Democrats won control of the U.S. Senate and are on the brink of taking the House in Tuesday’s 2026 midterm elections in a widespread repudiation of President Donald Trump and the Republican Party that reached deep into their most loyal territory.
Six Senate seats and more than a dozen in the House have flipped toward Democrats. It’s the first time in decades that Texas, Kansas and South Carolina have elected Democratic senators. Democrats also flipped seats in North Carolina and Ohio.
Democrats Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia, Amy Acton in Ohio, Rod Sand in Iowa and Gina Hinojosa in Texas won races for governor, flipping GOP-held offices.
While Trump urged voters to pretend he was on the ballot, most appear to blame his administration for high costs and want Congress to impose more checks on him, according to The AP Voter Poll. Trump tried to shift the blame away from himself during a Fox News interview that aired early Wednesday, saying Democrats “did a good job” in their campaigns and blaming GOP candidates for losses.
Here's the latest:
Trump says he’ll accept election results but says ‘I don’t view it as a hit on me’
Trump has congratulated Democrats for their string of victories but maintains that the midterm elections are not a referendum on him.
“The Democrats did a good job. They fought hard,” he said in a phone interview with Fox News.
Several Trump-backed candidates lost in places that he won easily in 2024. But he blamed the candidates themselves, not policies of his that voters have looked on unfavorably, like the economy and Iran war.
“I don’t view it as a hit on me,” he said. “We’ve had the greatest two years in the history of the presidency.”
Maine Sen. Susan Collins concedes to Democrat Troy Jackson, ending her run for a sixth term
The Associated Press has not yet called the race.
Jackson is a former Maine Senate president who took over as the Democratic nominee in July after primary winner Graham Platner dropped out. He was tasked with defeating the longtime incumbent after a chaotic primary season that left the Democrats in disarray and briefly without a candidate.
Democrats had seen the race as a top opportunity to flip a Republican-held seat. Maine has supported Democrats for president since 1992, and Collins was running for reelection at a moment when President Trump is deeply unpopular.
Iowa Republican Lahn says his loss shows US is at a crossroads
Zach Lahn said his defeat to Democrat Rob Sand in the Iowa governor’s race sends a message to corporate interests, career politicians and lobbyists.
“America is at a crossroads,” he said. “The fight is just beginning right now.”
Lahn called on his supporters to “protect this state,” coming after Sand became the first Democrat elected governor in the state in two decades.
He said he spoke to Sand and that he’d keep him in his prayers.
“I wish him well in this,” he said.
Democrats flip 3 House seats in Iowa
Iowa had an all-Republican congressional delegation going into the election. Democrats have now picked up three of the state’s four House seats.
In the 1st Congressional District, Christina Bohannan defeated Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks. About 800 votes separated them two years ago, even though Trump comfortably carried the district, setting the stage for Bohannan to win on her third try for the seat.
Democrat Sarah Trone Garriott, a state senator and a Lutheran minister, defeated Zach Nunn in the state’s 3rd Congressional District.
And finally, Democratic candidate Lindsay James, a chaplain, defeated Republican Joe Mitchell in an open seat in the state’s 2nd Congressional District. The move by Rep. Ashley Hinson to run for the Senate had left the opening.
Both parties invested heavily in a state where farmers are dealing with headwinds from high gas prices and retaliatory tariffs.
Democrats flip control of Wisconsin Senate
Republican control of the Wisconsin Legislature has come to an end in at least one chamber.
Democrats won control of the state Senate on Tuesday and were making gains in the Assembly.
Democrats haven’t fully controlled Wisconsin’s government since 2010. But new legislative districts, ordered by the liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court, gave Democrats a better shot at flipping the legislative chambers this year.
Iowa’s Hinson says she’ll keep up ‘fight for common sense’ after defeat
Republican Ashley Hinson made brief remarks to supporters after Democrat Josh Turek won Iowa’s open seat in the U.S. Senate.
Hinson, who serves in the House, was hoping to replace retiring Republican Sen. Joni Ernst. Flanked by her family, Hinson thanked her staff and supporters for helping her fight to keep the American dream within reach for more Americans.
“I will continue to fight for common sense,” Hinson said.
