The key facts
- Eleven Democrats critical of Israel's policy won the elections: 2 Senate seats and 9 in the House of Representatives
- Abdul El-Sayed became the first Muslim elected to the US Senate
- Democrats regained control of both chambers of Congress
Results of the midterm elections
In the US midterm elections held on November 3, 2026, according to the Anadolu agency, eleven Democrats who publicly advocated for Palestinian rights, condemned Israel's war in Gaza, and opposed American military support for Israel won seats in Congress. They include two senators and nine members of the House of Representatives; some of them called for ending military aid to Israel or accused it of genocide in Gaza.
Who won
In the Senate, physician and former Michigan health director Abdul El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers and became the first Muslim elected to the US Senate. In Maine, former state Senate President Troy Jackson defeated Republican Susan Collins, who had held the seat for five terms.
House of Representatives
In the House of Representatives, according to Anadolu, the winners were: DaryaLiza Avila Chevalier (New York's 13th district, a former Columbia University encampment activist, backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani), Claire Valdez (New York's 7th district, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, also backed by Mamdani), Brad Lander (New York's 10th district, who defeated incumbent Congressman Dan Goldman in the primary; he calls the campaign in Gaza a genocide but describes himself as a 'liberal Zionist' and supports the two-state solution), Adam Hamawy (New Jersey's 12th district, an Egyptian-American surgeon who worked as a volunteer medic in Gaza in 2024), Melat Kiros (Colorado's 1st district, the first Black woman elected to Congress from that state), Donavan McKinney (Michigan's 13th district, supports the Block the Bombs bill banning some arms sales to Israel), Christopher Rabb (Pennsylvania's 3rd district), Frederick D. Haynes III (Texas's 30th district, a pastor from Dallas), and Analia Mejia (New Jersey's 11th district, having previously won this district in a special election).
Returning members and the significance of the results
Incumbent critics of Israeli policy kept their seats: Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Summer Lee, Delia Ramirez, Ayanna Pressley, Pramila Jayapal, and André Carson. According to the Democratic Socialists of America, at least five new wins (Rabb, McKinney, Avila Chevalier, Valdez, and Kiros) expand the organization's presence in Congress beyond its two current members — Ocasio-Cortez and Tlaib.
What changes
The wins came at a moment when Democrats regained control of both chambers of Congress, which, as Anadolu notes, creates more opportunities to scrutinize American arms shipments to Israel and pressure for a change in Washington's policy. At the same time, the positions of the new lawmakers differ: some support the two-state solution, while others advocate more radical measures, including an arms embargo and a complete end to military aid.
