Democrats Retake House and Flip Senate Seats in 2026 Midterms
Democrats have retaken control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the November 3, 2026 midterm elections, the national votes held during a president's term. Al Jazeera reported that the party also flipped at least six U.S. Senate seats, which gives it full control of Congress. To "flip" a seat means winning it from the opposing party.
Republicans had taken the House in 2022, amid post-pandemic inflation under former President Joe Biden. Heading into the 2026 elections, Republicans held a 53-47 majority in the Senate, and Reuters noted that Democrats needed to flip at least four Senate seats to win a majority there.
The Senate results spanned several states. In Kansas, Democrat Adam Hamilton defeated incumbent Republican Roger Marshall, and Al Jazeera reported it was the first time in 94 years that a Democrat will represent the state in the Senate. In Iowa, Josh Turek defeated Ashley Hinson. In North Carolina, Roy Cooper flipped the seat held by outgoing Republican Thom Tillis.
In Maine, Democrat Troy Jackson defeated Republican incumbent Susan Collins, who had served five terms. Collins said early on Wednesday that she had called Jackson to concede, according to ABC7. In Ohio, former Senator Sherrod Brown flipped a seat held by Republicans, the Associated Press reported.
South Carolina was among the closest of the Senate contests. Democrat Annie Andrews, a pediatrician who campaigned on healthcare affordability, defeated Darline Graham by about four percentage points, The Guardian reported. Graham had been tapped to replace her late brother, Lindsey Graham, in the race. Al Jazeera reported that a Democrat will represent the state in the Senate for the first time in nearly 30 years.
Georgia returned Democrat Jon Ossoff to the Senate, and voters elected Keisha Lance Bottoms as governor, making her, according to Al Jazeera, the first Black woman elected to that office. Reuters reported that Democrats also flipped the Texas Senate seat and the governorship there, as media outlets had forecast.
In the House, Democrats appeared likely to win more than 230 seats. Hakeem Jeffries was poised to become the first Black speaker of the chamber, the member who presides over it and is chosen by its members. AP reported that Democrats flipped districts that had voted for Donald Trump by as much as 18 points in 2024.
