Democrats Win the House and Senate, Flipping Texas, Maine and Ohio in 2026 Midterms

Democrats took control of the House and the Senate on Tuesday, Nov. 3, and the margin was bigger than most polling suggested.

In the Senate, Democrats have gained seven seats and hold a 54-44 lead, according to ABC News results updated at 5:54 PM ET today, Nov. 4. Republicans previously held 53 seats. Alaska and Mississippi remain uncalled.

The flips came in Texas, Kansas, Ohio, South Carolina, Iowa, Maine and North Carolina. Democrats also held competitive seats in Michigan and Georgia. Even if they win both remaining races, they will not reach the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster without Republican help.

In the House, Democrats have at least 228 seats, a pickup of 25 so far. NBC News projects the party will end up around 258 once all 435 races are decided.

Texas Falls

The biggest shock was Texas. Democrat James Talarico beat Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton 55.1% to 43%, a 12.1-point margin, according to the AP. No Democrat had won a Senate seat in Texas since 1988. Trump carried the state 56% to 42% in 2024.

Democrat Gina Hinojosa also beat Gov. Greg Abbott, 52.8% to 45.7% in the latest count.

In Maine, Democrat Troy Jackson led Sen. Susan Collins 53% to 47% with 91% of the vote in. That ends Collins's 30-year Senate career. As chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee she helped set defense and nondefense spending levels.

Ohio's Sherrod Brown led Sen. Jon Husted 50% to 45% with 98% reporting. In Georgia, Sen. Jon Ossoff led Mike Collins 59% to 41%.

The Polls Missed Badly

Newsweek compared RealClearPolling's final averages with AP results as of 2 p.m. ET Wednesday. In Texas the average had Talarico up 2.6 points, 49.1% to 46.5%. The actual result was a 9.5-point miss. In the governor's race the average had Abbott up 2.3 points, a 9.4-point miss.

RealClearPolling's average also favored the Republican in South Carolina's Senate race, where Democrat Annie Andrews won. Georgia's governor race was called for the right party but with a far larger margin than the averages showed.

Northeastern University political scientist Costas Panagopoulos told Newsweek before the election that a gap between polls and results can come from late-breaking developments or from polls missing "the mark in some way." The comparisons are preliminary while ballots are still being counted.

What Voters Said

The AP Voter Poll, a survey of midterm voters in all 50 states, paints a picture of voters worn out by Trump. Inflation was the central problem. About 2 in 10 Texas voters said it caused "severe" hardship, and roughly three-quarters of them backed Talarico. Another 6 in 10 reported "moderate" hardship, and Talarico won most of them too.

Nationally, voters pinned blame on Trump's tariffs, his war in Iran and his unmet promise to bring prices down. About two-thirds said his policies made the economy worse. Of those, about 8 in 10 voted Democratic.

More than half of voters called government corruption "crucial" to their vote for Congress. That was slightly higher than the share who said the same of the cost of living.

Trump gave a different explanation in a Tuesday evening interview with Fox News Channel. He said Democrats "fought hard" and that the Republican base "didn't like the candidates" he had endorsed, because some of his picks were not fully loyal to him. The poll found that Trump's own record on prices weighed on Republicans, and that he elevated candidates with obvious flaws.

The AP also found a warning for the winners. Many voters dislike the Democratic Party, and its edge on the economy is slim. About 7 in 10 said Congress is not doing enough to check the president. Democrats now own that job.

Defense Committees Reshuffle

The results rearrange the national security side of Congress. Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the ranking member on Senate Armed Services, Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, ranking member of the appropriations defense subcommittee, and Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the House Armed Services ranking member, all won re-election. They are positioned to take over their committees.

Rep. Rob Wittman of Virginia, who leads the House Armed Services tactical air and land subpanel, was still in a competitive race as of Wednesday morning.

Two Races Still Open

In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola led Sen. Dan Sullivan 48.2% to 47.9%, 102,701 votes to 102,075, with an estimated 74% of the vote reported.

In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom led Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by less than a tenth of a point: both sit at 48.9%. Colom has 462,857 votes to her 462,792, a 65-vote gap, with about 95% reporting.

If both fall to Democrats, the Senate would be 56-44. If Mississippi holds on a margin that thin, the count and any recount will decide who gets the seat.