Topline
Democrats won control of both the House and Senate in a decisive blue wave, flipping seven Republican-held Senate seats—with two more GOP locked in dead-heat races—in a sweeping electoral rout that will be widely viewed as a rebuke of President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda.
Democrats flipped seven seats to regain control of the Senate.
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
Democrats could still win two more Senate seats with races in Mississippi and Alaska still too close to call as of Wednesday morning—.01% of votes seperates Republican incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith from her Democratic challenger Scott Colom in Mississippi (with 96% of precints reporting) and less than .5% of votes separates Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan in Alaska from Democrat Mary Peltola.
The Associated Press called the House for Democrats early Wednesday morning, completing the party’s sweep of both chambers of Congress after it also regained control of the Senate.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is poised to become the first Black speaker of the House, succeeding Republican Mike Johnson when the new Congress convenes in January. Jeffries, who has led House Democrats since 2023, must first be elected speaker by the incoming House.
The AP called the Senate for Democrats late Tuesday night after Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek defeated Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson in Iowa, giving the party enough seats to regain control of the chamber.
Democrat Troy Jackson defeated five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine, according to the Associated Press, ending her nearly 30-year tenure in the Senate and bringing the total number of Republican-held seats flipped by Democrats to seven.
Early on Wednesday, AP called the Michigan Senate race for Democrat Abdul El-Sayed early, who defeated Republican Mike Rogers despite his former Democratic primary rival, Rep. Haley Stevens, withdrawing her support and endorsing Rogers just two days before the election, and is now set to become the first Muslim U.S. senator.
Democrats needed a net gain of four seats to win control of the Senate and they have have now secured 54 Senate contests, compared to Republicans’ 44.
Democrats also held on to the open Senate seat in Minnesota, where the AP called the race for Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who defeated Republican candidate and former sports broadcaster Michele Tafoya.
Talarico flipped the seat blue despite Republicans vastly outspending Democrats in the most expensive race of this year’s midterm cycle.
Democratic Rev. Adam Hamilton ousted Sen. Roger Marshall in the Kansas Senate race, making Hamilton the first Democrat elected to represent Kansas in the Senate since 1932.
Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown won the Ohio Senate contest, beating Sen. Jon Husted in a toss-up race crucial to Republicans’ chances of maintaining control of the Senate.
Democrat Annie Andrews scored one of the most stunning victories of the night by beating Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sister who was appointed by the state’s Republican governor to complete her brother’s term after his death in July and was backed by Trump for a full term.
North Carolina’s former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper beat Trump-endorsed former Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley in the North Carolina Senate race, according to the Associated Press, flipping the seat held by retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis and becoming the first Democrat to win a Senate race there since 2008.
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., won the Florida governor’s race to succeed Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, beating Democratic former Rep. David Jolly in a tight race.
Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas won the New Hampshire Senate race over Republican John Sununu—making Pappas the first openly gay man elected to the Senate.
Republican Sen. Ashley Moody, who was appointed to replace Secretary of State Marco Rubio when he joined Trump’s Cabinet, staved off a challenge in Florida from Democratic state Rep. Angie Nixon, a democratic socialist, with Moody narrowly ahead 51% to 48% when the Associated Press called the race with 96% of votes counted.
Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., won reelection with 64% of the vote over Republican Rep. Mike Collins (36%) when the Associated Press called the race—an expected win as most polls showed Ossoff’s lead growing as Election Day neared, though the race was considered in reach for Collins.
Democratic incumbent governors in Maryland (Wes Moore), Pennsylvania (Josh Shapiro) and Illinois (J.B. Pritzker) also won their races, as expected, while the party also flipped Republican-held governorships in Texas, Georgia, Ohio, Iowa and Nevada.
Democrats also made history in several gubernatorial races, with former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms becoming the first Black woman elected governor of a U.S. state after winning in Georgia, while Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford became his state’s first Black governor and Democrat Gina Hinojosa became the first Latina elected governor of Texas.
Six Senate races were rated as toss ups by Cook Political Report: Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Ohio and Texas, five of which Trump won by double digits in 2024 (Texas, Iowa, Alaska, Kansas and Ohio).
How Have Foreign Leaders Reacted To Midterm Results?
Some foreign leaders welcomed the overwhelming Democratic victories, including British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who told reporters the world “has an opportunity now to unite around the issue that is affecting us all, and that’s the cost of living.” Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said in a post on X the United States “voted against policies that only make people poorer,” saying the global far-right movement is “crumbling.” Espen Barth Eide, foreign minister of Norway—a country Trump attacked after not winning the Nobel Peace Prize—said Americans have declared “they have had enough of MAGA and now want a different course. Enough of polarization.” But other foreign leaders were silent, including the leaders of France, Italy and Germany. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not yet commented on the election results, while Iranian officials taunted Trump over the Democratic wave. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran’s parliament, said on X: “Conscience or the cost of living, Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message.”
What did exit polls show?
