Democrats Win House and Senate
In an outcome seen as a backlash to President Donald Trump, Democrats decisively won control of the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections.
The Senate’s flip to the Democrats was called by CNN at 11:35 p.m. ET, with the network projecting the party had won at least 51 seats to lock up the voting majority, after cable network NewsNation had predicted the Senate would go blue about 15 minutes prior. The Dems’ win of the House was called by MS NOW just before 10 p.m. ET followed by CNN several minutes later, then NBC News and CBS News. The AP had not called either the Senate or House for the Democrats as of this writing.
In the widely followed the Senate race in Texas, former state representative James Talarico, a Democrat, was the projected winner over Ken Paxton, the state’s Republican attorney general.
In other key Senate races, Roy Cooper decisively beat Michael Whatley in North Carolina; Annie Andrews prevailed in South Carolina over Darline Graham, sister of the late Lindsey Graham; Adam Hamilton won in Kansas to become the state’s first Democratic senator in almost 90 years; and Sherrod Brown won against Republican incumbent Jon Husted in Ohio.
“This is the repudiation of Trumpism that people have been hoping for,” CNN political commentator and former Obama adviser Van Jones said about the “Blue Wave” sweeping across the country. MS NOW’s Rachel Maddow said of the Democrats’ House win: “This is a seismic change in Washington.”
Democrats held leads in other Senate races that remained too close to call. Those included Dr. Abdul El-Sayed vs. Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan and Troy Jackson vs. GOP incumbent Sen. Susan Collins in Maine.
With the Democrats retaking the House, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York’s 8th District, who is currently House minority leader and won reelection Tuesday, is in line to become Speaker of the House.
The surge of support for Democrats comes as Trump’s approval ratings among American voters has plummeted over the course of the year, amid higher gas and grocery prices and the administration’s unpopular war with Iran. As of Nov. 3, just 37% of U.S. voters approve of Trump, near his lowest level ever of 36% just two weeks ago, per the New York Times’ analysis of multiple polls. Trump has stumped for Republican candidates at rallies across the country in recent weeks.
In gubernatorial races, notable Democratic winners Tuesday night included Keisha Lance Bottoms, who prevailed in the Georgia gubernatorial race, becoming the first Black woman governor in the United States. Amy Acton defeated former Republican presidential candidate and Trump ally Vivek Ramaswamy in the Ohio governor’s race, and Gina Hinojosa beat incumbent Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
Pictured above: James Talarico, Senator-elect of Texas
