US midterm elections 2026 live updates: Democrats win Senate control and edge toward House victory | US midterm elections 2026
Democrats win control of US Senate with historic wins in key battlegrounds
Democrats have now won control of the US Senate, according to the Associated Press.
With historic wins in Texas, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina, the party now has 51 seats – the magic number needed to win the upper chamber of Congress.
Democrats are also poised to take control of the House, and we’ll keep you updated as we learn more.
Key events
-
US Senate race in Mississippi on knife’s edge with 97% of votes counted
-
Democrat Christina Bohannan flips Iowa US House district
-
Democrat Sarah Trone Garriott wins Iowa House race, flipping seat
-
Troy Jackson wins Maine Senate race
-
Democrat James Talarico in Texas: ‘tonight we defeated Goliath’
-
Peggy Flanagan becomes first female Native American US senator
-
Final polls close in Alaska and Hawaii
-
Democrat Elaine Luria flips swing House district in Virginia
-
Democrat David Crowley wins Wisconsin gubernatorial race, making history as state’s first Black governor
-
Democrats win control of US Senate with historic wins in key battlegrounds
-
Democrat Josh Turek wins US Senate race in Iowa
-
Adam Hamilton becomes first Democrat to win US Senate seat in Kansas in almost a century
-
Democrat Rob Sand wins governor’s race in Iowa
-
Latest midterm results – at a glance
-
Democrat Gina Hinojosa wins governor’s race in Texas, makes history as state’s first Latina governor
-
Democrat Sherrod Brown wins US Senate race in Ohio, flipping seat
-
Democrat James Talarico wins US Senate race in Texas, securing historic upset
-
California and other west coast states close polls
-
Trump says he will accept election results
-
Deb Haaland wins in New Mexico, making history as first female Native American governor
-
Democrat Amy Acton wins Ohio governor’s race, after rancorous competition against Ramaswamy
-
Trump says Republican losses because ‘I wasn’t on the ballot’
-
Democrat Janelle Stelson beats Scott Perry in key Pennsylvania House race
-
Democrat Paige Cognetti wins Pennsylvania seat, flipping Republican district
-
Summary: key race calls so far
-
Democrat Bob Brooks flips key Pennsylvania House seat
-
Democrat Zach Dembo flips Kentucky House seat
-
Democrat Annie Andrews secures historic win in US Senate race in South Carolina
-
Hakeem Jeffries wins congressional seat, poised to become first Black House speaker
-
Polls close in Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Utah
-
Democrat Rebecca Bennett wins New Jersey US House race, flipping seat
-
Keisha Lance Bottoms wins governor’s race in Georgia, securing historic victory
-
Democrat Pia Dandiya wins re-drawn Florida House district
-
Byron Donalds wins governor race in Florida, beating Democratic challenger
-
Polls close in 10 more states, including Arizona, Iowa and Wisconsin
-
Summary: key race calls so far
-
Ashley Moody wins US Senate race in Florida, fending off progressive challenger
-
Democrat Roy Cooper wins North Carolina’s open US Senate seat
-
Democrat Chris Pappas wins US Senate race in New Hampshire
-
Democrat Kathy Castor defends redrawn House seat in Florida
-
Democrat Jared Moskowitz wins Florida House race in re-drawn district to favor Republicans
-
Nineteen states and DC close their polls
-
Jon Ossoff wins race for US Senate in Georgia
-
Three more states close polls, including two crucial Senate races
-
Debbie Wasserman Schultz wins Florida House seat
-
Mark Warner wins re-election in Virginia
-
Polls close in six states, including Florida and Georgia
-
Exit polls shows that the economy and state of democracy are top issues
-
First round of polls close
-
Which early races could indicate a blue wave? Here’s where we’re watching.
-
Americans vote in midterms that will determine control of Congress and Trump’s agenda
Joseph Gedeon
in Detroit, Michigan
VoteHub projects El-Sayed victory, at almost 1 in the morning, but there is no official call. The club music is still bumping at the Michigan Dem’s election party.
As it stands El-Sayed is up nearly 100,000 votes, with 65 percent of the vote tallied, and a majority of Wayne County (which Detroit sits in) has yet to be counted.
US Senate race in Mississippi on knife’s edge with 97% of votes counted
The Mississippi US Senate race is neck and neck, with 97% of votes counted.
Democrat Scott Colom is currently leading Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith by just 28 votes.
Colom would be Mississippi’s first Black senator since the post-Civil War Reconstruction era. While Hyde-Smith, a staunch ally of Donald Trump, is vying for her second full term.
Menawhile, the independent candidate Ty Pinkins has just over 2% of the vote at present.
Democrat Christina Bohannan flips Iowa US House district
In another win for Democrats in Iowa, Christina Bohannan has unseated Republican incumbent Mariannette Miller‑Meeks in the state’s first congressional district.
This was a rematch for Bohannan, a former state representative, who lost her 2024 race against Miller-Meeks by a single point.
Rachel Leingang
Josh Turek celebrated his win in Iowa’s US Senate race as a feat of making the impossible possible, detailing how a former US senator, Iowa’s Tom Harkin, changed his life as a child with disabilities by passing the Americans with Disabilities Act.
He brought Harkin to the stage, saying he represented everything that’s right about public service.
Turek said he will fight to end the war in Iran and trump’s tariffs while working to improve affordability in housing and healthcare. Most importantly, he said, he wants to fight corruption and overturn citizens united.
