Democrats won control of both chambers of the United States Congress in the midterm elections held on 3 November 2026, ending two years of unified Republican control in Washington and forcing President Donald Trump into divided government for the rest of his term. Political.org, tracking Associated Press race calls, reported on 12 November that Democrats had won 254 seats in the House of Representatives to 167 for Republicans, with 14 races still uncalled, and had taken the Senate as well.

Midterm elections fall halfway through a president's four-year term. All 435 seats in the House were contested, along with 35 of the Senate's 100 seats and governorships in 36 states. Before the election, Republicans held the House by 218 seats to 214 for Democrats, with one independent and two vacancies, and the Senate by 53 seats to 47 for Democrats and the two independents who caucus with them.

What happened in the House?

Democrats needed a net gain of four seats to reach the 218 required for a House majority. In races called by the Associated Press by 12 November, they had won 254 seats, comfortably past the threshold, while Republicans had won 167, with 14 races still to be called in states including California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Two districts in Louisiana go to run-off elections on 12 December.

Measured against who held each district before the election, Democrats won 41 districts last held by Republicans, while Republicans won two districts held by Democrats, Tennessee's 9th and Texas' 32nd, both under redrawn boundaries. Nine states used redrawn district maps this year, so district-by-district comparisons are not exact.

Redistricting cut both ways. In California, the only Democratic-controlled state to redraw its maps, Democrats gained five seats and now hold 48 of the state's 52 House seats, according to Le Monde. Republican-led redistricting in Texas, Florida and Tennessee did not stop Democratic gains there.

What happened in the Senate?

Democrats needed a net gain of four seats to win the Senate, and they gained at least seven. In the 34 races called by 12 November, Democrats won 21 and Republicans 13. Democrats flipped eight Republican-held seats and lost none of their own.

The seats that changed hands were Iowa, where Josh Turek won the open seat held by Joni Ernst; Kansas, where Adam Hamilton defeated Roger Marshall; Maine, where Troy Jackson defeated Susan Collins, who conceded; North Carolina, where Roy Cooper won the open seat held by Thom Tillis; Ohio, where Sherrod Brown defeated Jon Husted in a special election; South Carolina, where Annie Andrews defeated Darline Graham; Texas, where James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton for the open seat held by John Cornyn; and Mississippi, where Scott Colom defeated Cindy Hyde-Smith.

The Mississippi result, called by the Associated Press on 11 November, made Colom the first Democrat elected to the Senate from the state since 1982 and its first Black senator since Reconstruction. Hyde-Smith conceded. Hamilton's win in Kansas made him the state's first Democratic senator since 1932.

One Senate race remained uncalled: Alaska, where Democrat Mary Peltola led Republican Dan Sullivan by 48.7% to 47.1% as of 11 November, with about 86% of expected votes counted. A ranked-choice tabulation is set for 18 November if no candidate reaches 50%. Counting the two independents who caucus with them, Democrats hold at least 54 Senate seats to 44 for Republicans.

What happened in the governors' races?

Democrats won 22 of the 34 governors' races called by 12 November and flipped five Republican-held governorships: Georgia, where Keisha Lance Bottoms won the open seat; Iowa, where Rob Sand won the open seat; Nevada, where Aaron Ford defeated Joe Lombardo; Ohio, where Amy Acton won the open seat; and Texas, where Gina Hinojosa defeated Greg Abbott. The races in Alaska and Kansas had not been called.

The Texas results were the night's biggest shocks. Talarico's Senate win was the first time a Democrat had won a statewide race there in more than 30 years, and Hinojosa's defeat of Abbott ended the governor's long tenure.

Why did the Democrats win?

The scale of the Democratic victory surprised forecasters. Le Monde's analysis found that in nearly all districts, Republican candidates won lower vote shares than Trump had in the 2024 presidential election, and that the swing from Republican to Democrat reached 25 points in Texas, 23 points in Rhode Island and 23 points in Mississippi.

Polling and turnout data pointed to the cost of living as a central issue. The Times reported that inflation stood at 3.7%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, up from 3% when Trump became president, and that almost two-thirds of voters under 45 backed the Democrats, while voters over 65 only narrowly backed Republicans. A preliminary estimate suggested around half of eligible voters cast a ballot.

The rapid growth of data centres was also widely cited as a leading issue for voters, according to PNC Economics Research, which noted that state-level Democratic wins could now allow limits and oversight on new data centre construction.

What happens next?

Democrats will control both chambers when the new Congress convenes in January 2027. That gives them control of the agenda on spending bills, investigations and Senate confirmations for the rest of Trump's term, and the power to block the president's legislative programme.

Trump has said he plans to use his veto power, and with Democrats well short of the two-thirds majorities needed to override a veto, major legislation is unlikely to pass without agreement between the parties. PNC Economics Research said the most likely consequence of the gridlocked government was an extended debt-ceiling standoff running down to the deadline, similar to the episode in 2023.

The parties have already begun choosing their leaders for the new Congress. On 10 November, House Republicans elected Jim Jordan of Ohio as minority leader, defeating Steve Scalise by 106 votes to 73, while Senate Republicans re-elected John Thune of South Dakota as their leader. House Democrats were due to vote on their leadership on 18 and 19 November.

Some results are still not final. Fourteen House races and the Alaska Senate race remain uncalled, and Louisiana's two run-offs take place on 12 December. But the outcome that matters is settled: after the 3 November vote, Congress is in Democratic hands and the second half of Trump's term will be fought under divided government.