2026 Midterm Results – What Went Wrong For The Republicans

Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress, flipping at least seven Republican-held Senate seats, including Texas, Kansas and South Carolina, and winning the Texas governor’s race. Here are the results so far and five takeaways.

By Quinn BallardPublished

As of November 4, 2026. Some races are still being counted, and seat totals will change. Race calls are from the Associated Press unless noted.

Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate in Tuesday’s midterm elections, flipping Senate seats in states President Trump carried by double digits in 2024. It’s only the fifth time since World War II that a party has flipped both chambers in a midterm, according to Time.

Where things stand

Senate: Democrats have won at least 54 seats and Republicans 44, with Alaska and Mississippi still too close to call, according to CBS News and Forbes. Republicans entered with a 53–47 majority.

House: Democrats have won a majority, though dozens of races remain uncalled. Estimates of the final total range from at least 245 seats (CNBC) to about 255–259 (NBC News). If Democrats reach the high end, it would be their largest House majority since 1993, NBC reported. [CHECK: update with the latest called total before publishing.]

Governors: Democrats flipped several governor’s offices, including Texas.

The Senate seats that flipped

StateWinnerDefeated
TexasJames Talarico (D)Ken Paxton (R)
KansasAdam Hamilton (D)Sen. Roger Marshall (R)
OhioSherrod Brown (D)Sen. Jon Husted (R)
IowaJosh Turek (D)Rep. Ashley Hinson (R), open seat
North CarolinaRoy Cooper (D)Michael Whatley (R), open seat
South CarolinaAnnie Andrews (D)Sen. Darline Graham (R)
MaineTroy Jackson (D)Sen. Susan Collins (R)

Democrats also held their seats in Georgia (Sen. Jon Ossoff), Michigan (Abdul El-Sayed, open seat), New Hampshire (Chris Pappas, open seat) and Minnesota (open seat). Republicans held Florida, where Sen. Ashley Moody won.

Five takeaways

1. Texas elected Democrats statewide for the first time in decades.

  • Senate: Talarico defeated Paxton, about 55% to 43%, becoming the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Texas since 1988.
  • Governor: Gina Hinojosa defeated Gov. Greg Abbott, who was seeking a fourth term. She’ll be the state’s first Hispanic governor. Abbott conceded Tuesday night.

These are the first Democratic statewide wins in Texas since 1994. [CHECK: results for other statewide offices and the Texas House before characterizing them.]

2. Democrats won in deeply Republican states.

  • Kansas: Hamilton, a United Methodist pastor, became the first Democrat elected to the Senate from the state since 1932.
  • South Carolina: Andrews, a pediatrician, became the first Democrat elected since 1998 and the first woman ever elected senator from the state. She beat Darline Graham, who had been appointed after her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, died in July. Trump won South Carolina by 18 points in 2024.
  • Maine: Jackson defeated Collins, who was seeking a sixth term and had won in 2020 despite trailing in polls.

3. Young and Hispanic voters shifted toward Democrats.

The AP Voter Poll, a survey of tens of thousands of voters nationwide, found:

  • Voters under 30: About 7 in 10 backed the Democratic House candidate, after splitting roughly evenly between Trump and Kamala Harris in 2024. They made up only about 1 in 10 voters.
  • Hispanic voters: About 6 in 10 backed the Democratic House candidate. About a third backed the Republican, compared with roughly 4 in 10 who voted for Trump in 2024.
  • Texas: Roughly 6 in 10 Hispanic voters backed Talarico.
  • Rural voters: They still favored Republicans, 57% to 41%, but by a narrower margin than in recent elections.

4. Republican leadership is already changing.

House Speaker Mike Johnson told his staff Wednesday that he won’t stay on as Republican leader in the new Congress, according to NBC News. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is expected to become speaker in January.

Democrats have signaled plans for oversight investigations of the administration. Trump said he plans to work with Democrats but would use his veto as needed, CBS News reported.

5. The 2028 picture has shifted.

Vice President JD Vance, seen as a likely 2028 Republican candidate, campaigned heavily for Republicans this fall. He attributed the party’s losses to the Iran war, according to Time and NBC News. On the Democratic side, the night elevated several winners, including Ossoff, Talarico and the new senators from Republican-leaning states.

Still to be decided

  • Alaska Senate: Mary Peltola (D) vs. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R). Alaska uses ranked-choice voting, and the Justice Department’s lawsuit over certification is pending.
  • Mississippi Senate: Scott Colom (D) vs. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R). The vote count is extended, and the result could face a challenge.
  • Dozens of House races, mostly in states that count slowly, such as California.

Sources

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