Two years after Republicans swept Washington, voters reversed course. In the 2026 midterm elections on Tuesday, November 3, Democrats won control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. They flipped Senate seats in states the party had not won in decades, including Texas and Kansas, and ended Republican control of the White House and both chambers of Congress. Here is what the midterm election results show, which races are still being counted and what happens next.
Quick answer: Democrats won the 2026 midterms. CBS News projected them to win the House at about 10:15 p.m. ET and the Senate shortly after 11:30 p.m. ET. According to the Associated Press, Democrats flipped seven Senate seats and held a 54–44 majority, with Alaska and Mississippi still uncalled. In the House, The New York Times had Democrats ahead 228–139 early Wednesday, a gain of 19 seats so far, with dozens of races still uncalled.
Midterm election results at a glance
| Chamber | Before the election | Latest result (Nov 4, early) | Majority needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Republicans 53, Democrats 45 + 2 independents | Democrats 54, Republicans 44, 2 uncalled (AP) | 51 |
| House | Republicans 218, Democrats 214, 1 independent, 2 vacant | Democrats 228, Republicans 139, many uncalled (NYT) | 218 |
The House numbers will keep moving as California, Arizona, Colorado and other states finish counting mail ballots. As of about 4:20 a.m. ET, CBS News counted roughly 75 House races as undetermined. Even so, Democrats were on pace for their largest House majority since 2008, when they won 257 seats.
The seven Senate seats Democrats flipped
Democrats needed a net gain of four seats to win the Senate. Based on CBS News projections, they flipped seven seats held by Republicans:
| State | Winner (D) | Defeated (R) | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | James Talarico | Ken Paxton | First Democratic statewide win in Texas in over 30 years |
| Kansas | Adam Hamilton | Sen. Roger Marshall | Kansas’s first Democratic senator since 1932 |
| Ohio | Sherrod Brown | Sen. Jon Husted | Brown returns to the Senate |
| Iowa | Josh Turek | Rep. Ashley Hinson | Open seat flipped |
| North Carolina | Roy Cooper | Michael Whatley | Former governor wins open seat |
| South Carolina | Annie Andrews | Sen. Darline Graham | Incumbent defeated |
| Maine | Troy Jackson | Sen. Susan Collins | Collins conceded |
Democrats also kept every seat they were defending in the key races. In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed beat Republican Mike Rogers and is set to become the first Muslim member of the US Senate. Jon Ossoff held Georgia against Mike Collins. Peggy Flanagan won Minnesota against Michele Tafoya, Chris Pappas beat John Sununu in New Hampshire and Mark Warner won another term in Virginia.
Republicans held on in Florida, where Ashley Moody defeated Angie Nixon, and in Nebraska, where Pete Ricketts beat independent Dan Osborn.
The two Senate races still being counted
- Mississippi: With about 96% of the expected vote counted, Democrat Scott Colom led Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by fewer than 50 votes. Mississippi has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1982.
- Alaska: With about 72% of votes reported, Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan led Democrat Mary Peltola by just over 1,500 votes. Many absentee and early ballots were still to be counted.
Neither result changes who controls the Senate, but both decide how large the Democratic majority will be.
Governor races: big Democratic wins in Texas and Ohio
The wave reached state capitols as well. CBS News projected these results:
- Texas: Gina Hinojosa (D) defeated Gov. Greg Abbott (R).
- Ohio: Amy Acton (D) defeated Vivek Ramaswamy (R).
- Georgia: Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) defeated Rick Jackson (R).
- Iowa: Rob Sand (D) defeated Zach Lahn (R).
- Florida: Byron Donalds (R) defeated David Jolly (D), one of the night’s bright spots for Republicans.
Further down the ballot, Democrat Jon Rosenthal won the Texas Railroad Commissioner race, the first Democratic win in that race since 1990.
Why Democrats won: the cost of living and Trump’s approval
Exit polls pointed to a frustrated electorate. About three in four voters said they were at least dissatisfied with the direction of the country, and President Donald Trump’s approval rating in the exit polls was 38%, which CBS News said may be a record low for a president in a midterm.
Prices mattered too. AAA reported that gas averaged $4.15 a gallon on Election Day, the highest Election Day average on record. (We explained why pump prices stayed high this autumn in our piece on gas prices and Big Oil’s $56 billion in profits.) In states such as Mississippi, healthcare costs and the Affordable Care Act were also major campaign issues.
History also favoured Democrats. The president’s party usually loses seats in a midterm, and with Republicans holding a House majority of just a few seats, Democrats needed only a net gain of four seats in each chamber.
What the leaders said
- Donald Trump told CBS News: “My message is congratulations to the Democrats, and I look forward to working with you for the good of our country.” On Truth Social he wrote: “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!” He told The New York Times: “I have total veto power, so they have to come to us.”
- Hakeem Jeffries, now in line to become Speaker: “The American people have spoken and made clear they’ve had enough of the extremism, enough of the corruption.”
- Chuck Schumer: “Against all odds, we Democrats have won the Senate.”
- House Speaker Mike Johnson, per The New York Times: “It’s very, very difficult to overcome. And it looks like history will be kept tonight.”
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune wrote on X: “Thankfully, we still have President Trump in the White House.”
What happens next
Divided government from January 3, 2027
The new Congress is sworn in on January 3, 2027. Until then, the current Republican-led Congress remains in its “lame duck” session. From January, Trump will face a Congress controlled by the opposing party for the rest of his term. Democrats can then set the agenda in both chambers, run investigations and hearings, and decide which nominees and bills get a vote. Trump keeps his veto, and Democrats are well short of the two-thirds majorities needed to override it.
A 100-hour agenda in the House
Before the election, Jeffries said that if Democrats won the House he would bring several bills to the floor within the first 100 hours. Expect the cost of living, healthcare and housing to come first.
Markets took it calmly
Early Wednesday, Yahoo Finance reported Dow futures up about 0.6% and S&P 500 futures up about 0.2%, while Nasdaq futures were roughly flat. Chip stocks such as Nvidia and Micron fell more than 1%, as investors weighed whether newly elected officials and ballot measures could restrict data centre construction. That worry adds to a rough stretch for the sector, covered in our report on AI stocks losing $5 trillion in October.
This article is for information only and is not financial advice.
Frequently asked questions
Who won the 2026 midterm elections?
Democrats won control of both the US House and the US Senate in the November 3, 2026 midterm elections, according to projections from CBS News, the AP and other networks.
How many Senate seats did Democrats flip?
Seven: Texas, Kansas, Ohio, Iowa, North Carolina, South Carolina and Maine. The AP had Democrats at a 54–44 majority, with Alaska and Mississippi still uncalled.
Which races are still uncalled?
The Senate races in Alaska and Mississippi, plus dozens of House seats, mostly in states that count mail ballots slowly, such as California and Arizona.
When does the new Congress take office?
The new House and Senate are sworn in on January 3, 2027. Republicans control both chambers until then.
Can Democrats stop Trump’s agenda now?
They can block legislation, control committees and hold hearings. But Trump can veto bills, and Democrats do not have the two-thirds majorities in both chambers needed to override a veto.
Sources: CBS News, The Associated Press (via KIRO 7), The New York Times, The Journal (Ireland), Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, ABC News.
