Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the 2026 midterms, according to projections. They flipped at least seven Senate seats, including Texas, where James Talarico beat Ken Paxton. Trump said he was not on the ballot, while Vance blamed the war with Iran.
Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate in the 2026 midterm elections, according to projections. They crossed the 218-seat threshold needed for a House majority, clinching both chambers for the final two years of Trump's presidency. Before the vote, Republicans held 218 House seats and Democrats 214. The new Congress will be sworn in on January 3.
Senate flips
Democrats flipped at least seven of the 35 Senate seats up for election, in North Carolina, South Carolina, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Texas and Maine. Going into election night, Republicans held 53 Senate seats and Democrats 45, and Democrats needed a net gain of at least four seats. In Texas, Democrat James Talarico defeated Trump-backed Republican Ken Paxton, ending a 38-year drought for his party in Senate races there. Democrat Roy Cooper, a former North Carolina governor, defeated Republican Michael Whatley to flip that seat. Sherrod Brown defeated Republican Sen. Jon Husted in Ohio. In Maine, Troy Jackson defeated Sen. Susan Collins, who conceded. Adam Hamilton beat Republican Sen. Roger Marshall in Kansas, where Democrats had not won a Senate race in 94 years. Annie Andrews narrowly beat Republican Darline Graham in South Carolina, according to AP projections.
Other Senate results
Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff won reelection in Georgia over Republican Rep. Mike Collins, in the first major race called of the night. The AP called that race at 7:55 p.m. ET. Abdul El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan, 52% to 46%, and will be the first Muslim US senator. In New Hampshire, Chris Pappas defeated Republican John Sununu to become the first openly gay man elected to the Senate. Republican Ashley Moody won the Senate race in Florida.
Two Senate races were uncalled in the vote counts cited. In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola led Sen. Dan Sullivan 102,701 to 102,075 with 74% counted. In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom led Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by 43 votes with 96% counted.
Governors' races
Keisha Lance Bottoms defeated Republican Rick Jackson in Georgia to become the first Black woman elected governor of any US state, according to AP projection. Democrat Amy Acton defeated Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio. Gina Hinojosa defeated Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in Texas to become the state's first Latina governor. Deb Haaland won in New Mexico, becoming the first Native American woman elected governor. Republican Byron Donalds beat Democrat David Jolly in Florida by roughly 1.5 percentage points with 99% of ballots reporting, becoming the state's first African American governor.
Reaction and voter sentiment
President Trump posted on Truth Social on Tuesday night that he was not on the ballot and that Republicans would have won in a landslide if he had been. He also blamed Fox News for the GOP's losses. Trump said Iran and its effect on gasoline prices were part of the reason, and said he would veto proposals he opposed. Vice President JD Vance wrote on X on Wednesday that the war with Iran was the reason Republicans lost. He also said many 2024 Trump voters cast ballots for Democrats out of anger.
The AP exit poll suggested roughly 60% of voters disapprove of how Trump is handling the presidency. Roughly 70% said lawmakers are doing not enough to provide checks and balances on the presidency. Hakeem Jeffries is considered the frontrunner for House speaker, subject to a House vote in January.
The Justice Department sent roughly 1,000 election monitors to all 50 states on Election Day, up from a maximum of about 600 in prior elections. Local officials said the monitors largely behaved in keeping with past elections, with minor friction reported.
