Democrats sweep midterms in major blue wave

Election Day 2026 is officially in the books, ending a monthslong campaign season that featured decoy candidates, last-second endorsement switches, and an overwhelming tsunami of political ads.

Here are the results so far (as of 4 am ET):

House

Democrats are projected to secure a strong majority in the chamber. The party has already flipped a confirmed 18 seats from GOP control, and could be on pace for their largest House majority in nearly two decades based on current projections of ~255 Democratic members in the 435-seat chamber.

Senate

Democrats won a confirmed majority in the chamber, according to the AP, relying on strong performances in battleground races and surprising upsets in a handful of solidly GOP-leaning states.

Kansas turned blue (Adam Hamilton) in the Senate for the first time since 1932, both Texas (James Talarico) and South Carolina (Annie Andrews) elected their first Democratic senators since 1988, and Iowa (Josh Turek) chose its first Democratic senator since 2008.

Governorships

Three dozen states held governors' races yesterday. Some notable results:

• In Texas, Gina Hinojosa became the first Democrat to win a governor’s race since 1990, defeating incumbent Republican Greg Abbott.
• In Ohio, Amy Acton became the first Democrat to win the office since 2006 after defeating GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
• In Georgia, Democratic candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms became the first Black woman elected governor in US history.
• In Florida, Republican Rep. Byron Donalds became the state’s first-ever Black governor after beating Democratic candidate David Jolly.

Ballot proposals

Missouri voters rejected a proposal that would have re-imposed the state’s abortion ban that residents voted to lift in 2024. Voters in Ohio and North Carolina approved measures to add stricter voter ID requirements. The latest ballot measure news.

Looking ahead…Current legislators on Capitol Hill have 60 days remaining before the incoming 120th United States Congress will be sworn into office on January 3.

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