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Blue tsunami: Democrats seize both the House and the Senate
A night of flips from Texas to Kansas hands Democrats full control of Congress, with a handful of races still being counted.
Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in Tuesday's midterms. Decision Desk HQ projected the House for Democrats at 9:09 p.m. ET and the Senate at 11:19 p.m. ET, according to Ballotpedia, and Democrats flipped Senate seats in seven states. Alaska and Mississippi's Senate races remain uncalled.
Democrats are taking the gavels. According to Ballotpedia's live results tracker, Decision Desk HQ projected that Democrats would win the U.S. House at 9:09 p.m. ET on Nov. 3 and the U.S. Senate at 11:19 p.m. ET.
The numbers so far
As of Ballotpedia's Wednesday afternoon tally, Democrats had won 20 of the 35 Senate seats on the ballot to Republicans' 13, with two races uncalled — a net Democratic gain of seven. In the House, Democrats had won 233 seats to Republicans' 138, with 64 races still uncalled, for a net Democratic gain of 30 so far (Ballotpedia). NPR reported Democrats are on track for at least 54 Senate seats and at least 222 House seats.
The Senate flips came in Iowa, Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas, per Ballotpedia. NPR's Mara Liasson noted Kansas had not elected a Democratic senator since 1932.
What the leaders said
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is poised to become the first Black speaker, said: "From sea to shining sea, the American people have spoken and made clear they've had enough of the extremism, enough of the corruption," NPR reported. On X he summed it up in one word: "Tsunami."
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer vowed that "whenever Trump defies the will of the American people or the law, we will launch investigations, take him to court, and entangle him in legislative razor wire," according to CBS News. He posted Wednesday morning: "54 seats and counting."
Still counting
Two Senate contests have not been called: Alaska, where Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan faces Democrat Mary Peltola and ranked-choice tabulation is set for Nov. 18 (Votebeat), and Mississippi, where Democrat Scott Colom narrowly led Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith with 96% counted, per AP figures cited by the Mississippi Independent. Blue Wire will not call either race until a reliable source does.
Why it matters
With both chambers, Democrats gain subpoena power, control of committees and the ability to block the president's legislative agenda when the new Congress is sworn in in January. The vote was a referendum on the economy: NBC News' exit poll found 65% of voters said Trump's policies had made the economy worse.
Sources
- Election results, 2026 — Ballotpedia
- 2026 election: Democrats win full control of Congress — NPR
- Democrats sweep Senate and House in a resounding rebuke to Trump, GOP — NPR
- 2026 Senate midterm election results as Democrats win control — CBS News
- Why Alaska Senate election results could take days or weeks — Votebeat
- Colom v. Hyde-Smith: When—and how—will this close contest be decided? — Mississippi Independent
- NBC News Exit Poll: Democrats' victory, Trump and the economy — NBC News
- Post by Hakeem Jeffries on X — X
- Post by Chuck Schumer on X — X