Democrats have won control of Congress in Tuesday's 2026 midterm elections in a widespread repudiation of President Donald Trump and the Republican Party, a drubbing that reached deep into reliable GOP territory.
Democrats flipped at least seven Senate seats in ruby-red states and battlegrounds alike: Kansas, which hasn't elected a Democratic senator in nearly a century, Iowa, Texas, Ohio, Maine, North Carolina and South Carolina. They held on to battleground seats in Georgia and Michigan. In the House, Democrats flipped more than two dozen districts, some that voted for Trump by double digits in 2024.
Democrats Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia, Amy Acton in Ohio, Rob Sand in Iowa and Gina Hinojosa in Texas won races for governor, flipping GOP-held offices.
Trump faces a profoundly reshaped Washington for the last two years of his presidency. Democrats will have the power to block his legislative agenda, reject his appointees and investigate his administration.
After telling voters repeatedly to "pretend I'm on the ballot," Trump tried to shift the blame away from himself, saying Democrats "did a good job" in their campaigns and blaming GOP candidates for losses. Most voters appear to blame his administration for high costs and want Congress to impose more checks on him, according to The AP Voter Poll.
Here's the latest:
House Democrats celebrate ‘American tsunami’
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries says the midterm election results are a “stunning rebuke of MAGA extremism.”
“It wasn’t simply a blue wave. It was an American tsunami,” he said during a celebratory news conference.
Jeffries projected that Democrats would win at least 255 House seats, and cited the party’s gains in gubernatorial races and the Senate.
“It was a great victory for the American people,” Jeffries said.
The IRS will be a Trump investigation target for Senate Democrats
Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, who will inherit the gavel of the Senate Finance Committee in January, said Wednesday that one of the panel’s priorities will be looking at how the Treasury Department and the IRS have been administered under Trump.
The Trump administration has been accused of using the IRS for political means, particularly for its immigration policies. There was also a Justice Department order that the IRS would be “forever barred and precluded” from investigating or auditing the tax filings of Trump, his family, and his businesses.
In a statement, Wyden said the White House and its business allies “will be forced to answer to the Senate Finance Committee for their role in hurting the American people and enabling Trump’s corruption.”
Democrats made sweeping gains in state governments
The party took control of several legislatures and shifted the balance of power across battleground and historically Republican-leaning states.
Democrats took full control in Minnesota and Wisconsin and could pick up more states to earn additional trifectas. That means having both statehouse chambers and the governor’s office.
The wins put pressure on the party to answer to an electorate angry over gas prices, affordable housing and the rising cost of living overall. State governments shape a wide array of policies affecting everyday lives. That includes tax rates and abortion rights, school choice and education funding, and data center development.
Florida Republican says election has lessons for GOP
U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack said it’s time for the Republican Party to have a “family discussion and a frank one at that” following its election “wipeout.”
Asked about the House Republican leadership, the Florida Republican told Fox News, “Last night was a referendum on all of the leadership in Washington. For anyone who is looking for my support, I want to see a game plan because the same tired playbook is not going to work.”
She said the party will be “missing the bigger picture” if it only focuses on the 2028 elections, including for president.
“We need to be prepared for the next 10, 15, 20, 50 years, and the same tactics are not going to do it. … It’s clear (voters) weren’t happy with our performance,” she said.
Democrat Christina Hines wins election to U.S. House in Michigan’s 10th Congressional District
Democrat Christina Hines won election Wednesday to the U.S. House of Representatives representing Michigan’s 10th Congressional District, defeating Republican Michael Bouchard.
Hines hails from Macomb County in the battleground district. A prosecutor, she has criticized the Democratic Party’s left wing, refusing to back candidates who belong to the Democratic Socialists of America.
Bouchard is an Army veteran and the son of a longtime Oakland County sheriff, who hoped to succeed Republican John James, who left the seat to run for governor. The Associated Press declared Hines the winner at 12:26 p.m. EST.
Schumer predicts he will prevail in Senate leadership race
Schumer told reporters Wednesday that “I’ll be reelected as majority leader” after resounding Democratic wins in Tuesday’s elections.
Schumer has faced criticism from many in the left wing of his party who say it is time for generational change at the top, and several Democrats who were elected would not commit to supporting him.
No senators have stepped up to challenge him in the closed-door leadership race, which is expected to happen in the coming weeks.
