WASHINGTON, November 4, 2026 — Voters delivered a blistering rebuke to President Trump on Tuesday, handing Democrats control of both the Senate and the House in a midterm rout that reset the balance of power in Washington. The romp stretched from coast to coast, flipping seven Republican-held Senate seats and building a House majority not seen in three decades.
The Scene at the Watch Parties
By nightfall, the ballroom at the Democratic National Committee’s election headquarters smelled of stale coffee and adrenaline. Volunteers stared at screens flashing blue across a map that had been stubbornly red for years. When the Texas call came — James Talarico toppling Ken Paxton in a state that hadn’t sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1988 — a cheer rose that shook the windows.
“We just took back Texas,” Talarico told the crowd, his voice cracking. “We just showed that a politics of division is no match for a politics of love.”
On the ground in Maine, residents describe a different kind of shock. Susan Collins had held her seat for thirty years, surviving wave after wave of Democratic challengers. This time, Troy Jackson, a former state legislator drafted in July after the party’s preferred nominee quit in scandal, unseated her. At a Portland diner Wednesday morning, a waitress who gave her name only as Marie shook her head. “Nobody thought she could lose. Nobody.”
A Map Rewritten
The Senate flips read like a roll call of Republican strongholds: Maine, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas. According to The Associated Press, Democrats captured all seven. The Kansas seat had been in Republican hands for nearly a century. Rev. Adam Hamilton stunned one-term incumbent Roger Marshall. In South Carolina, Dr. Annie Andrews prevailed over Senator Darline Graham, sister of the late Lindsey Graham.
In Michigan, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed won a bruising race that saw his primary rival, Representative Haley Stevens, endorse the Republican nominee days before the election. His victory makes him the first Muslim American elected to the U.S. Senate.
“My name is Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed,” he told a jubilant crowd in Detroit, “and I am so proud and honoured to stand here as your Senator-elect from the great state of Michigan.” He paused. “Up until right about now, you might have noticed I always say inshallah, or God willing, whenever the outcome of this race was mentioned. But today, tonight, we can turn that inshallah into an alhamdulillah.”
Ballots were still being counted in Alaska and Mississippi as of Wednesday afternoon, where a handful of votes separated the candidates.
House Majority at Historic Levels
An NBC News analysis projects Democrats will win at least 258 House seats — well beyond the 218 needed for a majority and a number the party hadn’t reached since 1993, Bill Clinton’s first year in office. The closest they had come since was 257 in 2009, when Barack Obama took power.
The blue wave washed from the East Coast to Texas’ Rio Grande Valley. In Pennsylvania, four Republican incumbents fell: Brian Fitzpatrick, Ryan Mackenzie, Rob Bresnahan, and Scott Perry, the former Freedom Caucus chairman. In Virginia, former Representative Elaine Luria won back her old seat in the Virginia Beach area, defeating Jen Kiggans. Shannon Taylor upset longtime incumbent Rob Wittman outside Richmond. New Jersey’s Tom Kean Jr. lost to Rebecca Bennett. Indiana’s Victoria Spartz, the first Ukrainian-born member of Congress, was defeated. In Colorado, Manny Rutinel trounced Gabe Evans.
One of the night’s biggest prizes: Richard Ojeda II’s upset of Richard Hudson in North Carolina. As chairman of the House GOP’s campaign arm, Hudson had been tasked with protecting the majority.
Governors’ Races Make History
Democrats also flipped governorships in Texas, Georgia, Ohio, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Keisha Lance Bottoms’ victory in Georgia makes her the first Black woman elected governor in U.S. history. Gina Hinojosa becomes Texas’ first Latina governor and the first Democrat to occupy the mansion since Ann Richards in 1990, ousting three-term Republican Greg Abbott. David Crowley will be Wisconsin’s first Black governor. Dr. Amy Acton becomes the first woman elected to lead Ohio, emerging from a campaign that included an ad featuring her estranged mother.
In Texas, the sweep extended down the ballot. Besides Talarico and Hinojosa, Democrats flipped the offices of attorney general, lieutenant governor, and railroad commissioner. Before Tuesday, a Democrat hadn’t won a statewide race in Texas since 1994.
The Electorate’s Verdict
NBC News exit polls paint a picture of a dissatisfied country. President Trump’s disapproval rating stood at 62 percent. More than three-quarters of voters said they disapprove of the job Congress is doing. Nearly half described the election as an opportunity to rebuke Trump.
Democrats were relentless in targeting voters frustrated with the White House’s failure to tame the economy. They leaned heavily into allegations of corruption and enrichment by Trump and his allies since their return to power. The president had barnstormed across the country in the final weeks, trying to hold red states in Republican hands. His efforts were unsuccessful.
Trump Responds
In an interview with The New York Times, Trump said he was “absolutely willing to accept those results” and prepared to work with Democrats. “We’ll, you know, look forward to working with them,” he said. “We’ll probably work something out.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, now poised to become majority leader, offered a five-word message: “Relief is on the way.”
What Comes Next
When the new Congress convenes on January 3, it will be the first time in Trump’s second term that he won’t have full control of Capitol Hill. Since returning to the White House, Trump has tested the limits of executive power — dismantling federal agencies through the Department of Government Efficiency, imposing sweeping tariffs unilaterally, and rescinding congressionally approved funding — while the GOP-controlled House and Senate mostly looked the other way.
Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the House Democratic leader, is expected to make history on January 3 as the first Black speaker of the House. He walked into his election night watch party to raucous cheers as the Notorious B.I.G.’s “Unbelievable” played on the speakers.
Democrats are likely to pursue reversing Medicaid and food stamp cuts, reasserting Congress’s role on foreign trade policy, and seeking bipartisan agreement on banning lawmakers from trading stocks. The immediate showdown will likely center on the war in Iran, where Democrats could direct Trump to seek congressional authorization to continue or pull funding to end the conflict. Trump will also face a harder time installing Cabinet and judicial nominees, including for another potential Supreme Court vacancy.
The new Senate will hold 54 Democrats, according to The Guardian’s count as of Wednesday morning, with several races still uncalled. The House Democratic majority stands at its widest margin in 33 years.
Sources
- Democrats Seize Control of Congress as Voters Rebuke Trump
- Election 2026 live updates: Democrat Abdul El-Sayed wins Michigan Senate race
- US midterm elections 2026 live updates: Democrats win control of Congress as voters punish Trump
- Democrats win control of the House of Representatives with a vow to combat Trump
- Democrats ride anti-Trump wave to win control of Congress
Photo: Phil Hearing / Unsplash (Unsplash License)
