Democrats Retake US House in Midterm Rebuke to Trump

Key takeaways: Democrats are projected to retake the US House in the 2026 midterms, flipping four Republican-held Senate seats in North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Ohio. Senate control remains undecided, with several key races still uncalled as counting continues into Wednesday.

Illustrative graphic of a stylised Capitol dome between red and blue tally bars, with a ballot box and a checked ballot paper in navy, red, blue and gold. — Illustration: WHAT TODAY?

Democrats are projected to retake the US House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections, delivering a sharp rebuke to President Donald Trump midway through his second term, while control of the Senate remained undecided as counting continued on Wednesday morning. Multiple US television networks projected a Democratic House majority on Tuesday night, and early results pointed to gains reaching deep into territory Republicans have long held. Democrats also flipped four Republican-held Senate seats, exactly the net gain they need for a majority, but only if they hold the seats they already have.

The result, if confirmed, would end two years of full Republican control of Congress and sharply limit what Trump can pass in the final two years of his presidency. A Democratic House could block Republican legislation and open investigations into the administration.

Four Senate flips, and a chamber still in play

The Senate picture was clearer in outline but unfinished in detail. Republicans entered election night holding 53 of the 100 seats, which meant Democrats needed a net gain of four seats to take control. By early Wednesday, Democrats had flipped four Republican-held seats, but the net gain, and therefore control, still depended on races that had not been called, including the open Democratic-held seat in Michigan.

The most striking of those flips came in South Carolina, where paediatrician Annie Andrews defeated Darline Graham, the Republican candidate backed by Trump, in a state Trump had carried by nearly 18 percentage points in 2024. Andrews became the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in South Carolina since 1998, a result that few forecasters had predicted and that set the tone for the night.

In North Carolina, former governor Roy Cooper defeated Michael Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chairman chosen by Trump, to flip a second Republican-held seat. It was the first time since 2008 that a Democrat had won a Senate election in North Carolina, and it gave Democrats a second step toward the four gains they need.

In Texas, state legislator James Talarico defeated Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, becoming the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in the state since 1988, according to projections from Decision Desk HQ and NBC News. Trump had carried Texas by 14 percentage points in 2024.

In Ohio, former senator Sherrod Brown defeated Republican Senator Jon Husted, who had been appointed to the seat vacated by Vice President JD Vance, in the special election for the remainder of Vance’s term. The Wall Street Journal described it as the fourth Democratic Senate flip of the night.

But the battle for the Senate was far from over. Races in Alaska, Iowa, Michigan and Maine were among those still uncalled, with millions of votes yet to be counted. Michigan, the open Democratic-held seat, was too early to call according to the Associated Press, with Democrat Abdul El-Sayed narrowly ahead of Republican Mike Rogers. If Republicans were to take Michigan, the Democratic net gain would fall to three, leaving a 50-50 Senate in which Vice President JD Vance, a Republican, would cast the deciding vote. In Florida, Republican Senator Ashley Moody held her seat against Democrat Angie Nixon, but by only about three percentage points in a state Trump carried by 13 points in 2024, a margin that underlined how far the political ground had shifted even where Republicans won.

A House majority built on narrow margins

In the House, Democrats entered the night needing only a small net gain, because Republicans held only a narrow majority. By the early hours of Wednesday, networks had projected that Democrats had cleared that bar, picking up seats in states across the country while holding districts in Florida that Republicans had redrawn earlier this year to favour their own party.

One early warning sign came in Indiana, where Democrat JD Ford defeated Republican Representative Victoria Spartz in a district Trump had won by 17 percentage points in 2024. Forecasters had flagged the race as a bellwether, and the result suggested that Democratic gains were not confined to swing districts.

Most of the most tightly contested House races had still not been called when the networks made their projections, which rested on the pattern of results rather than a final count. The size of the Democratic majority, and therefore how much room its leadership will have to manage internal divisions, will only become clear as the remaining races are decided in the coming days.

Historic governor wins in Georgia and Florida

The governor races produced two historic results in opposite directions. In Georgia, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, defeated Republican businessman Rick Jackson to become the first Black woman ever elected governor in the United States, ending 24 years of Republican control of the Georgia governorship.

In Florida, Republican Representative Byron Donalds defeated Democrat David Jolly to become the state’s first Black governor, succeeding Ron DeSantis and keeping one of the country’s largest states in Republican hands. The two results, in two of the most closely watched states in the country, captured a night in which neither party could claim a clean sweep.

Democrats also won re-election in New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois, and took the Rhode Island governorship, while Republicans held on in several states of their own.

Why it matters

Midterm elections are traditionally difficult for the party holding the White House, and 2026 followed that pattern with unusual force. The result matters for three reasons.

First, a Democratic House changes what legislation can reach the president’s desk. Bills on spending, taxes, immigration and foreign policy that passed under unified Republican control will now need Democratic support or face defeat, and the administration’s remaining agenda will have to be negotiated rather than imposed.

Second, the House gains new oversight powers, including the ability to demand documents, hold hearings and launch investigations into the administration’s conduct. That power is likely to shape the political debate heading into the 2028 presidential election, when several of Tuesday’s winners, including Georgia’s re-elected senator Jon Ossoff, are already being discussed as potential national figures.

Third, the Senate outcome still matters enormously, because the Senate confirms judges and senior officials and approves treaties. If Democrats were to complete their comeback there, they would control both chambers and the legislative calendar. If Republicans hold the Senate, the result would be divided government, with each party able to block the other and little major legislation expected to pass.

What happens next

Several things will determine how this story develops in the coming days and weeks. The first is the count itself. Close races in the House and Senate can take days to resolve, particularly in states with large numbers of mail ballots, and some contests may head to recounts. The final seat totals, and the size of any Democratic House majority, will not be known until that process is complete.

The second is the Senate’s remaining battlegrounds. Michigan, Alaska, Iowa and Maine will decide whether Democrats keep a net gain of four and take the Senate, or whether a Republican win in a Democratic-held seat leaves a 50-50 chamber decided by Vice President JD Vance.

What is already clear is that the second half of Trump’s term will look very different from the first. The president who entered 2026 with a Congress controlled by his own party now faces an opposition House, a Senate still hanging in the balance, and an electorate that has used the midterms to register its verdict in unmistakable terms.

Frequently asked questions

Have Democrats definitely won the House?

Multiple US networks have projected a Democratic House majority, based on called races and the pattern of results in uncalled contests. The projection is not a certified final count, and the size of the majority will only be known once all races are called.

Who controls the Senate?

Not yet decided. Democrats flipped Republican-held seats in North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Ohio, four flips in total, but control depends on the net gain, so the uncalled Democratic-held seat in Michigan and other outstanding races still matter.

What was the most surprising result?

The Senate race in South Carolina, where Democrat Annie Andrews defeated the Trump-backed Republican in a state Trump carried by nearly 18 points in 2024, becoming the first Democrat to win a Senate seat there since 1998, closely followed by the Democratic win in Texas, the first there since 1988.

What happens now?

Counting continues in uncalled races, leadership elections follow in the House, and the new Congress takes office in January 2027, when a Democratic-led House would be able to block legislation and launch investigations into the administration.

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