Democrats seize control of Congress in sweeping midterm rebuke of Trump
Democrats have won control of both the Senate and the House, flipping seats in Texas, Iowa, South Carolina, Kansas, Ohio and North Carolina in a blue-wave election that ends unified Republican rule in Washington.
The United States woke on Wednesday to a transformed political map after voters handed Democrats control of both chambers of Congress, ending unified Republican rule in Washington and delivering a sweeping rebuke to President Donald Trump midway through his term.
Projections from the Associated Press and the major US decision desks put Democrats at 51 seats in the Senate, enough for an outright majority, while the party had already been projected to win a majority in the House of Representatives earlier in the night. Democrats needed a net gain of four Senate seats to take the chamber, and they cleared that bar through a string of victories in states that had long been written off as Republican territory.
The scale of the result became clear as results poured in from across the country. In Texas, James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton, becoming the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in the state since 1988. In South Carolina, Annie Andrews upset Darline Graham, the first Democrat to win a Senate race there since 1998 and the first woman ever elected to the Senate from the state. In Iowa, Josh Turek beat Trump-backed Ashley Hinson, the first Democratic Senate win there since 2008.
The wave rolled on through the Midwest and the South. Adam Hamilton ousted Senator Roger Marshall in Kansas, the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in the state since 1932. Sherrod Brown beat Senator Jon Husted in Ohio, and former governor Roy Cooper captured an open seat in North Carolina. In Georgia, Jon Ossoff won re-election, denying Republicans a seat they had targeted as a top pickup opportunity, while Chris Pappas held New Hampshire for Democrats and became the first openly gay man elected to the Senate.
The night also produced a series of historic firsts beyond the headline flips. Peggy Flanagan of Minnesota was set to become the first Native American woman elected to the Senate, and Juliana Stratton's election in Illinois meant three Black women would serve in the chamber at the same time for the first time. In governor's races and House contests, Democrats pushed deep into districts carried by Trump, flipping seats in New Jersey and elsewhere as the map turned bluer through the evening.
Behind the results lay a mood of frustration that pollsters had been tracking for weeks. Voters cited high prices and the cost of living, anger over the war in Iran, and concerns about corruption in government as they turned against the party in power. Trump had campaigned intensively in the final weeks, barnstorming through Republican states in a bid to hold red territory, but the effort failed to stop the losses. In his victory remarks, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer described the outcome as a generational remake of the Senate, saying the party had prevailed by listening to voters on the issues that mattered most to them.
The count itself stretched deep into the night. Polls closed at midnight Eastern time in Hawaii, the last state to finish voting, and counting continued into the early hours in several states. A competitive Senate race in Michigan, where Abdul El-Sayed was seeking to keep the seat in Democratic hands, remained uncalled as the night wore on, while Republicans held on in some of their strongest states, including Florida, where Ashley Moody won re-election, and Wyoming, where Harriet Hageman took the seat being vacated by Cynthia Lummis.
For the White House, the result redraws the rest of the presidency. A Democratic Senate and House will be able to block the administration's legislative programme, launch investigations, and shape spending and confirmations, forcing Trump to govern through executive action and negotiation rather than through a compliant Congress. Democratic leaders have signalled that oversight of the administration, protections for health care and voting rights, and scrutiny of the president's conduct will be early priorities, though the party's own internal divisions between its moderate and progressive wings will now be tested in power.
Republicans, meanwhile, face a reckoning of their own. The party lost ground in states it had considered safe, saw its Senate majority slip away in a single night, and must now decide how much of the defeat was a verdict on the president and how much reflected local candidates and conditions. Party strategists were already debating whether the losses pointed to a need to broaden the party's appeal on the economy or to double down on its core message ahead of the next presidential contest.
What happens next will take shape in stages. The remaining uncalled races will be resolved as counting finishes, the new Congress will be seated in January, and both parties will begin positioning for the battles over budgets, nominations and the legislative calendar. For now, though, the central fact of the morning is settled: American voters have chosen divided government, and the second half of Trump's term will be fought on very different terrain from the first.
More in USA
Photo: File:United States Senate Floor.jpg
USAAbdul El-Sayed becomes first Muslim elected to the US Senate after winning Michigan seat
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has defeated Republican Mike Rogers to win Michigan’s open US Senate seat, becoming the first Muslim elected to the chamber in American history.
Photo: The dome of the United States Capitol (file image)
USADemocrats sweep both houses of Congress in midterm landslide, handing Trump a major rebuke
Democrats have won control of both the US Senate and the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections, flipping seats in Texas, Kansas, Maine and other Republican-leaning states.
Photo: The Ohio State Capitol in Columbus (file image)
USAAmy Acton wins Ohio governor race, beating Vivek Ramaswamy to become first woman elected to the job
Democrat Amy Acton has defeated Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio, becoming the first woman ever elected governor of the state and the first Democrat to win the office in 20 years.