Democrats are projected to have won control of both chambers of Congress in a sweeping midterm victory that flipped Republican-held seats in several traditionally conservative states.
This has sharply constrained President Donald Trump’s ability to advance his agenda during the final two years of his term.
The result was widely interpreted by election analysts as a setback for Trump, although the president said he did not view it as a rejection of his leadership.
“Congratulations to the Democrats. They did a good job,” Trump said in an interview reported by Fox News.
He added that Democrats had “been looking for this one for 11 years” but said: “I don’t view it as a hit on me. I think we’ve done … We’ve had the greatest two years in the history of the presidency.”
Trump’s comments followed a night in which Democrats made gains well beyond the usual battlegrounds.
NPR, citing race calls by The Associated Press, reported that Democrats had secured both the House and Senate, returning the party to unified control of Congress for the first time since 2023.
The change is expected to bring investigations, tighter oversight and greater resistance to Trump’s nominations and legislative priorities.
A Democratic breakthrough in Republican territory
The Senate map produced some of the night’s most consequential surprises. Democrats flipped Republican-held seats in states including Iowa, Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas, with Maine also listed among the Democratic gains in NPR’s race tally.
In Kansas, Democrats won a Senate seat for the first time since 1932, according to Reuters.
In South Carolina, the party captured a Senate seat for the first time this century, while James Talarico’s victory over Ken Paxton ended a 38-year Republican hold on a Texas Senate seat.
The House result was also larger than many early forecasts suggested. CNBC’s election desk projected Democrats would win at least 245 House seats, well above the 218 needed for a majority, although vote counting and race calls were still continuing.
The network also reported Democratic gains in the Ohio and Texas governor’s races. Texas delivered a particularly symbolic blow to Republicans.
Gina Hinojosa defeated the incumbent Greg Abbott to become the state’s first Democratic governor in more than 30
years and its first Latina governor.
Her victory, alongside Talarico’s Senate win, raised fresh questions about whether Texas is becoming genuine battleground rather than a dependable Republican stronghold.
What drove the result
The vote was shaped less by a single issue than by a combination of economic anxiety, frustration with Washington and opposition to Trump.
Reuters reported that nearly nine in
10 voters in exit polling identified the cost of living as a major or crucial factor.
Nearly two thirds blamed Trump for high prices, while about three-quarters said they were angry or dissatisfied with the country’s direction.
Reuters also reported weakened Republican support among Latino, Black and younger voters.
The Associated Press, in reporting carried by PBS, said voters were also responding to the effects of Trump’s tariff policy and his war against Iran, both of which were linked by voters, analysts to higher costs and dissatisfaction with the administration.
Democrats successfully framed the election around affordability and corruption, while Republican warnings about Democrats as extremists failed to overcome economic concerns in many
states.
Trump had repeatedly urged voters to “pretend I’m on the ballot,” making the election unusually personal.
After the losses became clear, however, he wrote that he “wasn’t on the Ballot” and claimed that, had he been, Republicans would have won “IN A LANDSLIDE!”
NBC News reported that 43% of surveyed midterm voters said opposing Trump was one reason they voted as they did, while 71% said Congress had not provided enough oversight of his administration.
Reactions and what comes next
Democratic leaders treated the result as a mandate for investigations and action on household costs. Hakeem Jeffries, who is positioned to become the first Black speaker of the House, said voters had rejected “extremism” and “corruption.”
Chuck Schumer, expected to return as Senate majority leader, said Democrats had “remade the Senate map” and now needed to deliver for Americans.
Republicans argued that the party’s record should not be erased by the outcome.
Senate Republican leader John Thune said Republicans had created safer streets, more money for families and new opportunities, while warning that Democrats’ “far-left, socialist wing”
would try to undo that work.
The new balance of power will not give Democrats unrestricted authority. Trump will retain the presidential veto, and the major legislation will generally require bipartisan support.
Democrats can, however, control committees, issue subpoenas, investigate executivebranch actions and block many presidential nominees in the Senate.
Trump previously said he would become “Mr. Veto” if Democrats won Congress, while also leaving open the possibility of deals.
The immediate political question is whether Trump treats the result as a warning or doubles down on the approach that defined his second term.
For Democrats, the larger test will be whether their new power can produce tangible results on prices and governance rather than only opposition.
The 2026 vote has changed Washington’s balance of power; it has not resolved the country’s underlying political divide.
