Democrats win both chambers of Congress in major midterm blow to Trump

In Tuesday’s midterm elections, Democrats flipped six Republican-held Senate seats and at least eight House seats, capturing majorities in both chambers and ending Republican control of Congress for the final two years of Trump’s presidency.

The Senate victories extended into traditionally Republican states, including Texas, Kansas, South Carolina, Ohio and Iowa, where Democratic candidates defeated Republican incumbents and Trump-backed contenders.

In Texas, Democratic state Representative James Talarico defeated Republican Attorney General Warren Kenneth Paxton, while Democrat Sherrod Brown reclaimed the Ohio seat previously held by Vice President JD Vance.

The South Carolina result was particularly striking, as Democrat Anne Elizabeth Andrews defeated Trump-backed Darline Graham in a state Trump carried by nearly 18 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election.

In Kansas, Democrat Adam Hamilton defeated Republican incumbent Roger Marshall, becoming the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in the state since the Great Depression, while Democrat Roy Asberry Cooper defeated Trump's handpicked candidate Michael Whatley in North Carolina.

Democrats also captured Iowa's Republican-held Senate seat, with Joshua Peter Turek defeating his Republican opponent, bringing the party's total number of Senate seat gains to six.

The House victory was equally significant, with Democrats flipping at least eight Republican-held seats in states, including Kentucky, New Jersey and North Carolina, making gains even in districts considered solidly conservative.

Democrats also held onto three Florida House districts that Republican lawmakers had redrawn earlier in the year, despite all three having supported Trump by at least nine percentage points in the 2024 presidential election.

The results reflect deep voter dissatisfaction with the economy and Trump's handling of domestic and foreign policy, with nearly nine in ten voters considering the cost of living a major factor in their decisions.

Around two-thirds of voters blamed Trump for high prices, while approximately three-quarters said they were angry or dissatisfied with the direction of the country, according to exit-poll findings reported by Reuters.

The war against Iran also emerged as a significant source of discontent, as the conflict drove up gasoline prices and intensified concerns about the cost of living.

Trump's backing of Israel has also become a source of domestic political division, amid growing public opposition to US military assistance and criticism of Washington's foreign-policy priorities.

The election was widely treated as a referendum on Trump, who personally campaigned for Republican candidates and repeatedly urged voters to act as though he himself were on the ballot.

Trump campaigned heavily for several losing candidates, including Paxton and Graham, but attempted to distance himself from the outcome after the Republican defeats became apparent, writing on Truth Social, “I was not on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!”

The victories give Democrats control of House committees, allowing them to launch investigations into the Trump administration, subpoena officials and scrutinize federal spending.