Trump Says Iran War Was 'Part' of Midterm Loss as ABC Tracker Shows Seven Democratic Senate Gains, Maine Included

Since the networks projected a Democratic House on Tuesday night, Nov. 3, and then a Democratic Senate, the overnight count has added Maine to the list of flipped seats, and President Trump has started explaining the result. His explanation: Iran.

ABC News projects Democrat Troy Jackson has unseated Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine. Jackson led 53% to 46% with 76% of the expected vote reporting as of 1:41 AM ET Wednesday, Nov. 4. ABC's Senate tracker now shows seven Democratic gains. The New York Post lists them as Iowa, Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas.

The count is not finished. Alaska's Senate race uses ranked-choice voting and is slow to tally. ZeroHedge, relaying NBC's tally, had nine Senate races uncalled at one point overnight.

Trump's explanation

In a post-election phone call with Fox News, Trump said Democrats "did a good job" and "fought hard." He pledged to work across the aisle during the lame-duck period and beyond. He also told The New York Times he would accept the results.

"I think a part of it was Iran," Trump said. He argued voters back his Iran policy but were unwilling to bear the short-term cost. "People agree with what I'm doing on Iran, but they really probably weren't willing to do the short-term consequence of paying more for gasoline. I understand that. I don't agree with it."

He also said the outcome "had nothing to do with my Cabinet" and that he would not be letting more administration members go.

On Truth Social late Tuesday he wrote: "I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!" Less than two weeks earlier, at a rally in Iowa, he had told Republicans to act as if he were on the ballot.

The White House has pointed to candidate quality. Many of Trump's allies, according to the Post, blamed the Iran war and the higher energy prices, inflation and interest rates that followed. Many of the losing Republican candidates were Trump's own endorsed picks.

Voters gave their own account in the AP exit poll. It found 62% blamed Trump's policies for higher prices, and 71% said Congress must do more to check the president.

Conservative radio host Erick Erickson, writing from outside the Trump camp, took a longer view. "Trump and his political team have managed to do what the pre-Trump GOP never did—shrink the map of Republican states," he said. "Bush and Rove turned Texas red. Trump turned it blue."

Governors' races

The Senate was not the only thing that flipped. Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated three-term Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in Texas, where Democrat James Talarico also beat Ken Paxton for the Senate. Democrat Acton won the Ohio governorship over Vivek Ramaswamy, according to Decision Desk HQ. Democrats also won governorships in Iowa and Georgia, where Keisha Lance Bottoms is the projected winner.

ABC projects Jocelyn Benson in Michigan and incumbent Katie Hobbs in Arizona. The AP projects Xavier Becerra in California.

Hinojosa tied her win to school vouchers. "The days of treating our public schools like they are for sale are over," she said Tuesday night. Chalkbeat reports that Democrats in Iowa and Texas ran against universal voucher expansion.

Not every result went Democrats' way on the issues. Chalkbeat reports that voters in Colorado and Washington were poised to bar transgender athletes from girls' sports teams. Both states had kept inclusive policies despite Trump administration threats. Chalkbeat noted that polling shows many Democrats are uncomfortable with the policy.

What Democrats say comes next

The House side is already talking about subpoenas. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the likely next Oversight chairman, put out a two-word statement: "Lawyer up."

House Homeland Security Democrats posted a message on X at DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin: "Clear your calendar."

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats will deliver for Americans "with or without the president."

The Sydney Morning Herald reports a Democratic Congress could investigate alleged corruption in the administration, the Iran war and Trump's family. It could also move toward impeachment proceedings against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth or the president. No Democratic leader has announced impeachment plans in these accounts.

The House margin is still being counted. NBC estimates Democrats at 255 seats to 180 for Republicans. Democrats entered the night needing a net gain of three.

Incoming leaders have a lot to work with. Senate control gives Democrats committee gavels, subpoena power and a say over which nominations and bills move. Trump keeps his veto pen, and his pledge to cooperate has not yet been tested against a single bill or subpoena.

The next concrete marker is the Alaska ranked-choice count. It, along with the remaining uncalled Senate races, will fix the size of the Democratic majority and show whether Democrats clear 51 seats by a wide or narrow margin.