Democrats Sweep Both Chambers in 2026 Midterms, Flipping Senate and House

Democrats seized control of both chambers of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections, capitalizing on President Donald Trump's unpopularity to flip at least seven Senate seats and 18 House seats — a sweep that gives the party significant power to check Trump's final two years in office.

By 1:30 a.m. EST on November 4, Democrats had secured at least a 54-44 Senate majority and a 231-141 House majority, according to Ballotpedia. The Guardian's live results showed 33 of 35 Senate races called and 367 of 435 House races projected. Two Senate contests — Alaska and Mississippi — remained too early to call, with the Mississippi candidates separated by just 43 votes, according to CNN.

Democrats have flipped control of both the House and Senate in a resounding and historic victory. They capitalized on President Donald Trump's historic unpopularity to win significant power to check his final two years in office.— CNN report

Democrats won Senate races in seven states that Trump carried in 2024: Ohio, Iowa, South Carolina, Maine, North Carolina, Kansas, and Texas. Four Republican incumbents lost re-election bids. Michigan's Abdul El-Sayed also won, becoming the first Muslim senator in U.S. history, according to CNN.

The scale of the Senate shift puts 2026 in the top 20 percent of election years for seat swings against a president's party — a threshold Ballotpedia defines as a wave election. It is also the first time since 1954 that the party that won the Senate in one even-numbered year lost it in the very next cycle, according to Ballotpedia.

In the House, 14 Republican incumbents lost re-election and no Democratic incumbents did. Fox News's Power Rankings had rated the race for House control as leaning Democratic heading into election night, with its forecast suggesting Democrats could end up with as many as 240 seats if they had a strong night.

The results arrived faster than many analysts had anticipated. Before the election, NBC News's Decision Desk had warned that Senate control could easily stretch into early Wednesday morning — or much later if Alaska's ranked-choice voting system became decisive, a process that can take weeks. In the end, enough races were called overnight to project Democratic majorities in both chambers without waiting for Alaska's final tally.

Maine and Alaska both use ranked-choice voting for Senate races, in which voters rank candidates by preference. If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of first-choice votes, the lowest-finishing candidate is eliminated and those ballots are redistributed. In Alaska, mail ballots from remote areas can arrive up to 15 days after election day, making a close race there one of the slowest to resolve in the country.

Republicans had entered election night defending a 53-47 Senate majority and a razor-thin House majority, fighting the historical pattern in which the president's party loses seats in midterm years. Trump predicted on the campaign trail that Republicans would hold both chambers, warning that if Democrats took control, 'this country will go to hell,' according to Fox News.

After the results came in, Trump said he did not see the GOP losses 'as a hit on me' and affirmed he would work with the Democratic-controlled Congress, saying he does not 'want to be just sitting there for two years vetoing everything' — a notable shift from his previous statements that he would become 'Mr. Veto,' according to CNN.

Beyond Congress, Democrats gained at least four governorships, giving them a majority of state governorships for the first time since 2010, according to Ballotpedia. Texas Governor Greg Abbott lost his re-election bid. Democrats also flipped at least three state government trifectas — Minnesota, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — while Republicans lost trifectas in Georgia, Iowa, Ohio, and Texas.

Several dozen House races remained uncalled as of early November 4, and full certification incorporating late-arriving ballots could extend into December. Alaska's Senate race, still unresolved, may not be finalized for weeks given the state's ranked-choice process and mail-ballot window.

Why it matters — Democrats now control both chambers of Congress for the final two years of Trump's presidency, giving them the power to block legislation, conduct oversight, and shape the confirmation of any future judicial or cabinet nominees.

Reported by nbcnews.com, foxnews.com, theguardian.com, news.ballotpedia.org, cnn.com, ndtv.com