Democrats seize House and Senate in sweeping midterm rebuke of Trump

Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in midterm elections nationwide on Tuesday, delivering a decisive rebuke of Republican governance and ushering in a new era of congressional resistance to President Donald Trump. The vote laid bare deep frustration over high prices, the war in Iran and concerns about government corruption.

Democrats flipped states that have voted Republican for decades and that Trump won by double digits two years ago. James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton in Texas, where no Democrat had won statewide office in more than 30 years, and Annie Andrews upset Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina; Trump had thrown his full weight behind both losing candidates. Josh Turek beat Rep. Ashley Hinson in Iowa, Adam Hamilton ousted Sen. Roger Marshall in Kansas, Sherrod Brown topped Sen. Jon Husted in Ohio and Roy Cooper took an open North Carolina seat.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, a battle-tested survivor of difficult elections, lost to Democrat Troy Jackson, who has said Israel is committing "genocide" in Gaza, an accusation Israel strenuously denies, and has called for an end to US aid to Israel. Many victors were ascendant Israel critics who back halting or conditioning arms sales; support for Israel among Democratic voters has plummeted. In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed won an open Senate seat to become the first Muslim senator, defeating Trump-backed Mike Rogers, who falsely portrayed El-Sayed, an Egyptian American born in Michigan, as a religious extremist.

Trump sought to shift blame immediately, posting on his social media site before West Coast polls closed that he was not on the ballot, though he had spent weeks asking voters to act like he was. "I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!" he wrote, vowing to veto Democrat-controlled legislation. In a late-night Fox News interview, he said voters "didn't like the candidates" and would accept the results, despite earlier warnings of mass noncitizen voting and lawsuits in Alaska and California.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune wrote on X: "Senate Republicans will not stand idly by as the far-left, socialist wing of the Democrat Party attempts to unwind everything we've done." Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer called the results a "generational remake of the Senate map"; House Leader Hakeem Jeffries said "the American people are crying out for transformational change."

Party leaders have signaled investigations of top administration officials and deeper scrutiny of how Trump has enriched his family; impeachment of Trump and Cabinet officials is not off the table, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and former adviser Elon Musk among possible targets. Jeffries, in line to become the first Black House speaker, has outlined a 100-day agenda focused on lowering the cost of living and aggressive oversight.

In the House, Democrats reached deep into Trump-won territory, with multiple pickups in Iowa, Texas, Florida and Pennsylvania and new seats in Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio and Utah; Iowa's previously all-Republican delegation will now include three Democrats. A Republican redistricting push fell short in Florida and Texas, and Senate races in Mississippi and Alaska remained uncalled early Wednesday.

Voters were sour heading into Tuesday, according to The AP Voter Poll: about three-quarters felt "angry" or "dissatisfied" with the country's trajectory, three-quarters rated the economy "not so good" or "poor," and roughly half cited government corruption and the cost of living as "crucial" to their vote.

Thirty-six states also elected governors. Democrats Josh Shapiro, JB Pritzker, Wes Moore, Maura Healey and Kathy Hochul won reelection, and in a stunning Texas upset, Gina Hinojosa defeated Gov. Greg Abbott, who sought a fourth term. Georgia's Keisha Lance Bottoms will be the first Black female governor of any state, and Florida's Byron Donalds became the first Black Republican elected governor. In Ohio, Democrat Amy Acton beat Vivek Ramaswamy.