Democrats score control of US Senate in stunning midterm victory

WASHINGTON — In a stunning upset, Democrats ousted Republicans and flipped control of the U.S. Senate Tuesday night, effectively establishing a barricade for President Donald Trump’s agenda for the last two years of his term.

Democrats will now have the power to block many of Trump’s nominees, both executive and judicial, including if a spot opens on the U.S. Supreme Court bench.

The decisive rebuke of Trump became apparent just after 11:30 p.m. Eastern, when The Associated Press called the Iowa Senate race for Democrat Josh Turek, who clinched the open seat over Republican candidate Ashley Hinson.

Voters increasingly grew dissatisfied as the midterms approached with high gas and diesel prices, and overall inflation, driven up by Trump’s stalled war in Iran and erratic tariff policies. The economic woes, which also include increasing food prices and skyrocketing healthcare costs, hung over Republican candidates as they campaigned in recent months.

Trump immediately posted on Truth Social, “I’m going to become a Political Pundit, both good and bad, on the reasons these Candidates won and lost!”

The president reportedly said he will accept the results, according to reporting from the New York Times.

Earlier in the evening a White House official said on background that Trump’s mood remained “defiant.”

Kansas shocker

A political earthquake rattled Kansas, where Democratic candidate Adam Hamilton sailed past incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, marking the first time Kansans have elected a Democrat in nearly a century.

Marshall, an OB-GYN, had released his closing argument Sunday in a brief video during which he defended his former medical practice for sending clients who carried unpaid balances to collection agencies. 

Speaking directly to the camera, Marshall said during the one-minute ad, “To ensure that 40,000 Kansans would still have access to care, we did have to keep the lights on. So we occasionally handed some accounts over to a collection agency, just like nearly every private medical practice does.” 

The issue had dogged Marshall’s campaign since the New York Times reported in September that the Kansas doctor had filed lawsuits against more than 700 patients with unpaid bills. Patients were arrested in 81 of the cases for missing court dates.

The patients filed a class action lawsuit against Marshall Thursday, Kansas Reflector reported.

In Iowa, Democratic state legislator Turek defeated Hinson, a GOP member of the U.S. House, to win the open Senate seat — delivering another massive setback for Republicans. 

Turek will now be the first Democratic senator to represent Iowa in more than a decade. 

The two-time Paralympic gold medalist and state representative received an early endorsement in July from former President Barack Obama. The two appeared in a campaign ad playing basketball. 

Iowa was Trump’s next-to-last in-person campaign stop on his whirlwind schedule to support midterm candidates in several reliably Republican states.

Upsets all over the map

In a major upset, Dr. Annie Andrews, a Democrat, won the Senate race in South Carolina, defeating Republican Sen. Darline Graham. 

Graham had been appointed in July to serve out the remainder of her late brother Lindsey Graham’s term.

Andrews will be the first Democratic senator to represent South Carolina in more than 20 years.

Texas voters also delivered another staggering upset in electing Democrat James Talarico by a wide margin over Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The flip of deep red Texas to blue signified a major blow for Trump, who backed Paxton in the GOP primary over four-term Sen. John Cornyn.

Paxton, who has served as Texas attorney general since 2015, was impeached by the Texas House in May 2023 on charges of bribery, disregard of duties and several other articles of impeachment. The Texas Senate acquitted Paxton of all charges the following September.

Paxton was indicted on state fraud charges in 2015. He reached a $300,000 settlement deal to end the state probe in 2024.

In North Carolina, in yet another upset that had been predicted in polling, Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper won the Senate race in the Tar Heel State, flipping the open seat held by retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis.

Cooper had faced GOP candidate Michael Whatley, who previously chaired the Republican National Committee and the North Carolina Republican Party. 

Tillis announced in June 2025 he would not seek reelection after Trump vowed to primary him because he voted “no” on the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” the president’s major tax and spending cuts package.

In the Buckeye State, Democratic former Sen. Sherrod Brown won his Senate seat back, defeating incumbent GOP Sen. Jon Husted in another major upset for Republicans.

Brown spent 18 years in the Senate but lost his reelection bid in 2024 to Ohio Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno. 

Moreno’s seat was formerly held by Vice President JD Vance before Vance was elected on the Republican presidential ticket with Trump in 2024. 

Trump and Vance headlined multiple rallies throughout Ohio in support of Husted. Trump’s campaign stops for Husted drew attention last month for his repeated remarks about Husted’s physical appearance, with a focus on his backside.

More races

Democratic Sen. Mark Warner retained his seat in Virginia, according to a race call by The Associated Press just after 7 p.m. Eastern. 

Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff also kept his Senate seat, the AP called shortly before 8 p.m. Eastern.  

Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ed Markey also kept his Senate spot, the AP called, as did Democratic Sens. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Chris Coons of Delaware, Cory Booker of New Jersey, John Hickenlooper of Colorado, Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico and Jeff Merkley of Oregon. 