A CNN exit poll found about 60% of voters nationally disapprove of Trump’s job performance, including about one-fifth of Trump’s 2024 backers (the exit poll combined in-person interviews with voters on Election Day with tens of thousands of interviews conducted in the weeks prior). The survey found around 90% of voters said the cost of living was a crucial or major factor in their votes. About 75% said they are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country, and two-thirds blame Trump for worsening economic conditions. An Associated Press exit poll also found widespread pessimism. More than half of voters say they expect life to be worse for the next generation. About 80% said inflation has caused a “severe” or “moderate” financial hardship on their households, and more than 80% said they are “very” or “somewhat” concerned about the cost of gas, groceries, utilities and healthcare. Around two-thirds said Trump’s policies have made economic conditions in the U.S. worse, while only about 30% said they’ve made them better. Approximately 60% said Trump is more concerned about his own personal interests than the country’s. About 60% say the U.S. made the “wrong decision” in attacking Iran and one-third said the Iran war was a crucial factor in their votes for Congress.
what happened on election day?
Trump sent at least 20 Democrats letters Tuesday suggesting they’re “targets” in a criminal investigation over potential voter confusion in Alaska, multiple outlets report—which does not necessarily mean they’ll be charged—as the Trump administration probes candidate Daniel J. Sullivan’s candidacy in the state’s Senate race and whether it was intentionally orchestrated by Democrats to confuse supporters of Sen. Daniel S. Sullivan, the Republican incumbent. Trump also chided media outlets on Tuesday for what he viewed as negative reporting on his final midterm speech at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool on Monday, claiming the Daily Mail and others took him seriously when he said he planned to rename the memorial after himself, which he said was a joke. Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis expressed concerns about his party’s chances in the state’s neck-and-neck gubernatorial and Senate races, saying at an event that Democrats are “energized” while there’s “wind in the Republicans’ faces” and predicting “it’s certainly possible we’ll lose one or two” top races “if our voters don’t turn out well today.”Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced Georgia was on pace to have 1.2 million ballots cast Tuesday—a number that could be bad news for Republicans as they face high-stakes Senate and gubernatorial races, as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes GOP strategists believed they needed at least 1.5 million votes cast on Election Day to overcome sluggish early voting among Republicans.
Key Background
Democrats entered Election Day widely expected to pick up multiple Senate seats, as polls consistently show Democratic candidates leading most key races. Republicans flipped the chamber in the 2024 election after four years of Democratic control. Prior to Democrats regaining control in the 2020 election, Republicans held the majority since the 2014 election. Trump’s low approval rating—largely driven by cost-of-living concerns and high gas prices due to the Iran war—are widely considered to be dragging down the Republican ticket.
What To Expect now that Democrats have Won Both Chambers
Democrats are eyeing numerous investigations related to Trump and his allies if they retake control of one or both chambers of Congress. A significant portion are expected to center around Trump’s personal business dealings and whether he has used the presidency to enrich himself financially. Trump has become significantly richer since he was elected for a second time. Forbes estimates his net worth has grown by at least $2.7 billion, driven largely by his cryptocurrency ventures. Elon Musk—whose businesses have received billions of dollars in new government contracts during Trump’s second term—is expected to be a prominent target for probes, as are Jeffrey Epstein associates, including Trump. Trump said Monday he might pre-emptively pardon Musk and members of his administration to protect them if Democrats win. Democrats, so far, have shown little appetite for impeaching Trump for a third time, however, as the effort would be unlikely to secure the two-thirds support it needs in the Senate. A simple majority vote in the House would be enough to impeach the president.
California Voters To Decide On Billionaire Tax
Proposition 40 would impose a one-time 5% tax on the approximately 260 billionaires in the state. Some have poured millions into fighting it. Google co-founder Sergey Brin has given more than $100 million to support the Building a Better California political action committee that created two competing measures, Propositions 41 and 42, that could cancel out Proposition 40. Proposition 41 would prohibit exemptions, such as the one included in Proposition 40, on state spending limits from revenues collected in new taxes. Proposition 42 would prohibit wealth taxes and retroactive taxes. The measure with the most votes wins. The state’s 10 wealthiest billionaires could pay $31.5 billion collectively if Proposition 40 prevails, Forbes estimated previously, with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg leading the pack with a potential bill of $10.9 billion. He is now the richest person in the state after others, including Brin and Google cofounder Larry Page, left. We estimate Page saved upward of $11.6 billion by leaving, while Brin avoided a bill of about $11 billion.
Multiple Communities Weigh Data Center Moratoriums
Communities in states including Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, California, Florida, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Kansas and Maine all have data center issues on their ballots. There are 21 ballot issues related to data centers in Ohio, including bans in 13 municipalities—the most of any state by far. Data centers have become known as a “third rail” in this year’s midterm cycle, as voters have soured on the AI power centers, citing concerns about rising electricity bills and power and water consumption, among others, though polls show they’re more unpopular among Democrats than Republicans.
Big Number
38%. That’s Trump’s approval rating in Nate Silver’s Silver Bulletin poll tracker. Trump had a 40% approval rating the week beginning Oct. 29, 2018, and former President Joe Biden also had a 40% approval rating halfway through his term, according to Gallup.
What To Watch For
Progressives’ performance will be considered a barometer for 2028 as the Democratic Party works to rebuild its identity after a disastrous 2024 campaign cycle. Several, including Democratic state Rep. James Talarico in Texas, Democrat Troy Jackson in Maine and Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota, are running in close Senate races. Recent high-profile left-wing wins—such as Democratic socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s election and Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s primary win—have indicated a leftward shift in the party, but it’s unclear if those successes would translate to wins on the national stage in a presidential election year.