Democrats win control of both chambers in US midterms after key Republican seat flips

Democrats have won control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the US midterm elections, according to results reported on Wednesday. The party secured a series of gains in Republican-held seats across Texas, South Carolina, Iowa, Michigan and Kansas, marking a significant setback for President Donald Trump and his party. Counting was still continuing in some races, but the outcome has already shifted control of Congress.

The reported results show Democrats winning 228 seats in the House so far, with leads in 34 more races, according to the tally cited in the supplied material. In the Senate, Democrats have won 54 seats and are leading in one further contest, while Republicans have won 44 seats and are leading in one. A party needs 51 seats to control the Senate, meaning Democrats have secured a working majority.

The House result also points to a strong Democratic performance, with the party on course for its biggest lower-chamber strength since 1990. The election covered all 435 House seats and 35 of the 100 Senate seats, along with special elections in Florida and Ohio to fill vacancies left by Marco Rubio and JD Vance. Voters in 36 states also chose governors, state legislators and local officials.

The supplied material says Democrats have already flipped 25 House seats from Republicans, exceeding the number they took in 2008 at a comparable stage of counting. It also notes that Democrats now hold 28 governorships, compared with 20 for Republicans. The result matters because it changes the balance of power in Washington ahead of the next Congress.

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Control of both chambers gives Democrats greater leverage over legislation, oversight and the political agenda, while limiting the ability of Trump and Republicans to advance their priorities without compromise. The scale of the gains also suggests a broader voter reaction to the Republican position in office, although the final shape of the new Congress will depend on races that were still being counted. The supplied material highlights several symbolic wins within the broader Democratic advance.

It describes the first Democratic senator from Kansas in nearly a century and the first Muslim senator, underlining the historic nature of some of the victories. Those results, together with flips in multiple states, point to a geographically broad shift rather than a narrow regional swing. They also suggest that Democrats were able to compete effectively in states that had been expected to favour Republicans.

The midterms were held against the backdrop of a Congress that had been under Republican control after the 2024 elections, when Republicans held 53 Senate seats and 220 House seats. The new results reverse that balance and give Democrats their clearest Senate majority since 2008, when the party won 56 seats. In the House, the projected total would be the party's strongest showing in decades if the remaining races follow the current trend.

That makes the election one of the most consequential congressional shifts in recent years. Trump has publicly acknowledged the Democratic gains, saying they had done "a good job" and that he was willing to accept the results, according to the supplied material. Counting was still under way in some states, and the final totals could change slightly as outstanding races are called.

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What remains unclear is how large the Democratic majorities will ultimately be in each chamber and how quickly the new balance of power will affect legislative negotiations. The next developments to watch are the final certification of close races and the early signals from party leaders on how they plan to use their new positions.

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