“I think we ran an absolutely fabulous campaign across the state,” she added. “Lots of late nights and lots of miles.”
The AP Voter Poll: Hamilton won Kansas Senate voters who were moderates
Republican Sen. Roger Marshall performed significantly worse with Kansas Senate voters under 30, with roughly 8 in 10 backing Democrat Adam Hamilton. Marshall split this group with his Democratic opponent in 2020, during his last Senate campaign, according to AP VoteCast.
Hamilton won moderates in Kansas this year, with roughly 7 in 10 backing him over Marshall. Marshall only won about one-quarter of this group, down from about 4 in 10 in 2020.
Many Kansas voters also appeared concerned about Marshall’s character, after he faced accusations throughout the campaign that he had sent unpaid medical bills from former patients to collections agencies. A slim majority of Kansas voters said Marshall did not have the right personal character to serve in the U.S. Senate.
About half of voters, by contrast, said Hamilton was “too extreme.”
Gillibrand taken aback by breadth of Democratic Senate wins
New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was confident going into Tuesday but said she was surprised anyway.
“The size of the blue wave is bigger than I ever imagined,” the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee told The Associated Press. “It’s unbelievable.”
Calling from her hotel after the evening at the committee office watching returns, she at times broke into laughter when ticking through the high points of the evening.
For Gillibrand, the biggest thrill was easy. “Kansas,” she interrupted. “First time since 1932.”
Beyond the wins, she credited candidates with talking about issues that were heavy on voters’ minds: “housing costs, fuel costs, medical costs and how they are going to fight for these families across America.”
Democrat Adam Hamilton says win in deeply red Kansas is repudiation of Washington
Speaking before a raucous crowd, Hamilton said he won over Republicans and independents because they were not on board with the administration’s policies.
He cited economic pressure weighing on voters from tariffs along with the war in Iran as factors.
“I think the people in Kansas, Republicans, independents and Democrats are saying what’s happening in Washington is not OK,” he said.
He added: “I got elected because Kansans were saying, ‘We’re tired of the bullies. We’re tired of the chaos,’” Hamilton said to cheers.
Sherrod Brown says Ohio residents ‘sent an undeniable message’
Democrat Sherrod Brown told supporters they had made themselves clear to the nation.
“You sent an undeniable message tonight: Ohio is not for sale,” he said.
Brown’s victory over Republican Sen. Jon Husted was among the most expensive in the nation, topping $500 million in spending by campaigns and outside groups.
The former three-term senator pledged to return to Washington to fight for the average Ohio resident.
“My pledge to all Ohioans, whether you voted for me or not, is that I will always be on your side — always,” he said.
Figures wins redrawn Alabama House seat
U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures overcame an effort to unseat him through redistricting to win a second term in Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District.
Figures defeated Trump-backed Republican Rhett Marques. The district had been reshaped to favor the GOP after the U.S. Supreme Court’s redistricting decision.
“We had the deck stacked against us,” Figures said at his victory party. But he said they got to work, “and we did not look backwards.”
Rob Sand celebrates win in Iowa governor’s race
Sand told a loud and energized crowd of Democrats in Des Moines that Iowans sent a clear message Tuesday.
“We have to have bigger hearts and minds than just our party,” Sand said. “Come January, we will be forced to work together.”
Sand’s win breaks a Republican trifecta that’s gripped state government for about a decade. He told lawmakers Tuesday that he looks forward to working across the aisle to solve Iowa’s problems.
Sand also had supporters in the crowd sing an election-night rendition of “America the Beautiful,” which he asked attendees to sing at each of his town halls. He also thanked his family and offered a tribute to his late brother-in-law, Walter Lauridsen, who died unexpectedly last month.
Democrat Gina Hinojosa says her faith in Texas ‘never wavered’ in stunning upset
The crowd in Austin at her victory party screamed “Gina” repeatedly as the Democratic legislator who will be Texas’ first Latina governor addressed supporters.
“It never bothered me that they doubted me. It bothered me that they doubted us,” Hinojosa said. “Texas, my faith in you never wavered.”
Hinojosa said Gov. Abbott had called to congratulate her and offered to assist with her transition into office.
