Democrats win House and Senate in 2026 midterms, flipping five governorships

Democrats take both chambers and five governorships

Democrats won both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the 3 November midterms, matching the "blue wave" American pollsters had predicted. The party also flipped governorships in Georgia, Iowa, Texas, Ohio and Nevada, and will hold a majority of US governors' mansions for the first time since 2010. In California's 22nd Congressional District, Democrat Randy Villegas, a progressive who campaigned with Senator Bernie Sanders, defeated Representative David Valadao, a moderate Republican who had voted to impeach Trump. Republicans had attacked Villegas over his progressive ties, but voters ultimately looked past those attacks.

Young, Hispanic and Black voters swung back

The New York Times analysis of preliminary Times Voter Trends data estimated that voters in every demographic group moved toward Democrats compared with 2024. Young voters shifted left by more than 30 percentage points, the largest move of any age group, and young men shifted nearly 40 points. The AP Voter Poll, based on more than 100,000 voters in all 50 states, found about 7 in 10 voters under 30 backed the Democratic House candidate, against about 3 in 10 for the Republican. Hispanic voters moved toward Democrats more than any other racial or ethnic group, and young Hispanic men swung almost 50 points after backing Republicans in 2024. The AP poll also found Black voters, particularly Black men, moving toward Democrats, and voters with a 2025 household income below $50,000 moving away from Republicans.

Texas and Florida Hispanic voters

Hispanic voters in Texas, who make up almost a quarter of registered voters, helped Democrats win races that had looked out of reach. Gina Hinojosa defeated three-term Republican governor Greg Abbott to become the state's first Hispanic governor. James Talarico beat Ken Paxton for a Senate seat, making him the first Democrat to win a Texas Senate seat since 1988. In Florida, a 20-point swing toward Democrats among Hispanic voters produced unexpectedly tight Senate and governor races but not enough for Democratic victories. Florida has many Cuban Americans, a community that has long been a dependable bloc for Republicans.

Trump-backed Republicans lose

Several Republicans whom Trump had recruited or endorsed lost their races on 3 November, a rough result for the president and his allies. In South Carolina, Senator Darline Graham, whom Trump had persuaded to seek a full term after she succeeded her late brother Lindsey Graham, who died in July, lost to Democratic physician Annie Andrews by more than four points. Trump had carried that state by nearly 18 points in 2024. In the Texas Republican primary, Trump endorsed Ken Paxton over Senator John Cornyn despite numerous scandals surrounding Paxton. Michael Whatley in the North Carolina Senate race and Vivek Ramaswamy in the Ohio governor race also lost. The Washington Post analysis of live results found counties moved at least 15 points toward Democrats across every category, and nearly 30 points in majority-Hispanic counties. On the night of 3 November, Trump blamed others for the blue wave in a Truth Social post.

“I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE! Thank you for your attention to this matter”

Election deniers concede without fraud claims

A WIRED review of key races featuring election deniers showed that nearly all of them were defeated, and no candidate or activist network behind them had questioned the outcome. Andy Biggs, one of the lawmakers who disputed the 2020 election results on 6 January 2021, conceded the Arizona governor race to Democratic incumbent Katie Hobbs without mentioning fraud. He blamed turnout.

“We just didn't get our turnout quite as full as we wanted to.”

In Michigan, Mike Rogers lost the Senate race to Abdul El-Sayed and had not publicly commented on the outcome. Tom Tiffany, who had objected to certifying Biden's 2020 win, lost the Wisconsin governor race to David Crowley and conceded without mentioning rigging. In Ohio, Vivek Ramaswamy lost the governor race to Amy Acton.