Talarico vows to focus on kitchen table issues, not retribution
Talarico said Wednesday on CNN that he believes voters handed Democrats “one last chance to deliver for them.”
“They didn’t send us to Washington for political retribution,” he said in response to a question about whether the incoming Democratic-controlled Congress should impeach Trump administration officials. “They sent us to Washington to lower costs, to root out corruption, to get this economy back on track.”
Mississippi Democrat Scott Colom says he is confident in eventual Senate victory
The Associated Press has not called Colom’s race against Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith. But Colom said Wednesday that outstanding ballots will go his way.
“Unlike all the people across the country that might be surprised, our campaign, our volunteers, the people of Mississippi are not surprised,” he said. “We have already shown the country that Mississippi matters.”
Colom said his campaign has volunteers in every county to monitor the vote certification and help voters who cast affidavit ballots. Often, that involves voters who did not satisfy voter ID requirements. Colom said those voters have until Nov. 10 to visit local elections offices and present valid ID to have their ballot counted.
In the 2022 midterms, Mississippi had 7,612 affidavit ballots cast; 5,710 were counted.
Colom asked his team to help any provisional ballot voter who needs assistance.
“We will protect the integrity of this election,” he said.
Democrats claim victory in tight races for Kansas governor and attorney general
State Sen. Cindy Holscher issued a statement Wednesday referring to herself as governor-elect and looking forward to working with term-limited Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly on the transition into office.
But her Republican opponent, Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, had not conceded, and The Associated Press had not called the race.
A Holscher victory would be an upset after the Republican Governors Association poured $19 million into television and digital advertising in an attempt to flip the office back to the GOP, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. Democrats have never held the Kansas governor’s office longer than Kelly’s eight-year tenure.
Democratic attorney and ex-police officer Chris Mann declared himself the next attorney general over Republican incumbent Kris Kobach even though the AP had not called that race either. The race was a rematch of their 2022 contest, which Kobach narrowly won.
World leaders express relief and caution at results
Some world leaders who have sparred with Trump are expressing hope that Republicans’ rout in the midterms will herald a less combative U.S. foreign policy but caution that it might not end the conflict with Iran or boost U.S. support for Ukraine.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said the majority of Americans had sent a clear message that “they have had enough of MAGA and now want a different course,” referring to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
Progressive politicians cast the results as part of a trend of liberal comebacks around the world.
Spain’s social democratic Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Americans had voted “Against hate. Against machismo. Against climate denialism and against the privileges of the elites.”
But others in Europe cautioned that, with Trump in power for two more years, there would be no quick change to American foreign policy.
Florida’s first Black governor-elect keeps the state red
Republican Byron Donalds, a staunch Trump ally, succeeds Ron DeSantis, who used the office to fan presidential ambitions and steer the nation’s third-most populous state further to the right.
“Over the next four years we’re going to take Florida to a whole new level,” Donalds said in his victory speech.
The race was a test of whether Trump’s unpopularity would extend to his backyard. Donalds balanced his support for Trump with efforts to create some distance, including minimizing references to the president on his website.
“Mr. President, I want you to hear from Florida that we are still red,” Donalds said. “Thank you for your support and thank you for being in my corner.”
Ossoff’s victory moves him to the forefront against Trump
Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff’s reelection has made him a national star for Democrats looking to stymie Trump’s final White House years.
A top Republican target and the only Senate Democrat seeking reelection in a state Trump carried in 2024, Ossoff became a staple of social media feeds as he raised more than $100 million, sparking speculation that he could run for the presidency in 2028.
“The American people have rebuked the depravity, corruption and incompetence of the failed lame duck president, Donald J. Trump,” Ossoff said. He added: “Together, we’ve affirmed that our task is not just to contain one president’s wickedness, but to heal the brokenness beneath.”
Democrat Kristina Knickerbocker declares victory in Ohio over GOP Rep. Mike Turner
Democrat Kristina Knickerbocker has declared victory in her challenge to 12-term Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Turner of southwest Ohio.
The 35-year-old nurse practitioner delivered her remarks to supporters early Wednesday in the tight contest, whose result has not yet been called by The Associated Press. Turner has not conceded.
Knickerbocker said Tuesday’s election results represented everyday people standing up to the status quo in Washington.
“As an Air Force veteran and a mom of two young kids, I was so tired of watching families suffer needlessly because policies were built to hurt them, not protect them,” she said, adding she wants to see Ohio families “thrive, not just survive.”
