Making the rounds on social media this weekend is a resurrected 2015 video introducing the GOP Senate freshman class of the 114th Congress, marching to the tune of: "When the Saints Go Marching In." The video starts off in interesting fashion with a camera shot trained on the legs of the two female Senate freshmen, before widening to include the others (who were male). The high points: No one was trying to dance, and the legs are very attractive.
Thirteen congressional newbies: Bill Cassidy (LA), Tom Cotton (AR), Shelly Moore Capito (WV), Steve Daines (MT), Joni Ernst (IA), Cory Gardner (CO), Jim Lankford (OK), David Perdue (GA), Mike Rounds (SD), Ben Sasse (NE), Dan Sullivan (AK), Thom Tillis (NC), and Todd Young (IN), were spotlighted, marching proudly on the Capitol steps, showing off, and showing what they were made of.
It is quite the classic, and also revealing. The video, with this bench of "fresh faced" senators, oozes ambition and energy, reflecting the confident swagger and direction of then-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY). That energy has been sorely absent under Majority Leader John Thune's (SD) lackluster leadership of the 119th Congress, and part of that has to do with the tenure of these featured senators, who are no longer freshmen, but very much entrenched establishment.
WATCH:
This video is stuck in my head pic.twitter.com/0oCPXRAzk6
— Based Saltine (@based_saltine) September 18, 2026
That was 11 years ago, but seems like an eternity. Out of the 13 senators featured, only six have managed to hold on to their seats... for now. These are the men (and woman) still around.
- Tom Cotton (AR)
- Shelly Moore Capito (WV)
- Jim Lankford (OK)
- Mike Rounds (SD)
- Dan Sullivan (AK)
- Todd Young (IN)
Sullivan and Cotton are up for reelection in November. Sullivan has a fight on his hands thanks to Ranked Choice Voting, and a Dem puppet candidate with his same name on the ballot. Cotton is popular in Arkansas, and manages to skate the line of being aligned with the Trump agenda without coming off as full-fledged MAGA; so, it is all but assured he'll be back for the 120th Congress.
The other seven either have a foot out the door and a hand on their stock trades, or they no longer serve in Congress. Two were defeated by Democrats, and the rest by their own hubris and anti-Trump obstruction.
One way or another, the winds of the electorate did not blow in their favor.
Ahead of November midterms, let's take a walk down memory lane.
Bill Cassidy (Louisiana)
Essentially, Cassidy fought President Donald Trump and MAHA, and Trump and MAHA won. Cassidy was one of the Republicans who voted in 2020 to impeach President Donald Trump 45, and that cost him the goodwill of Louisiana voters who are staunchly pro-Trump. As chair of the Senate Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee, Cassidy obstructed the confirmation of Trump's pick for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as well other MAHA-focused nominations and appointments. While Cassidy tried to pretend he was on board with the Trump administration policies, he often obstructed the president's agenda and worked to placate his Big Pharma and Big Insurance donors. President Trump ultimately endorsed Cassidy's GOP challenger Rep. Julia Letlow (LA-05), and Letlow trounced Cassidy in the 2026 Louisiana primary, effectively ending Cassidy's Senate career.
Letlow is expected to win against Democrat challenger Jamie Davis in November, and become part of the new crop of GOP freshman in 2027.
Steve Daines (Montana)
Daines was one of the first GOP senators to endorse then-former President Donald Trump's 2024 run, and was relied upon as a MAGA stalwart to champion the president's agenda. Daines would have been up for reelection in November, and could have easily marched through the Montana primary. But after 13 years in Congress, he decided at the very last minute that it was time to hang up his hat. Daines endorsed Montana U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme, who won the Republican primary and will face Democrat Alani Bankhead in November.
It is projected that Alme will hold the seat for the Republicans.
Joni Ernst (Iowa)
As an esteemed member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Ernst made the fatal error of believing her own press. So, she was not-so-pleasantly surprised when her efforts to destroy the nomination of U.S. Army National Guard major (ret) and former Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Pete Hegseth was met with fierce backlash.
Just as with Cassidy and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Ernst chose the wrong nomination to wage her battle. Her Iowa constituents as well as plenty of service members and veterans let her know it. Word on the Hill is that conservatives were already mounting a candidate to primary Ernst, which caused Ernst to pivot, and change her tune over Hegseth's nomination. Ernst ultimately voted to move Hegseth's nomination out of committee, and hers was a "Yes" vote to confirm him in the full Senate. However, that battle appears to have scarred her. Ernst took the "L," opting not to run for reelection. Unlike some of her colleagues, Ernst is comporting herself well, her dignity firmly intact, as she rides out the few weeks left until her Senate term is done.
Rep. Ashley Hinson (IA-02) is running to replace Ernst, and has President Trump's endorsement. Hinson faces Democrat Josh Turek, and the race is considered within the margin of error.
Cory Gardner (Colorado)
Gardner was a RINO at best and a closet liberal at worse. With the shenanigans of 2020, and Colorado's electorate quickly moving from purple to deep blue, Gardner was easily picked off by former Democrat Gov. John Hickenlooper, who took the seat in 2021.
David Perdue (Georgia)
Perdue was also collateral damage of 2020 shenanigans, coupled with the terrible messaging surrounding Georgia's attempt to tighten its elections. The race between Perdue and Democrat Jon Ossoff went to a runoff, and Ossoff narrowly pulled off a win.
The GOP is trying to flip this seat back to the red column, with Rep. Mike Collins (GA-10) running against incumbent Ossoff in November. The race is rated lean Democrat.
Ben Sasse (Nebraska)
Sasse served one full Senate term and was re-elected to a second in 2020, which he did not complete. A vocal critic of President Donald Trump 45, Sasse was another Republican vote to impeach the president. Sasse chose to resign from Congress in 2023 to become the president of the University of Florida. In early 2025, he left that post due to his wife's health issues. Then tragically, in December 2025, Sasse announced he had been diagnosed with metastatic stage-four pancreatic cancer.
Thom Tillis (North Carolina)
Tillis was always a closet Never Trumper, and after Trump's resounding victory in the 2024 election, Tillis decided he needed to become more vocal and more obstructionist. Tillis has either questioned or outright obstructed key Trump cabinet appointments, most recently in partnership with the primaried John Cornyn (TX) to gum up the works on then-Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's nomination. Before Cassidy and Cornyn were divested by their voters, Tillis read the tea leaves, recognizing that when it came to any actual influence, his was quickly waning. So, like Ernst, he took his ball and went home, choosing not to run for reelection.
Unlike Ernst, Tillis does not appear to care about his dignity or finishing well. He also has not bothered to support or campaign for Michael Whatley, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate seat.
The race between Whatley and former Democrat NC governor Roy Cooper is projected as lean Democrat, but that could shift in the days leading up to November.
Along with the Senate's failure to pass the SAVE America Act, the Republicans continue to squander much of the goodwill of the voters and do not seem adept at communicating the Republican wins that would help them garner votes. With these departures and the candidates running to replace them, if the Republicans manage to hold the Senate, it will be out of Democrat stupidity and incompetence, and sheer good fortune.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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