Hinojosa is a state lawmaker from Austin who entered the race last year with little money or name recognition. She told supporters about her upbringing along the Texas-Mexico border and her policy priorities, including fighting for public school teachers and keeping billionaires out of politics.
“Your life can be bigger than your dreams,” she said.
Xavier Becerra celebrates Democrats’ winning streak in California
He’ll take over from termed-out Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Becerra defeated GOP rival Steve Hilton while campaigning on a promise to push back against Trump and his administration’s Republican policies, from immigration to voting rights.
“If anyone wants to come after California or any one Californian, they better be ready for a fight,” Becerra said at a rally near Sacramento.
He’ll become the state’s first Latino governor since the late 19th century. Becerra was born in Sacramento to a mother from Mexico and a father who was born in California and raised in Mexico.
“What a great night to be an American, to be the son of immigrants from a union household, to be standing in victory with all of you,” Becerra said.
Sen. Chuck Schumer tells voters ‘relief is on the way’ after Democrats take the Senate
The longtime Democratic leader told reporters in Washington that “Americans voted for change” and that there had been a “generational remake of the Senate map.”
“Five words for the American people: relief is on the way,” the New York senator said.
Texas’ Democratic victories a ‘rude awakening’
After Talarico and Hinojosa won the races for Senate and governor in Texas, respectively, overturning more than three decades of Republican control, voter Aaron Dickerson, 30, said it's a wake-up call for the Lone Star State.
“I think it is a rude awakening,” said Dickerson, who attended Talarico’s exuberant watch party. “They’ve been in power here in Texas for 30 years, and I think voters are realizing that, the problems with Texas, the only people to blame are Republicans.”
Trump criticizes Texas governor after loss
After Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s defeat, Trump accused him of being a “RINO,” or a “Republican In Name Only.”
Abbott, one of the president’s most steadfast allies, lost his bid for a fourth term to Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa.
“If Greg Abbott, the Governor of Texas, hadn’t become a RINO in the last six months of his Political Life, he wouldn’t have lost,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He went back to his original formula, and it wasn’t pretty!”
‘Speaker! Speaker!’
Cheers erupted for Jeffries after he and his leadership team addressed the crowd at the House Democrats’ watch party.
Jeffries is in line to make history as the first Black speaker of the House, if Democrats win control and colleagues elect him to the job.
What to watch at midnight
Polls close in Hawaii and almost all of Alaska at midnight. The final polls of the 2026 midterms close at 1 a.m. in the Aleutian Islands, home of Alaska’s westernmost polling location.
In Alaska in 2024, about 25% of the total vote was not counted on election night. The bulk of the state’s mail voting results aren’t expected before Nov. 18, the deadline to receive overseas and military ballots. Mail and early in-person ballots comprised about 35% of the total vote in 2022 and about 45% in 2024.
Key contests to watch include the Senate and House races in Alaska.
Redistricting strategy falters for Republicans
Three more Democratic U.S. House members targeted for defeat through redistricting have won reelection.
In Alabama, Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures won a second term in a district that was redrawn to help Republicans after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling severely weakened the Voting Rights Act.
The Republican redraw dropped the district’s Black voting age population from 48% to 40%, making it more challenging for Democrats. While some incumbents affected by redistricting chose to retire or run in another district, Figures viewed the race as still winnable, and both parties ended up investing heavily in the race.
Meanwhile, in Texas, Republicans hoped to pick up five seats through redistricting. But Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez won reelection to a sixth term in a reconstituted district that Trump had won by about 10 percentage points over Kamala Harris.
And in Ohio, Rep. Greg Landsman, whose district on the westside of Cincinnati was redrawn, won reelection to a third term.
Republicans lay blame squarely at Trump’s feet
Republican campaign officials were unsparing in their blame of President Trump for Tuesday’s wholesale losses, particularly in Senate races.
The losses in South Carolina, Ohio and Texas — all states Trump carried easily two years ago — were a direct repudiation of the president, two officials with Senate campaigns said.
Trump asked voters to pretend he was on the ballot, which they did but not in the way the president hoped, the Republican strategists said, speaking on condition of anonymity to share internal conversations.