House No. 2 Republican Steve Scalise to run for GOP leader, AP source says
Scalise will seek the leadership post after Speaker Johnson decided not to stay on as leader after Democrats trounced the GOP.
That’s according to a person familiar with Scalise’s thinking who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private plans.
Scalise, who represents Louisiana, is currently the House Majority Leader and is likely to face rival Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, who is also eyeing the leadership position.
Republicans are expected to hold their internal party elections next week.
Progressive Sen. Chris Van Hollen won’t commit to supporting Schumer as Democratic leader
Asked if he’d support Schumer to continue as leader in the new Congress, Van Hollen said Democrats needed to have a “full, open and honest discussion” about “where we want to take the party.”
“Whoever runs for leader should be able to lay out a clear vision about how we’re going to use this power for good,” the second-term Maryland senator told the AP in a telephone interview Wednesday.
Van Hollen has become a prominent voice among progressives, and he endorsed candidates in Democratic primaries over Schumer’s preferred picks.
He has talked about running for president and told AP that he was still “very actively kicking the tires on 2028.”
Talarico tells Texas voters: ‘You were my slingshot’
Sen.-elect James Talarico invoked a Biblical reference to describe how Democrats overcame money and other challenges to win in Texas.
“David wasn’t as big or as strong as Goliath, he didn’t have as many weapons, but he had hope, he had faith, and he had a slingshot,” he told a crowd of supporters in Austin. “The people of Texas were my slingshot. And tonight we defeated Goliath.”
“We just took back Texas. We just proved that all the money in the world is no match for the people of Texas. We just showed that a politics of division is no match for a politics of love,” he added.
Vance blames war in Iran for midterm losses
In a lengthy online post, the vice president seemingly sought to distance himself from election results seen as a referendum on Trump that featured big Republican losses across the country.
“The reason we lost is the war,” Vance wrote, adding, “If you’d like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that’s at least honest.”
Gillibrand predicts bipartisan work in Senate with Democrats in charge
Speaking on CNN Wednesday, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand — who has chaired Democrats’ Senate campaign arm for the midterms — expressed confidence that her party would work with Republicans to put an end to Trump-backed efforts like the war in Iran, which she called “unnecessary, unauthorized, unwanted.”
Asked how Democrats would turn back the president’s efforts without a veto-proof majority in the Senate, Gillibrand called Democratic efforts to clamp down on tariffs and improve elevated costs she traced to the war “common sense, arguably bipartisan ideas.”
Voters, she added, showed they are “fed up” by supporting Democratic candidates in states where Republicans had long held Senate seats, including Texas, Iowa and South Carolina.
Gillibrand said she “certainly” would back fellow New York Sen. Chuck Schumer as her party’s leader in the chamber.
Democrat has a narrow lead in uncalled race for Kansas governor
Democrat Cindy Holscher has a lead of less than a percentage point over Republican Ty Masterson in the Kansas governor's race.
Holscher's 5,557-vote lead, with an estimated 98% of votes counted, comes after Democrat Adam Hamilton became the first member of his party to win a Senate seat in nearly a century.
Both Holscher and Masterson serve in the state Senate, where the latter serves as its president.
The Associated Press will only declare a winner when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidate to close the gap.
Alaska’s governor’s race has not been called
Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins has a 20-percentage-point lead over Republican Bernadette Wilson in Alaska's governor's race.
Kreiss-Tomkins’ share of the vote is 49.2% with an estimated 74% of ballots counted.
Under Alaska’s ranked choice voting system, the election advances to another round if no candidate gets more than 50% of the votes.
Jackson says Maine Democrats pulled together to unseat Collins
Troy Jackson, 58, a fifth-generation logger and former state Senate president, had a little more than 100 days to sell himself to Maine voters after he replaced Graham Platner as the party’s nominee in July.
“We had a party to unite, a movement to build and a senator to defeat,” Jackson said in his victory speech. “This morning, the people of Maine have elected that logger to the United States Senate.”
Alaska’s Senate race uncalled by The Associated Press
Democrat Mary Peltola has a 626-vote lead over Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan in Alaska.
The Associated Press has not called the contest yet. If neither candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, then it will go to ranked choice voting under Alaska law.
Peltola’s share of the votes stood at 48.2% compared with 47.9% for Sullivan, with an estimated 74% of ballots counted.
The AP does not make projections and will only declare a winner when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidate to close the gap.
