Democrats on track for House majority as DSA-backed candidates win federal seats

Progressives gain ground nationwide

Democrats celebrated on Tuesday, 3 November, as the midterm results showed the party's left flank winning seats across the country. Al Jazeera reports that a record number of federal winners were tied to the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which it calls the group's most successful night in national politics. The DSA says it has more than 120,000 members, with chapters in all 50 states. In New York, Claire Valdez, Darializa Avila Chevalier and Brad Lander were elected to the House for the first time, while Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was re-elected. Chanpreet Singh, a member of the National Electoral Commission, described the result on a livestream that night.

“This is a record for the DSA; these are numbers we have not seen in over a hundred years in socialist electoral activity.”

California's Central Valley and Los Angeles

Randy Villegas, 31, defeated Republican Rep. David Valadao in California's 22nd district, according to POLITICO. The Guardian describes the seat as stretching from Bakersfield to just west of Fresno and as the state's only true toss-up after Proposition 50 redrew it. Villegas is the first candidate to beat Valadao since the 2018 blue wave, and the race was called the day after the election. Villegas vowed not to accept corporate campaign donations and was endorsed by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Valadao ended with $1.7 million cash on hand, per federal finance reports. Healthcare was central: the district has the second-highest rate and number of Medicaid enrollees of any congressional district, per KFF, and Villegas attacked Valadao over cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Valadao helped pass with one of its decisive votes. In Los Angeles, Angela Gonzales-Torres ousted Democrat Jimmy Gomez, while two challenges to Democratic incumbents in Northern California were too close to call on 4 November.

Republicans blame the Iran war

JD Vance blamed the rout on Trump's decision to start a war with Iran, a rare break from a president who has long demanded loyalty from his party, according to The New York Times. Vance wrote on social media:

“Everyone knows why we lost,”

Trump said Vance's assessment was 'largely true' and added, 'If I had to do it again, I'd have to do it again.' On Wednesday, Trump toured the ballroom he is building on the White House grounds and defended what he called his legacy projects. Republicans lost Senate seats in Maine, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas, according to the Associated Press. Ballots were still being counted in Alaska's Senate race and in Mississippi, where fewer than 70 votes separated the two candidates. Chuck Schumer called the Senate outcome a 'generational remake'.

Prices and immigration weigh on voters

Al Jazeera reports that voters were angry about prices partly driven by the war on Iran and about ICE raids, and that polls had shown Trump deeply unpopular for months. Latino voters, among whom Republicans had made inroads after 2024, grew incensed over immigration enforcement, and Al Jazeera says those gains have entirely evaporated. The Times reports that voters in every major demographic group swung left, reversing Trump's 2024 gains. In San Diego, Democrat Marni von Wilpert won a seat redrawn to favor her party, defeating Republican Jim Desmond, who had Trump's endorsement. The seat was held by Darrell Issa, who retired after the redraw, and it is about 30 percent Hispanic. Von Wilpert, a San Diego City Council member since December 2020, campaigned on economic issues and linked Desmond to higher living costs under Trump.

What comes next

Hakeem Jeffries, the minority leader expected to become the first Black speaker of the House, predicted Democrats would win at least 255 of the 435 seats, calling the result an 'American tsunami.' He promised aggressive investigations with oversight after two years of Republican control of Congress.

“The days of the House of Representatives functioning like a wholly owned subsidiary of the Trump administration are over.”

Chevalier told POLITICO that many blue districts chose Democratic Socialist candidates over establishment Democrats 'because we're actually presenting a vision'. She said establishment politics was too often 'a lot of word salad'. Chevalier, 32, was on her way to the House with 88 per cent of the vote in her district, and would be the first Afro-Latina and Dominican woman to represent it.