy Klobuchar

Nevada: Jacky Rosen

New Jersey: Andy Kim

New Mexico: Martin Heinrich

New York: Kirsten Gillibrand

Rhode Island: Sheldon Whitehouse

Virginia: Tim Kaine

Washington: Maria Cantwell

Wisconsin: Tammy Baldwin

Independents up for reelection in 2030:

Maine: Angus King

Vermont: Bernie Sanders

Republicans up for reelection in 2030:

Florida: Rick Scott

Indiana: Jim Banks

Mississippi: Roger Wicker

Missouri: Josh Hawley

Montana: Tim Sheehy

Nebraska: Deb Fischer

North Dakota: Kevin Cramer

Ohio: Bernie Moreno

Pennsylvania: Dave McCormick

Tennessee: Marsha Blackburn

Texas: Ted Cruz

Utah: John Curtis

West Virginia: Jim Justice

Wyoming: John Barrasso

Don’t Let Them Take Your Power

Women Power,

At seventy-six years old, Stevie Nicks’ latest music release, “The Lighthouse,” is a protest song in support of women’s rights in response to the Supreme Court’s 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade.

According to Stevie, she doesn’t care if the song is a hit; it’s about getting the message out—a rallying cry for women’s rights.

She has also said that she wrote the song to stand up for women, their daughters, granddaughters, and the men who love them.

And she certainly achieved her goal with her powerful and resounding reminder to women. The chorus alone sent chills up and down my spine:

“I have my scars, you have yours
Don’t let them take your power
Don’t leave it alone in the final hours
They’ll take your soul, they’ll take your power
Unless you stand up and take it back
Try to see the future and get mad
It’s slipping through your fingers, you don’t have what you had
You don’t have much time to get it back”

Her feminist anthem conveys a message of strength, power, and outrage. “This may be the most important thing I ever do,” the icon recently wrote regarding her rousing song.

I’ll let her music video speak for itself:

He Had Me at Humble

Observe & Ponder,

Rabbi Marcus’ article in the latest issue of Chabad Magazine was titled “The Humble Girls of Jerusalem,” but the word “humble” was what caught my eye, and prompted me to read his piece.

His article was adapted from Likkutei Sichot, Volume 24, page 57.

Likkutei Sichos is a series of 39 volumes that contain the teachings of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, also known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe. The Hebrew title, Likkutei Sichos, translates to “Collected Talks” in English.

According to Rabbi Marcus, this particular teaching by the Lubavitcher Rebbe about humble girls explains that we all come from different lifestyles, families, religions, and socio-economic backgrounds but that “…fundamentally, it boils down to two types of people.”

“The first type takes credit for their genes, good looks, family heritage, and parents’ wealth.”

“The second type, the poor, unattractive girl, can’t boast family or wealth. Instead, she demonstrates that she’s self-made, knowledgeable, capable, and, most importantly, understands what it means to struggle. This poor G-d-fearing, ‘daughter of Jerusalem,’ is not ugly, and she knows you’ll see her beauty once she can afford a decent haircut, a new dress, and some essential jewelry.”

I found the words of both Rabbis to be incredibly stirring, and having been brought up in humble beginnings, I related to the poor, unattractive, God-fearing girl.

I honestly never heard of Likkutei Sichos before, but the Rebbe’s teaching about the humbleness of one’s importance touched and uplifted me.

The article also brilliantly connected Chasidic teachings with the moon.

I don’t know about you, but I’m obsessed with the moon and spend an abundance of time gazing at and adoring it in stupefied wonder.

Speaking of the moon, Jews primarily use it as the basis for their calendar because Jewish tradition dictates that their calendar should be lunar-based.

Dating back to ancient times, the Jewish calendar follows the moon’s cycles—with the new moon marking the start of a new month. As stated in the Talmud: “Israel counts by the moon,” while other nations count by the sun, which is why the Jewish holidays begin at sundown.

But I digress.

According to Rabbi Marcus, in Chasidic teachings, the moon serves as the perfect example of humility and humbleness. The words he used to describe the moon’s connection to these selfless qualities were beautiful and incredibly inspiring:

“…the moon…gracefully lets everyone know it’s just a reflection of the sun’s light…the moon shows us how to be a graceful receiver, shining a beautiful light that’s not its own.”

Rabbi Marcus’ words about God, humility, humbleness, and the moon touched my religious senses in a way I had never before been moved.

And I can’t imagine I will ever look at the moon the same way again.

Rabbi Marcus ended with: “You could be rich, beautiful, and from a great family, but your true power comes when you lift your eyes and see where it all comes from.”

Amen to that.

Tarot For Beginners

Marketing & Publishing, ,

When I need a distraction, I mostly turn to writing. Except during Covid, I had a massive case of writer’s block, so I inexplicably drummed up two hobbies: Dollhouses and Tarot Cards.

Long story short, beginning in March 2020, while Covid was infecting and killing, I refurbished an old family dollhouse and then built three more while simultaneously learning and practicing tarot card readings.

I happen to love playing board games, so why not try my hand at tarot cards?

In reading up on Tarot, I discovered that people used the cards as far back as the 1400s as a parlor game, and since I had a sh*tload of time on my hands, I thought it would be a playful way to spice things up socially.

Or I should say antisocially since I wasn’t socializing with anyone except my husband for way too many months during Covid when I decided the best strategy for staying alive was staying inside.

And since my husband called tarot cards “hogwash,” I was stuck practicing tarot solo.

In between hiding from Covid and dollhousing, I would pull one tarot card daily and read up on their meanings. But most of the time, the cards spoke for themselves with their stunning imagery and allegorical symbols. Plus, it became a fun diversion at a time when fun was not in my vocabulary.

Four years later, I feel I can finally read the cards reasonably well, but I still refer to my notes—now my latest book—for guidance.

One of the best things that came out of Covid for me was writing my most recent release—a 96-pager that I had no idea I was even going to write!

Tarot for Beginners is a helpful guide for interpreting the Rider-Waite®Tarot Deck and an enjoyable pastime to share with friends. I also threw in a touch of numerology and astrology to make it more interesting.

And to set the record straight, Tarot For Beginners is NOT a book about the occult, witchcraft, or fortune-telling. That would be giving me way too much extra-terrestrial credit.

Plain and simple, my book is a unique and quirky way to add some amusing entertainment to a social gathering.

I hope you give it a try!

Click here to order Tarot For Beginners, or for more information about my latest release.