Democrats win majority in both chambers of U.S. Congress: preliminary results (updated)
Following the mid-term congressional elections, Democratic Party candidates have taken Senate seats from the Republicans in North and South Carolina and, according to projections, are set to regain a majority in the House of Representatives.
As reported by Censor.NET, this is indicated by projections from the AP, CNN, NBC News, CBS News and CNBC.
Currently, the Republicans hold a majority in the Senate – 53 seats to 47. To take control, the Democrats need to win an additional four seats whilst retaining their existing ones, and they are already halfway there.
According to estimates by The New York Times, the probability that the Democratic Party will secure a majority in both houses of Congress exceeds 95 per cent.
In North Carolina, former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper defeated Republican Michael Watley, who was backed by Trump. Cooper will take the seat of Republican Tom Tillis, who did not stand for re-election. The Democrats have not won a Senate election in this state since 2008.
Sensational Democratic victories in traditionally ‘red’ states
The victory in South Carolina was even more resounding, given that Trump had won there by a margin of almost 18 points in 2024. Democrat Annie Andrews defeated Republican Darlene Graham, who had been temporarily filling the seat of the late Lindsey Graham. Andrews will become the first woman elected to the Senate from this state. The last time a Democrat won a Senate election here was in 1998.
The Democrats are holding on to their seats for now. CNN has declared Senator Jon Ossoff the winner in Georgia, which Trump also won in 2024, whilst the AP has declared a Democratic victory in New Hampshire.
The battle for the Senate: how the decisive seats are distributed
Seven key states will decide the rest of the race for a majority: Iowa, Alaska, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Ohio and Texas. According to estimates by CNBC and NBC, the races in Texas, Ohio and Kansas are leaning in favour of the Democrats. Preliminary results from the four states are as follows:
- Texas (approximately 53% counted): Democrat James Talarico – 59.4 per cent, Republican Ken Paxton – 39.1 per cent;
- Ohio (around 62% counted): Democrat Sherrod Brown – 49 per cent, Republican John Gasted – 46.4 per cent;
- Michigan (around 18% counted): Democrat Abdul El-Sayed – 55.1 per cent, Republican Mike Rogers – 43.3 per cent;
- Maine (around 10 per cent): Democrat Troy Jackson – 50.2 per cent, Republican Susan Collins – 49.7 per cent.
The winners in these states have not yet been announced. Michigan remains the main threat to the Democrats, where they are defending their seat.
A comeback in the House of Representatives and the gubernatorial elections
All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for re-election; a majority requires 218. The Republicans hold a narrow lead, so the Democrats need to win a net total of three seats. According to a CNBC forecast, they will win a majority in the lower house.
According to CNN, the Democrats have taken at least five constituencies from the Republicans. These include North Carolina’s 11th constituency, where Trump won by a 10-point margin in 2024, and Kentucky’s 6th constituency, where his lead stood at 15 points. In addition, the Democrats have held on to three constituencies in Florida, the boundaries of which the Republicans had redrawn in an attempt to win them over.
If the projections prove accurate, the Republicans will lose control of both houses of Congress.
In the gubernatorial elections, the Democrats are, as expected, holding on to their states for the time being. CNN, in particular, has declared victories for Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania – which Trump won in 2024 – and J.B. Pritzker in Illinois, who has become the first Democrat to be elected governor of the state for a third term.
It should be noted that these results are not official. They are media projections and preliminary count results.
Updated information
According to the Associated Press, the Democratic Party secured a majority in the House of Representatives, winning 224 seats against a required minimum of 218. By gaining control of both chambers of Congress, the Democrats have significantly weakened the Republicans’ position in the capital and laid new groundwork for conflicts with the Donald Trump administration.
In the upper chamber of Congress, the Democrats also hold the advantage: 53 seats to the Republicans’ 42. The midterm election results demonstrated Americans’ outrage over rising prices, the military conflict with Iran, and corruption scandals within the government. Democratic candidates decisively outperformed their opponents across the country, winning even in traditionally Republican states where Donald Trump had led by a wide margin two years ago.
"Among the key upsets was James Talarico’s victory in the Texas Senate race, where Democrats had not held a seat in the state legislature for more than three decades. Meanwhile, in South Carolina, Annie Andrews unexpectedly defeated Senator Darlene Graham. Both defeated candidates had Trump’s personal endorsement. In addition, according to the AP, even veteran Republican Susan Collins suffered a defeat in Maine, losing to Democrat Troy Jackson," the publication notes.
The election results in the states dealt a significant blow to Donald Trump’s standing. Despite an intense campaign and numerous rallies over the past month, he was unable to prevent a Republican rout.
As the AP notes, the election results will significantly reshape the remainder of Trump’s presidential term. Although the current president has previously overcome attempts to limit his power, the Democratic Party’s takeover of both houses of Congress will radically alter the balance of power over the next two years and significantly block his legislative initiatives.
Democrats have already announced their intention to use new tools to launch investigations into Trump administration officials, particularly regarding his family’s financial assets. In addition, the party has not ruled out launching impeachment proceedings against Trump and government officials, including Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and former White House adviser, billionaire Elon Musk.
