Democrats Flip House and Senate in Sweeping Midterm Victory

Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in Tuesday’s midterm elections, capturing seats in Republican strongholds and setting up a new check on President Donald Trump’s administration.

The party will control the House and Senate for the first time since 2023. Its victories extended to governor’s races and state legislatures, with candidates from across the Democratic coalition winning seats.

In Texas, Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, ending more than 30 years of Republican control of the governor’s office, while Democratic state Rep. James Talarico won a U.S. Senate seat. Democrats Abdul El-Sayed and Troy Jackson won closely watched Senate races in Michigan and Maine, defeating Mike Rogers and Susan Collins, respectively. NPR reported that Adam Hamilton became Kansas’s first elected Democratic senator in nearly a century.

The Guardian reported that Democrats also won a Senate seat in South Carolina. In Iowa, they flipped the governor’s office, a U.S. Senate seat and three of the state’s four congressional districts. “To Iowa Democrats, we’ve had a hard few years here in Iowa, but balanced government has been restored,” governor-elect Rob Sand told supporters.

NPR reported that nine states made history with their choices for governor and that a record number of candidates endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America won House seats. The results gave no single wing of the party a claim to the victories: moderates, progressives, populists and democratic socialists all won races.

Trump, who had urged voters to treat the election as a referendum on him, initially lashed out as Democrats pulled ahead in key contests. He later congratulated them and said repeatedly that he would respect the results, NPR reported.

Economic concerns and the war against Iran weighed on Republicans, according to both accounts. The Guardian also pointed to tariffs, healthcare cuts and deportation policies among the issues that drew opposition to Trump. In Rochester, New Hampshire, independent voter Rebecca Connors told The Guardian she voted for Democrats to tell the president that “he’s wreaking havoc.”

NPR reported that Latino voters favored Democrats by 27 points, after Trump lost the group by five points in 2024. It cited the economy and deportation tactics as major factors and said a voter poll found that 59% of respondents disapproved of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Republican-backed redistricting also failed to shield the party from losses, including in districts it had sought to make safer.

The Democratic majorities could impede Trump’s cabinet and judicial nominations in the Senate and launch investigations in the House. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries is poised to become the first Black lawmaker elected House speaker. “We understand as House Democrats that we need to deliver dramatic change,” he said Tuesday night, according to NPR.

NPR reported that House Democrats expect to use subpoena powers to compel testimony, but are wary of pursuing a third impeachment of Trump. The scale of their victory leaves them with a chance to govern as well as challenge the president.