Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections on 3 November, ending two years of Republican rule in Washington and leaving President Donald Trump to face a Congress run by the other party for the last two years of his term.
The Associated Press called the Senate for Democrats late on Tuesday, after Democrat Josh Turek beat Republican Ashley Hinson in Iowa. CBS News and ABC News projected the House for the party later that night, and the Associated Press called the House early on Wednesday. Final seat numbers were still not known on Wednesday morning.
By the Associated Press tally, Democrats had won 228 House seats and led in 34 more, with 218 needed for a majority. In the Senate, the party had won 54 seats, with 51 needed for a majority, their clearest Senate majority since 2008. The party flipped seven Senate seats and at least 29 House seats.
Democrats flip seven Senate seats
The party flipped Senate seats in Texas, Ohio, Kansas, Iowa, North Carolina, South Carolina and Maine. In Texas, James Talarico beat Ken Paxton, the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in the state in more than 30 years. In Ohio, Sherrod Brown beat Senator Jon Husted. Roy Cooper won the open seat in North Carolina.
In South Carolina, Annie Andrews beat Darline Graham, the sister of former Senator Lindsey Graham, who had been picked by Trump to run for the seat. In Kansas, Adam Hamilton unseated Senator Roger Marshall, the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in the state in almost a century. In Iowa, Josh Turek beat Ashley Hinson. In Maine, Troy Jackson defeated Senator Susan Collins, who conceded and called her years in the Senate the honour of her life.
Michigan elected Abdul El-Sayed, who beat Republican Mike Rogers by 52 percent to 46 percent. El-Sayed is the first Muslim elected to the United States Senate. Georgia elected the first Black woman governor in American history, and New Mexico elected the first Native American woman governor. Democrats also held Senate seats in Georgia, New Hampshire, Minnesota and Michigan.
Democrats take the House as counts continue
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries declared victory at 10:39 pm on Tuesday. He said his party would win at least 255 seats, if not more, though that is his own forecast. Republicans went into election day with a 219 to 214 edge in the House and a 53 to 47 majority in the Senate. The party needed to gain four Senate seats and picked up seven, CBS News reported.
Democrats won House seats in districts where Trump beat his Democratic opponent by as much as 18 percentage points in 2024. In Pennsylvania, Democrats picked up three formerly Republican seats. Prediction markets had put the chance of the party winning both chambers at about 75 percent on Tuesday, before the results came in. It is the first time in 20 years that a Republican president has lost both chambers of Congress.
Trump says Iran war played a part
Trump acknowledged on Wednesday that the United States-Israeli war on Iran played a role in his party’s defeat. "I think a part of it was Iran," Trump told Fox News in an interview. "Iran was a piece of it," he said separately to the Wall Street Journal. But he stood by his decision to attack Iran. "I did the right thing," he told the Journal. "I would have done it again."
The war, now in its ninth month, has been unpopular among Americans since it began. On the campaign trail, Democratic candidates across the country blamed the conflict for driving up the cost of gas and other goods. Trump told Fox News he would accept the results and congratulated the Democrats for their string of victories. "The Democrats did a good job. They fought hard," he said. He added: "I don’t view it as a hit on me."
What a Democratic Congress means for Trump
The party will take control of House committees in January 2027, allowing them to issue subpoenas and investigate the Trump administration, NBC News reported. In the Senate, the party still falls short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster, which limits its ability to pass legislation. Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer vowed on Wednesday to push for an end to the Iran war and said the party could use control over government funding to press for that goal.
Markets rose after the result. The Dow rose about 3 percent, its best post-midterm day in 44 years, according to the Motley Fool. The result also eased expectations that Trump would resume military strikes against Iran, and Brent crude fell almost 9 percent. The final size of each majority will only be known when the count finishes.