American voters have handed control of both chambers of Congress to the Democratic Party, delivering a major setback to President Donald Trump halfway through his second term. CBS News, NBC News and the Associated Press all projected Democratic majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate after Tuesday’s midterm elections.
The Senate flips
Republicans went into the election holding the Senate 53–47, meaning Democrats needed a net gain of four seats. They did far better. According to NBC News, Democrats flipped seven Republican-held seats: Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Maine, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas. By Wednesday morning, Yahoo News’ tally had Democrats at 54 seats to the Republicans’ 44, with Alaska and Mississippi still too close to call.
Some of the night’s biggest upsets came in states Trump carried comfortably in 2024. In Texas, state Rep. James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton, giving Democrats their first Texas Senate win since 1988. Former Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown won his way back to Washington by defeating Sen. Jon Husted. Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper flipped that state’s open seat, and in Maine, longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins lost to Democrat Troy Jackson and conceded.
Democrats also held seats Republicans had targeted. Sen. Jon Ossoff won re-election in Georgia, Abdul El-Sayed held Michigan and is set to become the first Muslim US senator, and Chris Pappas kept New Hampshire blue by defeating former Sen. John Sununu.
Republicans had bright spots too. Ashley Moody held Florida’s Senate seat, and Sen. Pete Ricketts beat independent Dan Osborn in Nebraska.
The House
Democrats needed to pick up only a handful of seats to retake the House, and the networks called the chamber for them overnight. MS NOW projects Democrats will finish with at least 250 seats, though about 75 races were still being counted early Wednesday, according to CBS News. Iowa was a striking example of the swing: Democrats flipped three of the state’s four House seats.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is now in line to become the first Black Speaker of the House.
Governors
Democrats also won governorships in Iowa, Ohio, Georgia and Texas, where Gina Hinojosa unseated Gov. Greg Abbott. In Ohio, Amy Acton beat Vivek Ramaswamy. In Florida, Republican Byron Donalds won and will become the state’s first Black governor.
A historic result
CBC News noted that Trump is the first president in 20 years to lose both the House and the Senate in a midterm. Turnout was strong: before polls closed, nearly 10 million more Americans had voted early than at the same point in 2022.
The new Congress takes office in January 2027.
