The key facts
- Democrats took the Senate: South Carolina, Kansas, Texas, Iowa, Ohio and Maine flipped to them
- CBS News projects Democrats will also control the House of Representatives
- Poll: the economy is the top issue; two-thirds of voters say Trump's policies have worsened the economy
Senate: upsets in 'red' states
The 2026 US midterm elections became, in the words of BBC News, an 'extraordinary night' for the Democratic Party: they gained control of the Senate, and BBC's partner CBS News projects they will also win a majority in the House of Representatives. The House projection was announced shortly after 03:00 GMT on Wednesday (22:00 Eastern Time on Tuesday).
Senate: upsets in 'red' states
The Senate results exceeded Democrats' expectations. North Carolina was considered a likely pickup, but the victory in South Carolina came as a bigger shock: this state had been deeply 'Republican' for many years and last elected a Democrat to the Senate in 1998, and pre-election polls showed it leaning Republican. Kansas had not sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1932. Texas, Iowa, Ohio and Maine also flipped to the Democrats. According to CBS News, a seat in Alaska remains contested, and even Mississippi is 'on a knife's edge'. The scale of the shift is shown by Texas: compared with the 2024 Senate race, it shifted by 9 points toward the Democrats.
The House of Representatives and redistricting
Democrats are winning the seats needed to control the House, but according to BBC News they are aiming for a larger victory. The results in Florida are significant: Democrats held the 14th and 25th districts and also won the 22nd — all three had been redrawn in favor of Republicans, which undermined the party's attempt to redraw boundaries in its own favor. After redistricting, the majority of voters in these districts shifted from those who voted for Kamala Harris in 2024 to a majority who voted for Donald Trump.
What determined the vote
A large survey of voters cited by BBC Newsindicates that women turned out in large numbers and voted mostly for Democrats, while men were split roughly evenly between the two major parties. In Florida, Hispanic voters proved to be the key group: according to the poll, they supported the Democratic Senate candidate Angie Nixon with 55% against 44% for Republican Ashley Moody — a reversal compared with 2024, when an estimated 55% of Hispanics voted for Trump. The economy was named the top issue for voters nationwide, followed by the state of democracy. More than two-thirds of respondents believe Trump's policies have worsened economic conditions.
