Democrats Take House and Senate in Midterms; GOP-Aligned Groups Spent $1.1 Billion on Senate Races Republicans Lost

Since the polls closed on Tuesday, Nov. 3, the shape of the new Congress has come into focus. Democrats won the Senate and the House, and the Senate result was the bigger shock.

Republicans entered the night with a 53-47 Senate majority. They lost seven seats. Democrats needed a net gain of four to take control, according to Al Jazeera's election explainer, and surpassed that target, per The Guardian. Fox News's running tally puts Democrats at 54 seats.

The Senate: Texas, Ohio, Michigan and Iowa

Texas is the headline. Democrat James Talarico beat state Attorney General Ken Paxton by more than 10 points, according to The Guardian's analysis. No Democrat had won a Senate seat in Texas since 1988. Polls going into the race showed only a razor-thin Talarico lead.

In Ohio, Sherrod Brown won the Class 3 seat, the special election to fill the seat vacated by Vice President JD Vance. Fox News called Michigan for Abdul El-Sayed, who becomes the first Muslim U.S. senator. Iowa went to Josh Turek.

Democrats also took Maine (Troy Jackson), where Fox called the race at 12:21 AM ET on Nov. 4. Other Democratic wins on the board include Roy Cooper in North Carolina, Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota and Chris Pappas in New Hampshire. Republicans held Florida's Class 3 seat, the one vacated by Marco Rubio, with Ashley Moody. They also held Nebraska, Montana, Louisiana and Alabama.

Kansas flipped too: Adam Hamilton defeated Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, and Kansas elected its first Democratic senator since 1932, per The Guardian.

The Cook Political Report had rated six Senate seats as tossups: Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Ohio and Texas. Democrats won most of the competitive races.

The House and the governors

Republicans went in with 219 House members caucusing with them, one more than the 218 needed for a majority, according to AP. As of early Thursday, Nov. 5, The Guardian counted 30 House districts lost by Republicans, along with five governor races.

Democrats needed to win three more seats than they did in 2024 to flip the chamber, per AP's pre-election guide. The Guardian reports Democrats have taken control of the House.

Why voters moved

The AP Voter Poll found Republicans were punished for Trump's economic policies. It also found Latino voters swung left, helping Democrats win in Texas and elsewhere, and that young voters led a sharp shift toward Democrats.

The cost of living topped voters' concerns, per Al Jazeera's explainer, which listed rising petrol prices, housing costs and healthcare coverage. The Hindu and The Guardian both tied voter anger to gas prices and to Trump's decision to launch a war against Iran.

A Pew Research Center survey from Sept. 28 to Oct. 4 had registered voters backing Democrats 44% to 36% in their own districts.

The money

The election was expected to be the most expensive in history, according to the nonpartisan watchdog OpenSecrets. In Senate races, outside groups spent at least $2 billion, separate from candidates' own spending.

Republican-aligned groups spent roughly 60% more than Democratic-aligned ones. Of the $1.16 billion spent by groups backing Republicans, $1.1 billion went to candidates who lost. Only $64 million backed winners.

Democratic-aligned groups spent $689 million, and $677 million of it backed candidates who won.

Texas shows the scale. Elon Musk and other Republican donors put $316 million behind Paxton, who struggled to raise money on his own, per Reuters' analysis of OpenSecrets data. Democratic groups spent $109 million for Talarico, whose campaign raised more than $146 million directly.

Republican-aligned groups outspent Democrats by $207 million in Texas, $97 million in Ohio and $76 million in Michigan. Democrats outspent Republicans by only $9 million in Iowa. Democrats won all four races.

What a Democratic Congress can do

The Guardian reports the new Senate majority gives Democrats the ability to block new Supreme Court and cabinet appointments. A Democratic House can block Republican legislation and investigate the administration through its committees. It could also impeach the president if it chose to, according to Al Jazeera.

The House would also gain leverage over government funding, which Al Jazeera notes raises the possibility of further shutdowns.

It remains unclear what Democrats will do with that leverage. No impeachment effort or funding ultimatum has been announced.