US Midterm Elections: The Economy and Trump's Rating Shaped Voter Sentiment

What Americans were voting for

On November 3, the United States held midterm elections: voters determined the composition of the entire House of Representatives (435 seats), one third of the Senate (35 seats), and governors in 36 states. Before the vote, Republicans and independents aligned with them held 53 of 100 seats in the Senate and 220 of 435 in the House of Representatives — just two seats more than the 218 needed for a majority. This is reported by Deutsche Welle, which relies on Associated Press data when determining winners.

The economy as the main factor

The key theme of the campaign was the economy: according to the poll, gasoline prices have risen noticeably since the start of the war with Iran, and everyday goods are becoming more expensive across the country. Nearly half of Americans said their family's financial situation had worsened over the past two years. The divergence in assessments correlated directly with voting: among those who believed their family was better off, 75% voted for Republicans and 23% for Democrats; among those who believed things had gotten worse, it was 24% and 72% respectively. At the same time, President Trump claims the country is on the rise.

A referendum on Trump

Although the president himself was not on the ballot, the elections were seen as a referendum on two years of Republican rule. According to polls, Trump's approval rating has fallen to its lowest point of his career — just below 30%. DW notes that in recent history only George W. Bush fared worse, with 25% at the end of his second term: in the 2006 midterms his party lost both chambers of Congress. Half of voters called the 2026 elections a chance to voice their grievances against the president, and three quarters said they were 'angry' or 'dissatisfied' with the direction of the country. Discontent was high both in states leaning Democratic (California, Massachusetts) and, according to the AP Voter Poll, a majority of voters even in Republican states were at least 'dissatisfied.'

First results

Voting is spread across six time zones, so results come in gradually, starting from the East Coast. In the Senate, Democrats held a number of their seats in the east: Virginia was called first, while North Carolina became the first Republican seat that Democrats managed to flip. The final balance of power in Congress remained open at the time of publication; DW updated its data throughout the night and ran a live text coverage of the elections.