Democrats take House and Senate in US midterms in a landslide for Trump's party

A landslide in both chambers

Democrats won the US midterm elections held on 3 November, taking the House of Representatives and, according to CNN, the Senate. Democrats already have a secure majority of more than 218 House seats, and tagesschau expects the final count to exceed 250. In the Senate, Democrats need 51 of 100 seats, four more than they held before. Races in Texas, Iowa, Ohio, Maine, Kansas, North Carolina and South Carolina went to Democrats, while the result in Alaska was still outstanding in the Handelsblatt tally.

Individual races

James Talarico, 37, won the Texas Senate seat, the first Democratic win there in 38 years, according to 20 Minuten. In Michigan, several US broadcasters projected that Abdul El-Sayed, 42, would defeat Republican Mike Rogers. If confirmed, El-Sayed would become the first Muslim US senator, and he belongs to the progressive wing of his party. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, 37, kept her House seat against Republican Diamant Hysenaj without difficulty.

Who voted for whom

Tagesschau, citing an AP survey, says Democrats broke up the Trump coalition that Trump had built for the 2024 election. Democrats won more than 70% of voters aged 18 to 29, against 25% for Republicans, about 20 points more than in 2024. Among Black voters they are expected to gain six points to almost 90%, and among Latinos seven points to more than 60% nationally. Trump had drawn young voters in 2024, mainly men with low incomes and little formal education, and had done better among Latinos and Black voters than Republicans usually do.

Issues and the economy

Economy39%

Democracy32%

Immigration14%

Economy

39 %

Democracy

32 %

Immigration

14 %

Data from the article text

The economy was the most important issue for 39% of voters on election day, followed by the state of democracy at 32%. Immigration was named by 14%, a far smaller share than two years earlier. One fifth of voters say inflation has left them in serious financial difficulty, and a further 58% report some problems in everyday life. Gasoline and diesel prices rose further because of the US war against Iran. Stern reports that Trump's Republicans lost both chambers, leaving the president two politically difficult years.

Governors and state measures

Democrats took the governorships of Texas, Georgia, Ohio and Iowa from Republicans, according to NBC News. For the first time in 16 years, Democrats hold more governorships than Republicans. CNN projected that Virginia voters approved a change to the state constitution protecting same-sex marriage, removing wording that requires marriage between a man and a woman. The US Supreme Court currently protects same-sex marriage nationwide, but had that ruling been overturned, the Virginia constitution would have allowed a ban.

Reactions and next steps

Donald Trump congratulated the Democrats, while John Thune described the result as a setback for Republicans. Barack Obama called the vote a clear message from the American people, asking for politics that bring people together and for leaders who offer concrete solutions. Chuck Schumer described a new day in America and said Democrats had redrawn the balance of power in the Senate. Robert Garcia, a Democratic House member from California, told Republicans on X to hire lawyers, and said his party would use its new majorities to investigate Trump and his administration. Garcia sits on the powerful oversight committee of the House.

Adis Ahmetovic, foreign policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, told ntv Frühstart that he feared a new large-scale attack by the United States and Israel on Iran in the coming days and weeks. Asked whether he expected such an attack, he said:

“I would not categorically rule it out.”

Alaska still had no official result at the time of the latest report.