Sen.-elect El-Sayed expresses pride in name Trump tried to weaponize
In his victory speech in Michigan’s Senate race, Abdul El-Sayed used the middle name Trump often invoked while telling voters they should fear the progressive Democrat.
“My name is Abdulrahman Mohamed Sayed, and I am so proud and honored to stand here as your senator-elect from the great state of Michigan,” he said.
DeSantis predicts ‘more conflict’ in Washington
Ron DeSantis, the outgoing Republican governor of Florida, said his state demonstrated how the GOP can win in a tough political environment.
“People can look at Florida and show how you can deliver big results and how you can build a durable coalition,” he said.
The state avoided the brunt of Democratic victories, electing Republicans to the governor’s office and U.S. Senate. But DeSantis, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, was clear about the party’s struggles nationally.
“It’s going to take time to dig out of the hole that was there,” he said.
DeSantis, a former congressman, added, “You’re going to see a lot more conflict between the Congress and the executive.”
He said the chances of a Democratic Congress approving Trump’s nominations to the Supreme Court or Cabinet agencies were “zero.”
Democrat Scott Colom and GOP Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith in close race
Mississippi's contest is one of two Senate races in which the outcome is still unclear.
Democratic candidate Scott Colom leads Republican incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by 43 votes with an estimated 96% of votes counted.
The Associated Press has not declared a winner in the race yet.
The AP does not make projections and will only declare a winner when it’s determined there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidate to close the gap.
Mississippi does not have an automatic recount process, but a challenger can seek a court order for one.
The Associated Press has also not called Alaska’s Senate contest between incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola.
American pope reacts to US election results
Speaking in Italian, Pope Leo XIV told hundreds of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square that “the political community exists for the sake of the common good.”
“The exercise of political authority must always be directed towards the common good, which must be structured and operate according to local and historical circumstances, but always with the good of the entire human family at heart,” said Leo, the first pope to vote in a U.S. election.
Chuck Schumer to Americans: ‘Relief is on the way’
“Oh man, wow, wow, wow,” the Senate minority leader said in his victory speech. “Against all odds, we Democrats have won the Senate!”
Schumer said Democrats recruited great candidates who focused their campaigns on costs, chaos and corruption, while Republicans embraced “the worst president ever.”
“Republicans made a choice and followed Trump over the cliff,” Schumer said. “We listened, they didn’t. And the American people reduced the red brick wall to a pile of bricks.”
Schumer closed with a warning to his own party: “Americans voted for change and now, Democrats must deliver.”
Democratic Sen.-elect Hamilton credits Kansans for voting against Trumpism
Methodist megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton’s defeat of Republican Sen. Roger Marshall is the first Democratic Senate win in Kansas since 1932.
“It’s pretty exciting to make history … but to me it’s really more a statement of what’s wrong,” Hamilton said. “Kansans voted overwhelmingly to say this is not OK.”
“I think the people in Kansas, Republicans and Democrats, are saying that what’s happening in Washington is not OK,” Hamilton said. “Kansans are also fed up with the way politicians divide us.”
Johnson won’t seek reelection as House Republican leader after Democratic takeover, an AP source says
House Speaker Mike Johnson will not seek election as House Republican leader following the Democrats’ win. That’s according to a person who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose the plans.
Democrats are riding their sweep of Congress into a new era. They’re eager to meet voter demands for change with plans to tackle high costs of living and confront President Donald Trump’s final years in the White House.
The results of Tuesday’s midterm elections set up a moment of divided government. Democrats ousted Republicans from coast to coast and in many surprising places in between. Voters rejected the president’s party for the promise of something different.
The AP Voter Poll: Democrats increased their support with moderate voters
Democrats increased their support with moderate voters, particularly in key Senate races where Democrats flipped Republican-held seats.
Roughly two-thirds of moderates supported the Democratic candidate in their local U.S. House race, an uptick from the approximately 6 in 10 moderate voters who backed Harris.
A large majority of moderate voters, about 8 in 10, said Congress was not doing enough to provide checks and balances on the presidency, and a similarly high share said they had experienced at least a “moderate” hardship in the past year because of inflation.
Many Democratic candidates benefited from significant moderate support. In Kansas, Democrat Adam Hamilton won about 7 in 10 moderate voters, a substantial rise from the roughly half that Harris won in 2024. There was a similar pattern in Iowa as Democrat Josh Turek won about two-thirds of moderates, up from about half for Harris.
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