Democrats poised to take Senate, House
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Democrats were on course to take control of the US Senate and make significant gains in the House after a string of victories in Tuesday's midterm elections, as voters frustrated by high prices, the war in Iran and the country's direction delivered a setback to President Donald Trump and his Republican Party.The Senate results included a series of unexpected Democratic wins in traditionally Republican states. James Talarico defeated Trump-backed Ken Paxton in Texas, physician Annie Andrews beat Darline Graham in South Carolina, and former senator Sherrod Brown defeated Republican incumbent Jon Husted in Ohio. In Kansas, pastor Adam Hamilton defeated Republican Roger Marshall, ending a 94-year gap since the state last elected a Democrat to the US Senate.Also Read: US Midterm Elections 2026: Mixed results for Indian-Americans as Subramanyam, Miller, Dandiya win, Ramaswamy losesThe victories, along with Democrat Roy Cooper's win in North Carolina, put the party past the four-seat net gain it needed to take control of the Senate. Republicans had entered the elections with a 53-47 majority.The results marked a setback for Trump, who had campaigned for several of the defeated Republicans and made the midterms a test of his second-term presidency. He had backed Paxton over incumbent Senator John Cornyn in the Texas Republican primary, despite warnings from Cornyn and national Republicans that Paxton could struggle in a general election and cost the party heavily.In South Carolina, Trump supported Graham despite concerns within the Republican Party about her experience and ability to succeed her brother, Lindsey Graham, who died unexpectedly. Trump also repeatedly travelled to Ohio to campaign for Husted.Hamilton's victory was particularly significant in Kansas, a state Trump carried by more than 16 percentage points in 2024. Hamilton, who leads the country's largest United Methodist congregation, campaigned on affordability and bipartisanship, describing himself as an "independent-minded Democrat" and rejecting Republican portrayals of him as far left.The race tightened in its final weeks, drawing Trump and Vice President JD Vance to Kansas to campaign for Marshall. At a rally in the Wichita area on October 19, Trump said the US Department of Agriculture would launch a "harvest fuel relief program" to provide farmers with $8 billion to offset diesel costs during the harvest season.Hamilton, 62, has written more than 30 books on Christianity and theology. Both candidates sought to appeal to farmers facing high diesel and fertiliser costs, which have risen in part because of the war in Iran.Marshall, an obstetrician before entering politics, was elected to the US House in 2016 and the Senate in 2020. He faced criticism after a September report by The New York Times said he had sued more than 700 patients over unpaid bills. In an interview with Fox News, he called the article a "hit job" and said he had followed typical collections practices.Democrats also held competitive seats in New Hampshire and Georgia. Senator Jon Ossoff won re-election in Georgia, defeating Representative Mike Collins and denying Republicans a seat they had viewed as a major pickup opportunity. Representative Chris Pappas won the New Hampshire Senate race, defeating former senator John Sununu to replace retiring Democrat Jeanne Shaheen.Several other Democratic senators secured re-election, including Cory Booker in New Jersey, Ed Markey in Massachusetts and John Hickenlooper in Colorado. Democrat Juliana Stratton won the race to replace Senator Dick Durbin.Also Read: Adam Hamilton defeats Trump-backed Roger Marshall in Kansas, ending 94-year Democratic Senate droughtRepublicans, meanwhile, held on to Florida, where Senator Ashley Moody won a special election to complete the term of Marco Rubio, who became Trump's secretary of state in 2025. Wyoming Representative Harriet Hageman won the Senate seat vacated by retiring Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis.Democrats close in on House controlIn the House of Representatives, Democrats were also moving towards a majority after defeating Republicans in several closely watched races. The party needed a net gain of three seats to take control.Republican Representatives Tom Kean of New Jersey, Ryan Mackenzie, Scott Perry and Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania lost their re-election bids. Democrats also won open seats in North Carolina and Kentucky.In North Carolina, Democrat Jamie Ager defeated Republican Jennifer Capps Balkcom, delivering the party its first House flip of the night. In New Jersey, former Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett defeated Kean, who had missed four months of votes in Washington while undergoing treatment for depression, a diagnosis he disclosed only after returning.Democrats had entered election day cautiously optimistic, banking on voter frustration over the cost of living and the perception that Trump was more focused on projects to beautify the nation's capital than on easing household financial pressures. Republicans had spent tens of millions of dollars defending seats in states and districts that Trump had carried comfortably in 2024.More than 59 million people had cast ballots before election day, surpassing early-voting turnout in the 2022 midterms, according to an Associated Press analysis.Trump had urged voters to behave as though he were on the ballot, even as several Republican candidates sought to distance themselves from him. But as Democrats recorded wins, he moved to deflect responsibility for the party's losses before polling stations on the US West Coast had closed."I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!" he wrote on his social media platform.Cost of living, corruption weigh on votersVoters went into the elections dissatisfied with the country's direction and pessimistic about the future, according to the AP Voter Poll. Around three-quarters said they were "angry" or "dissatisfied" with the country's current trajectory. Discontent was particularly pronounced in Democratic-leaning states, although a majority of voters in Republican-leaning states also expressed dissatisfaction.Economic concerns featured prominently. Three-quarters of voters described the economy as "not so good" or "poor", while about eight in 10 said inflation had caused "severe" or "moderate" financial hardship for their households.Government corruption and the cost of living were each cited by roughly half of voters as "crucial" to their congressional vote. These concerns ranked ahead of immigration enforcement, the war in Iran and artificial intelligence data centres. About six in 10 voters said Trump prioritised his personal interests over those of the country.Despite the dissatisfaction with the Republican administration, neither party enjoyed overwhelming public support. Just under half of voters had a "somewhat" or "strongly" favourable view of the Democratic Party, compared with about four in 10 for the Republican Party.Trump's political choices come under scrutinyRepublicans had sought to counter the historical tendency for a president's party to lose seats in midterm elections through an aggressive redistricting push intended to improve their congressional prospects.But in Florida, where the party had hoped to gain as many as four additional House seats, the strategy appeared to be falling short. Republicans had placed Democratic Representatives Jared Moskowitz and Debbie Wasserman Schultz in the same district, but the two ran in separate territories and won. Democrat Kathy Castor also won in the Tampa metropolitan area, while other Democratic candidates held their ground as votes were counted.The results will shape the final two years of Trump's second term. A Republican-controlled Congress had largely backed his agenda. Democratic control of either chamber would give the party greater scope to investigate the administration, issue subpoenas and pursue possible impeachment proceedings.Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and tech billionaire Elon Musk, a former senior Trump adviser, are among the potential targets of congressional scrutiny.House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who could become the first Black speaker of the House if Democrats secure a majority, has outlined a 100-day agenda centred on lowering living costs and increasing oversight of the Trump administration.Beyond Congress, 36 states held gubernatorial elections. Democratic governors Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania, JB Pritzker in Illinois, Wes Moore in Maryland, Maura Healey in Massachusetts and Kathy Hochul in New York won re-election.In Texas, Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Republican Governor Greg Abbott in an upset. In Ohio, Democrat Amy Acton defeated Republican Vivek Ramaswamy after his campaign faced backlash over an advertisement featuring Acton's estranged mother and her family's past.In Georgia, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms was elected the state's first Black female governor. In neighbouring Florida, Republican Byron Donalds became the first Black Republican elected governor in the country.A strong Democratic showing could also influence the party's field of potential presidential candidates ahead of 2028, while complicating the political paths of Vice President JD Vance and other Republicans seeking to build on their association with Trump.
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