Juliana Stratton, a Democrat, also won the Senate race in Illinois. 

New Hampshire Democrat Chris Pappas won the Senate race there, keeping a seat that was held by Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the AP called. Pappas ran against Republican John Sununu. 

Republican seats

In Florida, incumbent Republican Sen. Ashley Moody pulled ahead of Democratic candidate Angie Nixon, according to an AP race call, after precincts in the Florida panhandle tallied results. 

The race between Moody and the progressive state representative was unexpectedly close in the Republican stronghold. Progressives flocked to Florida to stump for Nixon, including independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Democratic U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York City. Nixon’s platform was closely aligned with but not identical to the national Democratic Socialists of America.

West Virginia GOP Sen. Shelley Moore Capito won the Senate race in the Mountain State, AP called shortly before 9 p.m. Eastern. 

In another expected win for the GOP, Wyoming Republican U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman cruised to victory for a seat in the upper chamber.

Kentucky GOP U.S. Rep. Andy Barr won his Senate race in the Bluegrass State, AP called.  

In Oklahoma, Republican U.S. Rep. Kevin Hern won a Senate seat in the reliably red state.

In Arkansas, GOP Sen. Tom Cotton won his Senate race, AP called. 

Alabama GOP U.S. Rep. Barry Moore won his Senate bid in the ruby red state.  

In Tennessee, Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty won his Senate race. 

Ahead of Election Day, the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter had identified close contests in Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Ohio and Texas. 

Trump’s Republican party vied to hold on to its narrow majority in the House and maintain control in the Senate, where the party currently holds 53 Senate seats. Tuesday’s results delivered Democrats the majority in the upper chamber.

Here’s a closer look at some of the remaining hotly contested races: 

Alaska

Former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola is up against incumbent GOP Sen. Dan S. Sullivan in Alaska. 

Trump’s Department of Justice preemptively sued the state’s election officials to try to block them from certifying the Senate election results if Dan S. Sullivan loses by a smaller margin than the number of votes cast for Dan J. Sullivan.

A federal judge in Alaska dismissed the case Sunday, citing the federal government’s failure to explain how it had the authority to bring the case.

Dan J. Sullivan’s candidacy was challenged earlier in the year in state court, and Alaska’s Supreme Court ruled in June he could remain on the ballot.

The Trump administration vowed to appeal.

The New York Times reported Oct. 28 that Democratic operatives recruited Dan J. Sullivan to be a spoiler candidate. States Newsroom has not independently verified the allegations. 

Peltola denied any knowledge of the alleged scheme, according to Alaska Beacon.

Michigan 

Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed are vying for the Senate post in another open race that the Cook Political Report shifted from “toss-up” to “lean Democrat” on Monday. Rogers, if elected, would be the first Republican to serve as senator for the Wolverine State since 2001. 

In an unexpected move Sunday, El-Sayed’s primary opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens, endorsed Rogers, a former member of the U.S. House. Stevens told reporters in a joint press conference with Rogers Sunday she changed her mind because “we have to stand with country.”

“We can’t stand with hate, we can’t stand with Hasan Piker,” she said, referring to the far-left influential streamer and known Israel critic who appeared at El-Sayed’s primary campaign events.

The shake-up reportedly shocked many Democrats. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called Stevens’ flip a “despicable betrayal” in a post on X Sunday.

The race has been among the ugliest of the 2026 midterm cycle. El-Sayed detractors have accused the former Detroit public health official of antisemitic statements.

Trump and other Republicans, including Rogers, have repeatedly hurled Islamophobic attacks at El-Sayed. Rogers described El-Sayed during an Oct. 26 campaign event as “the most radical extreme candidate in the country” and said he is “pretty close” to the nearly century-old political Islamist group the Muslim Brotherhood, which El-Sayed denies.

Maine

In Maine, incumbent GOP Sen. Susan Collins is defending her seat against Democratic nominee Troy Jackson in another highly competitive Senate race. The results of that election could be delayed days — or even weeks — from Election Day due to the odds favoring a ranked-choice runoff, according to Maine Morning Star. 

Jackson entered the race as a late candidate after the Democrats’ initial choice, Graham Platner, ended his campaign in July following multiple allegations of sexual assault.

Collins has held the seat for nearly three decades.

Jackson was mobbed by national press at his final campaign stop in South Portland. He told reporters he’s very hopeful given “the amount of people turning out, the way things are going, the way people are talking.” 

“In the end, people want change and I think people see me as a change candidate, for what’s going on in this country, I feel really good about it, I really do.” He also optimistically predicted that the race wouldn’t go into a ranked-choice runoff and that either he or Collins would get above 50% of votes.

Jennifer Shutt , Jonathan Shorman and Eesha Pendharkar contributed to this report.

Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David Dewitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com.