Voters were not happy with his policies and upset with what they felt was his exacerbation of their cost-of-living concerns, they said, adding that the broader Republican Party apparatus understands it was Trump and his team who cost the party the elections.
Texas Republican Wayne Hamilton, a former state GOP executive director, upon Texas Democrats capturing the U.S. Senate seat for the first time since 1988 as well as the governorship: “Does we got our butts kicked summarize it distinctly enough?”
“You just can’t overcome this environment.”
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— By Thomas Beaumont
Hakeem Jeffries: ‘America is back’
The House Democratic leader said this is not a partisan moment, but a patriotic one.
“Today begins the great American comeback,” Jeffries said to a cheering crowd at the Democrats’ watch party.
“We’re going to work hard to deliver on the dramatic change that you deserve,” he said.
“We hear you,” he said. “House Democrats are committed to making life better for you.”
In Ohio, Brown improved on his 2024 performance among key groups
Ohio Senate voters had a more positive opinion of Democrat Sherrod Brown than Republican Jon Husted, according to The AP Voter Poll, which found that about half of voters had a “strongly” or “somewhat” favorable view of Brown, while only about 4 in 10 felt the same way about Husted.
Most Ohio voters also saw Husted as “too supportive” of Trump, while less than half of voters said Brown was “too extreme.”
About half of Ohio voters said control of the Senate was “crucial” to their vote, and Brown won a majority of this group.
Brown substantially improved on his 2024 performance among young voters, while making more modest — but still significant — gains among moderates, lower-income voters and women. The vast majority, about 7 in 10, of voters under 30 supported Brown this year, while only about half of this group voted for him in 2024, according to AP VoteCast.
Brown also won about two-thirds of moderates this year, up from about 6 in 10 moderate voters in 2024, and just over half of women voters, after splitting this group with Sen. Bernie Moreno in 2024.
Texas Republican Ken Paxton congratulates James Talarico on winning Texas Senate seat
Paxton spoke briefly after Talarico’s victory.
“I will commit that I will be praying for him, that he will do good for Texas and this nation,” he said.
Paxton also acknowledged Republican losses across the country.
“We’ve had a difficult night tonight across the country, but it’s not over,” he said.
Democrats have won the US Senate
It marks a decisive rebuke of Republican control of governance in Washington, ushering in a new era of congressional resistance to Trump.
The midterm elections that came to a close Tuesday channeled voters’ deep frustration with high prices, the war in Iran and concerns about government corruption.
The House remains too early to call, but Democrats have already flipped seven seats as they try to win the majority in that chamber as well.
Democratic control of the Senate will profoundly reshape Trump’s final two years in office and likely hamstring his ability to push his agenda, including his hopes for sustaining a conservative shift to the Supreme Court.
Trump has promised he would use his veto power to block Democrats’ agenda, forecasting the potential for gridlock in Washington.
Crowd erupts when race is called for Talarico, then Gina Hinojosa
Thousands had arrived hoping a Democrat would win a statewide race in Texas for the first time in more than three decades. Talarico won the Senate seat. Then came another Democratic victory.
Gina Hinojosa beat Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, and the crowd’s excitement reached a crescendo.
People leapt in the air; others hugged; one danced; a young man called his dad; and an older man marveled that it was “unbelievable.”
Ramaswamy says he has ‘serious concerns’ about the nation’s future
Republican Vivek Ramaswamy expressed both reservations and hope for the future after losing the Ohio governor’s race to Democrat Amy Acton.
“I have to tell you, I have some serious concerns about the future direction of our country. There’s no avoiding that,” he told supporters at a subdued watch party. “But I do believe that there have been many ups and downs in the history of our country, and we have, in the end, still found our way upward.”
The biotech billionaire thanked his parents, who were in attendance, as well as his wife and her parents.
Trump tells The New York Times that he’ll respect the results of the election
As he watched election results from the White House, Trump told The New York Times late Tuesday that he would respect the results of the election and work alongside Democrats, who continued to rack up unlikely victories.
“I am absolutely willing to accept those results,” he said shortly before 10:30 p.m. “We’ll work with the Democrats, and we’ll, you know, look forward to working with them. We’ll probably work something out.”
