Thune Plans to Lead Senate Republicans as Minority Leader as Trump Says He Wasn't on the Ballot

The fallout from Tuesday's midterms is now about who leads and who gets blamed. Democrats flipped the House and the Senate, and the two Republican power centers, Senate leader John Thune and President Donald Trump, are already telling different stories about why.

Thune stays, with a different title

Thune will remain majority leader until the new Congress is sworn in in January. A spokesperson confirmed Wednesday that Thune is running for minority leader, according to the Washington Post. Fox News Digital reported that a source close to him said he will bid to keep leading Senate Republicans, which would make him minority leader in 2027.

Thune told CBS News before the election that he expected to run again as leader. CBS also reports that he and Trump have spoken since the results, according to a source familiar with the conversation. Thune is expected to have his conference's support for two more years. No Republicans have said they will challenge him ahead of next week's leadership election, although the Post notes a challenger could still emerge.

The relationship has had friction. Trump has criticized Thune for refusing to change Senate rules to pass an elections bill the president has pushed for months. More recently Trump has come to Thune's defense. Asked whether he expected the president's support in the leadership race, Thune said he didn't "bank on it," but that it would be great if Trump "found his way to do that."

In a post on X, Thune pointed to what Senate Republicans accomplished: preventing "the largest tax hike in American history," securing the border, confirming Cabinet nominees at the fastest pace in two decades and seating conservative judges. He added that Republicans "will not stand idly by as the far-left, socialist wing of the Democrat Party attempts to unwind everything we've done," and will work with Trump "to stop the worst impulses of Democrat extremism."

The Republicans began the year with a 53-47 majority and little expectation it was at risk, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. Fox reports the Mississippi and Alaska Senate races remain unclear.

The ballot argument

Trump told voters for months that he was on the ballot. By the Washington Post's count, he said so, or urged supporters to pretend he was, 63 times before Election Day, including more than 50 times in October and early November. On Monday he told South Carolina voters in a tele-rally: "Get out and vote tomorrow, and pretend I'm on the ballot. And really, I am on the ballot."

By 10:37 p.m. Tuesday he had changed his message, posting on Truth Social: "I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!"

In a late-night phone interview with Fox News, Trump said he did not consider the elections a personal defeat. Voters, he said, "didn't like the candidates." He also said he would accept the results, after warning before the vote that noncitizens would cast ballots en masse and filing lawsuits in Alaska and California. He shared a picture of a red "veto" cap and vowed to veto Democrat-controlled legislation.

Trump's approval rating is below 40%, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. The Associated Press attributes the results to voter frustration over high prices, the Iran war and concerns about government corruption.

What the House losses look like

Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., who chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement Wednesday that he called Democrat Richard Ojeda to concede in North Carolina's 9th District. CBS News has not projected a winner but rates the race likely Democratic. Hudson won reelection by 18.5 points in 2024.

CBS projects Democrats won Michigan House seats held by Republicans. William Lawrence, a Sunrise Movement co-founder and former Democratic Socialists of America member, beat Rep. Tom Barrett in the 7th District. Sean McCann defeated Rep. Bill Huizenga in the 4th. Christina Hines beat Michael Bouchard in the 10th.

CBS also projects Rep. David Valadao, R-Calif., lost to Democrat Randy Villegas. That makes him the last House Republican who voted to impeach Trump over Jan. 6 to lose reelection or announce retirement.

In Kentucky, Democrats won a Lexington-area seat Trump carried with 57% in 2024. Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday night that Republicans had hoped to "defy more than a century of midterm history," and that "it looks like history will be kept tonight."

What Democrats can do with it

NPR reports Rep. Hakeem Jeffries is poised to become the first Black lawmaker elected Speaker. Jeffries said House Democrats "need to deliver dramatic change." Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the result a "generational remake of the Senate map."

Democrats will still have to deal with Republicans on the 12 annual appropriations bills needed to fund the government. Control of the Senate halts the steady confirmation of Trump-nominated judges, and Cabinet nominees will need the support of at least a handful of Democrats, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Party leaders have signaled investigations into top administration officials, the independence of agencies such as the Justice Department and Homeland Security, and the business interests of Trump and his family. The Associated Press reports that impeachment of Trump and his Cabinet officials is not off the table.

The next scheduled steps are next week's Senate Republican leadership election and January, when the new Congress is sworn in. The Mississippi and Alaska results remain unclear.