US midterms 2026 results: Democrats win the House and flip Senate seats in Texas, Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina; Senate control still open
Democrats are projected to win the US House and flipped four Republican Senate seats, including Texas. Senate control hangs on Michigan, Maine and Kansas.
At a glance
- Democrats are projected to win control of the US House of Representatives in Tuesday's midterm elections, ending two years of full Republican control of Congress under President Donald Trump.
- Democrats flipped four Republican Senate seats: Texas (James Talarico), Ohio (Sherrod Brown), North Carolina (Roy Cooper) and South Carolina (Annie Andrews).
- Senate control was still undecided late on election night, with Michigan, Maine, Kansas, Iowa, Alaska and Nebraska among the races not yet called.
- Democrats also won the governorships of Texas, Ohio and Georgia; Republican Byron Donalds won Florida.
- Exit polls put Trump's approval at 38%, on course for the lowest for any president at a midterm election.
Democrats are projected to win control of the US House of Representatives after Tuesday's midterm elections, and they took four Senate seats from Republicans — Texas, Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina — leaving control of the Senate within reach but still undecided. The House projections came at about 10pm Eastern on Tuesday, November 3 (8am Wednesday in Pakistan), as results from the eastern and central states turned against President Donald Trump's party almost everywhere.
The result ends two years in which Republicans controlled the White House, the House and the Senate. From January, Trump will face a House run by Democrats, with Hakeem Jeffries in line to become the first Black Speaker.
Results are projections from vote counts, not certified totals. Many races, especially in the West, were still being counted.
Texas elects a Democrat statewide for the first time since 1994
The biggest shock came from Texas. State Representative James Talarico, a 37-year-old former teacher, beat Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton for the Senate seat now held by John Cornyn. Talarico is the first Democrat to win any statewide race in Texas since 1994.
Minutes later, Gina Hinojosa was projected to unseat Governor Greg Abbott, making her the first Democratic governor of Texas since Ann Richards in the early 1990s. With about two-thirds of the expected vote counted, she led 57% to 42%.
The Senate seats that changed hands
Republicans went into the election with a 53-47 majority. Democrats need 51 seats to control the chamber; at 50-50, Vice President JD Vance breaks ties for the Republicans.
| State | Winner | Defeated | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | James Talarico (D) | Ken Paxton (R) | Democratic gain |
| Ohio (special) | Sherrod Brown (D) | Jon Husted (R) | Democratic gain |
| North Carolina | Roy Cooper (D) | Michael Whatley (R) | Democratic gain |
| South Carolina | Annie Andrews (D) | Darline Graham (R) | Democratic gain |
| Georgia | Jon Ossoff (D) | Mike Collins (R) | Democratic hold |
| New Hampshire | Chris Pappas (D) | John Sununu (R) | Democratic hold |
| Florida (special) | Ashley Moody (R) | Angie Nixon (D) | Republican hold |
| Kentucky | Andy Barr (R) | — | Republican hold |
The South Carolina result was the night's other upset. Annie Andrews, a paediatrician, defeated interim Senator Darline Graham, who was appointed to finish the term of her late brother, Lindsey Graham; she conceded. In Ohio, former senator Sherrod Brown won back a seat in the special election for the post JD Vance left to become vice president. Roy Cooper, the former governor, became North Carolina's first Democrat elected to the Senate since 2008, taking the open seat of retiring Republican Thom Tillis.
Where the Senate majority will be decided
By late Tuesday night Eastern time, one live tally showed 49 seats settled for Democrats, meaning they need two of the remaining races. These were the closest:
- Michigan (open, Democratic-held): Abdul El-Sayed led Republican Mike Rogers by about 51% to 47% in early counting. El-Sayed would be the first Muslim US senator.
- Maine: Republican Susan Collins led Democrat Troy Jackson by less than one point with about 40% of the expected vote counted. Maine uses ranked-choice voting, so a final result may take days.
- Kansas: Democrat Adam Hamilton led Republican Roger Marshall by about 52% to 45%. Kansas has not elected a Democratic senator since 1932.
- Iowa (open): Ashley Hinson (R) against Josh Turek (D), rated a toss-up.
- Alaska: Dan Sullivan (R) against Mary Peltola (D), also counted by ranked choice.
- Nebraska: Pete Ricketts (R) against independent Dan Osborn.
Officials have warned the Senate could take days to settle, and some House seats up to a week.
Governors: Texas, Ohio and Georgia switch
Democrats also gained three governorships. In Ohio, Amy Acton beat Vivek Ramaswamy by about 51% to 46%. In Georgia, former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms defeated Republican Rick Jackson, becoming the first Black woman elected governor of any US state and the first Democrat to win the office in Georgia since 1998. In Florida, Republican Byron Donalds beat David Jolly, becoming the first Black Republican elected governor in US history. Arizona's Katie Hobbs and Maryland's Wes Moore, both Democrats, were projected to win again. Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and New York were still being counted.
Why voters turned against the Republicans
Exit polls put Trump's approval rating at 38%, on course to be the lowest for any president at a midterm. About three in four voters said they were unhappy or angry with the direction of the country. In one large voter survey, 43% said their vote was meant to oppose Trump, against 16% who said it was to support him.
Prices dominated. Petrol averaged a record $4.15 a gallon on Election Day, after months of high oil prices linked to the war with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Seven in ten voters said Iran was an important factor in their vote, and nearly nine in ten said they were worried about fuel costs.
What Trump and the Democrats said
Trump wrote on his social media platform that he was not on the ballot and would have won "in a landslide" if he had been. Earlier in the day he told an interviewer that, whatever the result, he still had the veto. Jeffries posted "Victory for America!" shortly after the House projections. Representative Robert Garcia, expected to lead the House Oversight Committee, warned officials in the administration to "lawyer up" — a sign of the investigations a Democratic House can now open.
What changes in Washington, and when
The new Congress meets on January 3, 2027, when the House will elect its Speaker. A Democratic House can block Trump's legislation, refuse spending he wants, and issue subpoenas to his officials. It cannot pass laws on its own: anything it approves still needs the Senate and Trump's signature, and Trump can veto bills.
For Pakistan and the wider region, the main effects run through foreign policy and money: Congress controls aid, arms sales and war powers, and a Democratic House is likely to press the White House over the Iran conflict, US aid to Israel — which Trump said on Tuesday would end this year — and tariffs.
The next calls to watch are Michigan, Kansas and Maine, which could decide the Senate during Wednesday in Pakistan. Alaska's ranked-choice count is due later in November.
Questions people are asking
Who won the House in the 2026 US midterms?
Democrats are projected to win a majority in the House of Representatives, which needs 218 of 435 seats. Final seat totals may take days, as close races and mail ballots are still being counted.
Who controls the US Senate after the 2026 midterms?
It was not yet decided late on election night. Democrats flipped four Republican seats, but the majority depends on uncalled races including Michigan, Maine, Kansas, Iowa and Alaska, where ranked-choice counting can take days.
