Democrats have won control of the United States Senate, completing their capture of both chambers of Congress after a midterm election night that pushed deep into traditionally Republican territory.
Decision Desk HQ and NBC projected that Democrats would take the Senate, hours after the party had already been projected to win a majority in the House of Representatives. The Associated Press also called the Senate for the Democrats, according to Wall Street Journal reporting. Democrats flipped Senate seats in South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas, Ohio, Kansas and Iowa, more than the four net pickups they needed to seize the chamber.
Several of the victories broke decades of Republican dominance. Adam Hamilton is projected to be the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in Kansas since 1932, while James Talarico is the first Democrat to win a Texas Senate seat since 1988. In South Carolina, paediatrician Annie Andrews defeated Darline Graham, President Donald Trump’s hand-picked candidate, becoming the first Democrat to win a Senate seat there since 1998. Sherrod Brown reclaimed an Ohio seat once held by Vice President JD Vance, and Roy Cooper flipped North Carolina.
The scale of the result surprised even seasoned forecasters. Republicans had entered 2026 favoured to hold the Senate, given that Democrats needed to flip seats in states Trump carried in 2024. Instead, the president’s dipping popularity and voters’ frustration over the cost of living reshaped the race, with Democrats also hammering allegations of corruption and enrichment by Trump and his allies since their return to power.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is set to become majority leader, called the victory a “generational remake” of the Senate. “We have five words for the American people,” he said. “Relief is on the way.”
Control of the Senate hands Democrats far greater leverage over Washington’s agenda for the final two years of Trump’s second term. The party is likely to push to reverse cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, reassert Congress’s role over foreign trade policy, and seek bipartisan agreement on banning lawmakers from trading stocks. Trump will also find it harder to install Cabinet and judicial nominees, including for any future Supreme Court vacancy.
The most immediate showdown may centre on the war in Iran, where Democrats could press Trump to seek congressional authorisation to continue the conflict or move to pull its funding. One race remained uncalled at the time of writing: in Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed was seeking to hold a Democratic seat. Results remain subject to state counting and certification.
Note: the featured image is a file photo of the United States Capitol in Washington, DC, not a photograph from election night.
Sources: USA TODAY, “Democrats win control of Congress in sharp rebuke of Trump”, 3 November 2026, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2026/11/03/democrats-win-senate-midterm-elections-2026/92461757007/ ; The Wall Street Journal, “Democrats Regain Senate Majority in Stunning Night”, 4 November 2026, via live coverage; Reuters, “Analysts react to US midterm election results”, 4 November 2026, https://www.reuters.com/business/analysts-react-us-midterm-election-results-2026-11-04/
