Democrats win control of US House and Senate in midterm rout for Trump

Democrats take both chambers

Democrats won control of the US Senate and House in midterm elections held on Tuesday, 3 November, flipping Republican seats from Texas to Maine. Al Jazeera's count had Democrats with 54 Senate seats won and one more leading, against 44 Republican seats won and one more leading. In the House, the Associated Press tally had 228 Democratic seats won and 34 more leading, while an earlier count had 225. Alaska and Mississippi Senate races were still too close to call early on 4 November.

Democrats54

Republicans44

Democrats

54 seats

Republicans

44 seats

Data from the article text

In Texas, James Talarico beat state attorney general Ken Paxton, and Gina Hinojosa was announced as the winner of the governor's race against Greg Abbott, who had sought a fourth term. Troy Jackson toppled five-term Republican Susan Collins in Maine, Abdul El-Sayed won in Michigan to become the first Muslim to serve in the Senate, and Adam Hamilton became Kansas's first Democratic senator since 1932. Chris Pappas won New Hampshire, the first openly gay man in the upper chamber, while Sherrod Brown, Roy Cooper, Annie Andrews and Jon Ossoff also won Senate races.

Democrats now hold 28 governorships to 20 for Republicans, with two states uncalled, up from 23 after the 2024 midterms. They also flipped state legislatures.

Democrats28

Republicans20

Democrats

28 governorships

Republicans

20 governorships

Data from the article text

Trump and the Republican rout

Republicans woke on 4 November to a midterm rout across the country. In private calls and texts, they lamented strategies they now saw as inadequate, such as the southern redistricting push, and the war in Iran, which they viewed as politically damaging. Trump spent late on 3 November distancing himself from the result, telling Fox News:

“I don't like to consider it a defeat for me; I wasn't on the ballot.”

Redistricting efforts he backed failed, with Democrats winning in new districts drawn to be easy Republican wins in Texas and Florida, and his handpicked candidates Ken Paxton, Michael Whatley and Darline Graham all lost. Voters cited high prices, corruption and another war in the Middle East. Exit polling by AP and the networks showed double-digit swings toward Democrats among Latinos, Catholic voters and voters under 30.

Around 9 p.m. on 3 November, Senate Democrats set up a podium so Chuck Schumer could celebrate on camera. Schumer said:

“Republicans made a choice and followed [President Donald] Trump over the cliff.”

Reactions abroad

Norway's prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre told Reuters:

“This is a powerful political signal about a change of course among American voters.”

South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa told reporters the results would introduce a new era in world relations. Spain's prime minister Pedro Sánchez said American society had voted against policies that only impoverish, against hate and against climate change denial. At the Berlin Security Conference on the morning of 4 November, defence minister Boris Pistorius said Germany would seek close contact with the Democrats but did not know what the president would do in the near future. Taiwan's foreign ministry said it would keep deepening cooperation with the United States.

What comes next

In early January, Democrats will hold at least 54 Senate seats and at least 228 House seats, enough to block Trump's legislative proposals, judicial nominees and Cabinet picks and to investigate his administration. Hakeem Jeffries, poised to become the first Black speaker of the House, vowed on election night to focus on affordability and accountability. Democrats now face the task of uniting progressives, socialists and centrists behind an agenda without a clear leader or message.