WorldUS midterms
Democrats win the Senate, taking both chambers of Congress from Trump
Wins for James Talarico in Texas and Sherrod Brown in Ohio give Democrats the four Senate seats they needed. With the House already projected, President Donald Trump faces a Democratic Congress for his last two years.
Key points
- Democrats are projected to win control of the Senate, ending a 53-47 Republican majority.
- They flipped Texas, Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina, all states Trump carried in 2024.
- Trump said he was not on the ballot and would have won if he had been.
Democrats are projected to win control of the Senate, US networks said on Wednesday morning India time, completing a sweep of both chambers of Congress hours after they were projected to take the House of Representatives. It is the heaviest midterm defeat for President Donald Trump, whose Republicans had held the White House, the House and the Senate since January 2025.
Republicans went into Tuesday’s vote with a 53-47 Senate majority. Democrats needed a net gain of four seats, and they got it in states that Trump won comfortably two years ago. Once all votes are counted they will have at least 51 of the 100 seats. Chuck Schumer, who led the Senate from 2021 to 2025, is set to return as majority leader.
Four flips in Trump country
The two biggest upsets came late. In Texas, James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton, the state’s Republican attorney general, despite heavy outside spending for Paxton. In Ohio, former senator Sherrod Brown beat Jon Husted, the Republican who held the seat. Trump carried both states by double digits in 2024.
They joined two flips called earlier in the night. In South Carolina, paediatrician Annie Andrews defeated Darline Graham, who was appointed after the death of her brother, Senator Lindsey Graham, in a state Trump won by nearly 18 points. In North Carolina, former governor Roy Cooper won the open seat.
Democrats also held Georgia, where Jon Ossoff beat Mike Collins, and New Hampshire. Their majority rests on keeping their own seats in Michigan and Minnesota. In Florida, Republican Ashley Moody led Democrat Angie Nixon by about 3 points in the count.
‘Wasn’t on the Ballot’
Trump, who had urged supporters to “pretend I’m on the ballot”, blamed his absence from the ballot, writing on social media that he “wasn’t on the Ballot” and would have won “IN A LANDSLIDE” if he had been.
Ossoff, celebrating in Georgia, said Americans “have rebuked the depravity, corruption and incompetence” of the president.
Before the polls closed, Schumer had called himself “nauseously optimistic”. “The American people want us to do things that make their lives better,” he said on Tuesday. “We’re listening to them. Trump is not.”
Why voters turned
Exit polls found that half of voters saw the election as a rebuke of the president, and three in four were angry or dissatisfied with the direction of the country. Seventy per cent said they wanted Congress to act as more of a check on the administration. The cost of living and corruption topped voters’ worries, along with higher fuel prices after Trump launched the war against Iran in February.
What changes now
With both chambers, Democrats can block Trump’s legislation, run investigations through congressional committees and shape spending. Control of the Senate also gives them a say over his judicial and cabinet nominees, which need Senate confirmation. In the House, Democrats had taken at least eight Republican seats, including in Kentucky, New Jersey and North Carolina.
The new Congress meets in January. Some close House and Senate races are still being counted.