Democrats win US Senate, ending Republican dominance by harnessing voters' frustration with Trump

By JILL COLVIN, MARY CLARE JALONICK and WILL WEISSERT Wed, November 4, 2026 at 5:43 AM UTC

72

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats won control of the U.S. Senate on Tuesday night, delivering a stunningly decisive rebuke of Republican governance in Washington and ushering in a new era of congressional resistance to President Donald Trump.

The midterm elections displayed voters’ deep frustration with high prices, the war in Iran and concerns about government corruption. Democrats were also on track to retake the House, flipping seats across the country.

The results were a major blow to Trump, who visited roughly two dozen states over the last month in a pre-Election Day blitz that was meant to energize Republicans but was unable to stop a wipeout.

Democrats have signaled they'll use a foothold in Congress to ensure Trump's final two years in office feature a series of investigations against top members of his administration and deeper scrutiny of how he's enriched his family.

Trump immediately sought to shift blame for his party's losses, posting on his social media site before polls even closed on the West Coast that he wasn't on the ballot — even though he spent weeks asking voters to pretend like he was. He vowed to veto Democrat-controlled legislation, sharing a picture of a red baseball cap with “veto” stenciled in the style of his trademark “Make America Great Again” campaign swag.

In a late-night phone interview with Fox News, Trump said he didn't consider the elections to be a personal defeat. Voters, he said, “didn't like the candidates.”

The Republican-controlled Congress had acted as a rubber stamp to much of Trump's agenda. While the president has proven adept at steamrolling efforts to rein him in, Democrats taking control of even one chamber will reshape the remainder of his term. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and tech titan Elon Musk, a former top Trump adviser, are among possible targets for investigations.

Democrats charted an extraordinary path to Senate victory

Midterm elections are typically difficult for the president's party, but Republicans had originally expected that their Senate majority was safe.

Instead, Democrats marched through some of the most conservative states in the nation.

Josh Turek defeated Rep. Ashley Hinson in Iowa, while Adam Hamilton ousted Sen. Roger Marshall in Kansas, becoming the state's first Democratic senator since 1932. Democrats' cascade of stunning victories included James Talarico defeating Ken Paxton in Texas, Annie Andrews upsetting Darline Graham in South Carolina, Sherrod Brown topping Sen. Jon Husted in Ohio and Roy Cooper taking an open North Carolina seat.

Less of a surprise was Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff winning reelection in Georgia, defeating Rep. Mike Collins. Rep. Chris Pappas also won a Senate race in New Hampshire, defeating former Sen. John Sununu to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.

Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters in Washington that “Americans voted for change” and there had been a “generational remake of the Senate map.”

“Five words for the American people: Relief is on the way,” the New York senator said.

In the House, Democrats were moving closer to control. Among those defeated was Republican Rep. Tom Kean of New Jersey, who missed four months of votes in Washington this year as he underwent treatment for depression, a diagnosis he did not disclose until his return. Democrats need a net gain of three seats for a majority.

Other Democratic triumphs included Jamie Ager over Jennifer Capps Balkcom in North Carolina and Lindsay James over Joe Mitchell in Iowa.

Republicans spent the campaign’s final stretch pumping tens of millions of dollars into states and districts that Trump won handily two years ago, and watched Trump campaign across some of the reddest states.

Advertisement

But Republicans' money advantage didn't stem the Democratic tide, and significant victories were rare as the night continued. Sen. Ashley Moody won a special election in Florida to finish the term of Marco Rubio, who became Trump’s secretary of state in 2025.

“I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!” Trump wrote on his social media site.

The electorate is frustrated and unhappy

Voters were sour heading into Tuesday, with the midterm electorate deeply unhappy with the country’s direction and pessimistic about the future, according to The AP Voter Poll.

Most said they feel frustrated, with about three-quarters saying they feel “angry” or “dissatisfied” with the country’s current trajectory. Dissatisfaction was particularly high in blue states, but even in red states, a majority of voters were at least “dissatisfied.”

The economy was key to Trump's White House comeback two years ago. But the poll found that three-quarters of voters say the economy is “not so good” or “poor." About 8 in 10 say inflation has caused a “severe” or “moderate” financial hardship for their households.

Government corruption was also a big issue with voters. Roughly half cited it and the cost of living as “crucial” to their vote for Congress — higher than immigration enforcement policies, the war in Iran and artificial intelligence data centers. About 6 in 10 voters said Trump prioritizes his own personal interests more than the country’s interests.

Despite their relative advantage on issues, the Democratic Party is not much more popular with voters than the Republicans. Just under half of voters have a “somewhat” or “strongly” favorable view of the Democratic Party, while about 4 in 10 view Republicans positively.

Republicans tried to buck historical midterm precedent with an aggressive redistricting effort aimed at creating a more favorable congressional map. But in Florida and Texas, where Republicans hoped to pick up as many as nine seats, the plan looked to be falling short, with Democrats picking up targeted districts.

More races still to call

Outstanding Senate battlegrounds include Alaska, where the Trump administration filed a lawsuit to block certification of Senate results if Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan loses the race, citing the presence of a second candidate named Dan Sullivan on the ballot.

Republicans also hoped to pick up Michigan, where Mike Rogers faces progressive Abdul El-Sayed — one of a crop of left-wing candidates who prevailed in Democratic primaries. El-Sayed's former primary opponent, Haley Stevens, upended the race by endorsing Rogers, renewing focus on tensions over Israel and the party's direction.

Beyond Washington, 36 states elected governors. Democrats Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania, JB Pritzker in Illinois, Wes Moore in Maryland, Maura Healey in Massachusetts and Kathy Hochul in New York all won reelection. In a stunning upset in Texas, Gina Hinojosa defeated Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who was seeking a fourth term.

In Ohio, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy lost to Democrat Amy Acton after his campaign faced backlash for an ad featuring Acton’s estranged mother, who lost custody of Acton decades ago after her husband, Acton’s stepfather, was indicted for raping Acton as a child.

Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms of Georgia will be the first Black female governor of any state. In neighboring Florida, Byron Donalds became the nation's first Black Republican to be elected governor.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, in line to make history as the nation’s first Black speaker of the House if his party sweeps to power, has outlined a 100-day agenda focused on lowering the cost of living and aggressively overseeing the Trump administration.

The especially strong showing for Democrats could boost the party's large crop of potential presidential candidates. It may also complicate the paths of Vice President JD Vance and other Republicans who may have been looking to turn their loyalty to Trump into momentum.

___

journalists Linley Sanders, Aaron Kessler and Ali Swenson in Washington; Cody Jackson in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.; and Allen Breed in Raleigh, N.C., contributed.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Breaking”