Democrats see an opening in Georgia’s Senate. These 5 races show the challenge.

Georgia Democrats have spent years whittling away at the Republican majority in the state House and have an outside shot of flipping the chamber this year. The Georgia Senate is a far tougher obstacle.

Now Democrats are hoping a favorable political climate can help them pick up a handful of seats in the upper chamber, where Republicans have maintained a commanding majority even as the state has become a political battleground.

The landscape is daunting. Republicans hold a 33-23 advantage, and senior Democrats acknowledge flipping the six seats needed to seize control of the chamber is out of reach this year.

But Democrats see an opening to erode the GOP edge in suburban and exurban communities. Even one or two victories would leave GOP leaders with less wiggle room for defections.

Republicans see a chance to strike back in an open Democratic Gwinnett County district with an unusual recruit: Aizaz Shaikh, a Muslim veteran taking on state Rep. Ruwa Romman, one of the party’s most prominent Muslim progressives.

The battleground map stretches across metro Atlanta’s suburbs and exurbs, hinging on fights ranging from Georgia’s abortion restrictions to the fallout from the 2020 election.

National Democrats have identified three of the races as priorities. A fourth could reveal how far a potential Democratic wave can crash. A fifth shows where Republicans hope to make gains of their own.

Here’s a closer look. The races are listed in order of GOP heartburn, with a Democratic headache at the end:

District 48: Laura Murvartian vs. Shawn Still

State Sen. Shawn Still got an early taste of the political pressures facing Georgia Republicans this year.

The Johns Creek Republican narrowly survived a well-funded Democratic challenge in 2024 while under indictment over his role in Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the presidential election. Now the charges are gone, but the political battle is far from over.

Still was among the defendants charged in the Fulton County election interference case after acting as a Trump elector who falsely declared the Republican won Georgia’s 2020 vote. Still, who first won the seat in 2022, was the only sitting elected official among the 19 defendants.

He denied wrongdoing and defeated Democrat Ashwin Ramaswami by about 7 percentage points in 2024, the closest state Senate race in Georgia that year. The victory was far narrower than his 13-point win two years earlier.

The criminal charges were dismissed last November along with the rest of the sweeping prosecution. Still has since spoken openly of what he called a “political hit job” — and the seven potential plea deals he said he rejected from local prosecutors.

Democrat Laura Murvartian is no stranger to uphill campaigns. She challenged Republican state Rep. Scott Hilton in 2024, losing by nearly 10 points in a nearby House district. Now she’s taking aim at Still, arguing his “MAGA extremist” policies are out of step with the district.

In some ways, Still’s 2024 campaign offered a glimpse of the Trump-driven challenges other Republicans are now confronting with the president’s sagging popularity.

But Still has already proved he can survive a bruising campaign in competitive territory, even with an indictment hanging over him. This time, Democrats are trying to oust him without that legal cloud.

District 37: Darcy Castro vs. Ed Setzler

Perhaps no Georgia legislator is more closely tied to the state’s anti-abortion law than Sen. Ed Setzler.

The Republican was the lead sponsor of the 2019 measure that bans most abortions when cardiac activity can be detected, usually around six weeks into pregnancy. And he’s been one of its most outspoken defenders since Gov. Brian Kemp signed it.

Now Democrat Darcy Castro is trying to turn that record against him.

The West Cobb public relations professional is backed by state and national abortion rights groups who have made toppling Setzler a top priority. She’s also campaigning on tackling rising costs and concerns about data centers.

Setzler has spent more than two decades in the Legislature, first in the House and now in the Senate. He’s built his political brand around socially conservative legislation. He’s also known for supporting tax cuts and less government regulation.

He has a substantial electoral cushion. Setzler defeated Democrat Vanessa Parker by 15 percentage points in 2024 in a district that stretches across parts of Cobb and Bartow counties.

The race might be the sharpest test yet of whether the rift over abortion rights could help Democrats make inroads in GOP territory.

Setzler wagers his local roots, decades in office and unapologetic support for the abortion limits will seal another victory.

District 42: Bret Dunn vs. Eric Lee

When state Sen. Brian Strickland decided to run for attorney general instead of seeking reelection, he created an opening in a sprawling east Georgia district that Democrats have made a top target.

Republicans are rallying behind Bret Dunn, a Newton County attorney and Marine Corps veteran who is backed by both Strickland and Kemp. He models himself as a traditional conservative who emphasizes public safety and limited government.

Democrats are turning to the Rev. Eric Lee, the longtime pastor of Springfield Baptist Church in Conyers, who has spent decades building ties with the community through his ministry.

His campaign focuses on staples of the Democratic platform like affordable housing and Medicaid expansion, betting that his ties to the community will help him win once safely-GOP territory.

Just two years ago, Strickland captured the seat by 16 percentage points. But party leaders on both sides of the aisle now say the open race is among the toughest legislative races to handicap.

District 56: John Albers vs. Patrick Thompson

Patrick Thompson knows how difficult it is to defeat John Albers. That’s because he’s tried twice before.

The Democrat challenged the longtime incumbent in both 2016 and 2022, losing both contests by double-digit margins.

Now he’s back for a third matchup in the district, which spans parts of Cherokee, Cobb and north Fulton counties.

Albers, who chairs the Senate Public Safety Committee, is routinely at the center of Gold Dome debates over law enforcement, school safety and fiscal issues. Thompson, a clean energy entrepreneur, campaigns on expanding transit and healthcare access.

Republicans are growing increasingly confident about Albers, who won the district by 22 percentage points in 2024 and is trying to hold the GOP line between the left-leaning suburbs and more conservative territory further north.

District 7: Ruwa Romman vs. Aizaz Shaikh

Normally, one of Georgia’s most diverse legislative districts isn’t where you’d expect Democrats to play defense. But Republicans have reason to believe they can make the race competitive.

Republican Aizaz Shaikh came within 400 votes of flipping the Gwinnett County seat in a June special election, nearly defeating Democrat Adrienne White in a district that has leaned comfortably Democratic in recent votes.

Now Shaikh, an Air Force veteran and real estate broker, is challenging Democratic state Rep. Ruwa Romman for a full two-year term in the seat vacated by Nabilah Islam Parkes, who resigned to run for lieutenant governor.

Both candidates are Muslims competing in a district with a large immigrant population, but they hold drastically different political views.

Shaikh describes himself as both a moderate and a conservative and talks on the campaign trail about bolstering financial literacy and bringing more affordable housing to the district.

He wants to build on his surprisingly strong performance in June, when GOP turnout was buoyed by headline-grabbing runoffs for governor and U.S. Senate.