The polls had forecast a blue wave. The ballot boxes delivered far more. After Tuesday’s midterm elections on 3 November, the Democratic Party has taken back both the House of Representatives and the Senate, a position it had not held in twelve years. According to US media, a double majority of this size has not been seen since 1991.
The Senate, where 35 of the 100 seats were up for grabs, saw a dramatic shift. Democrats captured at least seven Republican seats, in Kansas, Iowa, Texas, Ohio, Maine, North Carolina and South Carolina. Kansas had not sent a Democrat to the Senate in nearly a century. In Texas, James Talarico came out on top, while former governor Roy Cooper won in North Carolina and Sherrod Brown reclaimed his Ohio seat by defeating Jon Husted. In Maine, Republican Susan Collins leaves the Senate after almost thirty years. Democrats also held on in two contested states, Georgia, where Jon Ossoff was re-elected, and Michigan. Projections now give them 54 of the 100 seats.
In the House of Representatives, counting continues, though the outcome is no longer in doubt. Democrats have picked up close to thirty districts and are projected to hold at least 225 of the 435 seats, comfortably above the 218 needed. NBC News expects their largest majority in nearly two decades. Re-elected to his seat, Hakeem Jeffries could become the first Black speaker of the House.
The wave did not stop at the Capitol. Five governorships changed parties, and as many as twelve state legislative chambers could fall to Democrats. They won the Texas House for the first time in more than two decades, both chambers in Wisconsin and the North Carolina House. In Pennsylvania, capturing the state Senate hands them full control of state government, and in Arizona unofficial results point to a takeover of both chambers, a first in roughly sixty years.
Some races remain open. As of Wednesday evening, the Associated Press had yet to call nine House seats, two governor’s races and two Senate seats, including those in Alaska and Mississippi.
The bill is steep for Republicans. Vice President JD Vance blamed the losses on the war with Iran, while Democrats campaigned on the cost of living and voter frustration with the Trump administration. Their new position gives them real leverage. They plan to restore the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies and reverse Medicaid cuts, and several lawmakers have already signalled plans to investigate administration officials.
The pattern is a familiar one, since the party in power almost always loses ground at the midterms, but the scale is rare. For the last two years of his term, Donald Trump will govern opposite a Congress now able to block much of his agenda.
Provisional results as of 5 November 2026, based on US media projections and subject to change.