Democrats seized full control of Congress on election night, flipping at least seven Senate seats in longtime Republican strongholds and handing President Trump a stinging setback just two years into his second term.
Quick Take
- Democrats won majorities in both the House and Senate, ending unified Republican control of Washington.
- Senate flips hit deep-red territory, including Kansas, Iowa, Texas, Ohio, Maine, North Carolina and South Carolina.
- Longtime Senator Susan Collins of Maine lost her seat on election night.
- Kansas elected a Democratic senator for the first time in nearly a century.
- Democrats crossed the 218-seat threshold needed to control the House.
Democrats Flip Seven Senate Seats in Deep Republican Territory
Democrats captured at least seven Republican-held Senate seats on election night, according to the Associated Press, sweeping Kansas, Iowa, Texas, Ohio, Maine, North Carolina and South Carolina. CNN’s live coverage confirmed the same seven-seat tally as networks projected Democratic control of the chamber. The results ended years of Republican dominance across several of those states, a shift that stunned longtime GOP operatives who had counted on those seats as reliably red heading into the midterms.
Kansas delivered the night’s most striking upset. The Associated Press noted the state had not elected a Democratic senator in nearly a century before this win. CBS News reported that Texas and Kansas produced Democratic Senate victories unseen in decades, a sign of how far the political map shifted. Longtime Senator Susan Collins of Maine also lost her seat, while Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed defeated Mike Rogers in one of the night’s closely watched contests.
House Majority Crosses the 218-Seat Threshold
The New York Times reported Democrats clinched the 218 seats required for House control, citing the Associated Press. National Public Radio reported Democrats had flipped more than a dozen Republican-held House seats as results came in. Networks projected the majority once remaining uncalled races could no longer mathematically change the outcome, a standard practice in modern election coverage even before every district finishes counting votes.
A Texas state legislator also won a Senate seat for Democrats, CBS News reported, adding another name to a lengthy list of first-time Democratic officeholders claiming victory in historically competitive or Republican-leaning states. The breadth of these wins, spanning the Great Plains, the Gulf Coast, the Rust Belt and New England, points to a coordinated and well-funded Democratic effort rather than a handful of isolated local upsets.
Democrats have won control of both chambers of Congress in a sweeping midterm election victory, delivering a major setback to President Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
The Nov. 3 elections saw Democrats flip Senate seats in traditionally Republican states, including… pic.twitter.com/rWvxeTA2iU
— The Tablet (@TabletNewspaper) November 4, 2026
A Divided Government Awaits President Trump’s Final Two Years
Unified Republican government in Washington ends with this result. President Trump now faces a Democratic-controlled House and Senate for the remainder of his second term, giving the opposition subpoena power, committee gavels and leverage over spending bills. Conservative voters who backed the president’s agenda on border security, energy production and tax relief should expect funding fights and oversight hearings aim