“All along I have said that Iowa was the center of the political universe and boy did we prove that tonight,” Turek said. “We have changed the state of Iowa tonight. … Iowa, this is where our comeback begins.”
Mary Jo Pitzl in Phoenix, Arizona
Within an hour of the first drop of voting returns, Democratic governor Katie Hobbs sealed her bid for a second term in this increasingly swingy state.
Hobbs was projected to clinch another four years at the helm of Arizona government, outpacing Republican Andy Biggs by double digits in early returns. It was the first in a string of apparent Democratic wins up and down the statewide ballot, including the possible takeover of the state Legislature after decades in the minority.
Oscar de los Santos, leader of the minority Democrats in the House of Representatives, hedged his bet, but barely, as he said he wasn’t calling any races….yet. But he proceeded to proclaim a “Democratic trifecta in 2027,” with control of both law-making chambers and the Governor’s Office in Democrats’ hands.
The Arizona House has been controlled by Republicans since 1966. Even as Democrats narrowed the margin in the 60-member chamber, their boasts of an overthrow fell short year after year. In the state Senate, Democrats had control for two years in 1991-92.
But bouyed by widespread disapproval of president Donald Trump and his policies, legislative Democrats savored a return to power even as ballots were still being counted,
“We are achieving this by kicking Turning Point’s ass,” de los Santos said, referring to the conservative organization that backed many GOP campaigns. “Because in Arizona, the voters decide, not the corporations, not the billionaires and certainly not the sore losers.”
Further underscoring the Democratic dominance, attorney general Kris Mayes claimed early victory as she was leading her Republican opponent by more than 10 points.
“As you know, we won our last campaign by 280 votes,” Mayes said. “It’s going to be a whole lot more than that.”
Democrat Sarah Trone Garriott wins Iowa House race, flipping seat
Democrat Sarah Trone Garriott has won Iowa’s third congressional district, beating Republican incumbent Zach Nunn, who was running for a third term.
Trone Garriott is a state senator, and flipped a seat in the Hawkeye state after a winning for evening for Democrats in a number of state races: including for US Senate and the governor’s mansion.
Adria R Walker
in Mississippi
Cheers echo across the room at Scott Colom’s campaign watch party as Mississippi, four hours after polling precincts closed, is still too early to call. Even as it nears midnight, supporters are jubilant.
Colom, a Democrat, challenged Cindy Hyde-Smith, a Republican, for a seat in the US Senate. And, in a shock to many, the race is competitive.
Colom just told supporters, hundreds of whom are still at the campaign watch party, that the race will not be called tonight. He promised to fight for everyone’s vote to count.
Mississippi had long been written off as a potential win for Democrats, but it was clear that the race was tight by late October, when Trump stumped for Hyde-Smith in the state.
If he wins, Colom, who ran on the promise that “Mississippi Matters,” would be the first Democrat to secure the position since 1982 and the first Black man to do so since Reconstruction.
Hundreds of supporters are still crowding Colom, clamoring for a photo or video with the candidate as he makes his way through the building.
Democrats Rebecca Cooke and Mitchell Berman have won their House races in Wisconsin, defeating two Republican incumbents.
Cooke, a waitress and nonprofit leader, defeated incumbent Derrick Van Orden in her race to represent Wisconsin’s 3rd congressional district.
Berman, a nurse and first-time candidate, defeated incumbent Bryan Steil in his race to represent the state’s 1st district.
Jeremy Barr
In the weeks leading up to the election, Donald Trump made clear that he would place some blame on Fox News if his party did poorly in the midterm elections.
Even before the results were in on Tuesday, Trump took to his Truth Social platform to criticize the network for featuring a prominent Democratic commentator and re-stated his long-held criticisms of the network’s polling operation.
At 7 pm, Trump mocked Fox News for some recent ratings softness, and alleged that the network was “AGAINST” him because it regularly featured Democratic candidates in interviews. Just before midnight, he directly blamed the network, writing: “Fox News bears responsibility for these losses by constantly and consistently putting on the Dumocrat opposition, and worse.”
Then, in a surreal moment, Trump called into Fox’s election coverage and shared his contention that he was not to blame for the Republican Party’s losses. Trump directly criticized Fox’s polls, saying: “The Fox polls are terrible. You ought to get yourself a good pollster, because your pollsters are the worst.” Fox News anchor Bret Baier pointed out that “tonight, actually, the results are pretty close to what the Fox polls showed.”
Dani Anguiano
in Los Angeles
With early results showing Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass with a narrow lead, the mood was celebratory outside the Greek Theatre where supporters of Nithya Raman gathered Tuesday night.
The event erupted in cheers as it emerged Democrats across the US were victorious in their races, and the cheers grew louder over the prospect of a Raman win.
The progressive LA city council member is facing off against her one time ally Karen Bass, and has pitched herself as the candidate best suited to solve the city’s problems. Her campaign has gained major ground in recent months as Angelenos grow increasingly frustrated with the direction of the city, affordability and housing and homelessness.
Max Rico, a high school teacher from South Central Los Angeles who came to the event wearing his ballot box Halloween costume, supported Raman because of her positions on affordable housing.
He has frequently seen students leave mid-year as their families relocate to areas with lower costs of living.
Rico had previously supported Bass but was left disappointed by her tenure and said her policies ultimately didn’t help communities that needed it. Though early returns showed Bass in the lead, he felt hopeful Raman would pull ahead as ballots from young voters were tallied.
