Democrats win control of both chambers of the US Congress in a midterm rout, as Trump answers with a one-word post: ‘VETO’

Democrats won control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in Tuesday’s US midterm elections, handing President Donald Trump the heaviest setback of his second term and ending two years of unified Republican government in Washington. By Wednesday morning, November 4, Al Jazeera reported that Democrats had won 54 Senate seats and were leading in two more, while the Associated Press had projected that the party crossed the 218 seats needed for a House majority.

What happened

The Senate map, which had been seen as difficult for Democrats, broke sharply in their favour. According to Al Jazeera, Democrats flipped at least six Republican-held seats. In Kansas, Adam Hamilton defeated incumbent Roger Marshall, becoming the first Democrat to represent the state in the Senate in 94 years. In Texas, James Talarico beat Attorney General Ken Paxton. Roy Cooper took the North Carolina seat left open by Thom Tillis, Troy Jackson defeated Susan Collins in Maine, Sherrod Brown returned in Ohio by beating Jon Husted, and Josh Turek won in Iowa, a state Trump carried by 13 points two years ago.

In South Carolina, which Trump won by 18 points, Democrat Annie Andrews defeated Darline Graham, who had been appointed to the seat after the death of her brother, Senator Lindsey Graham. Andrews becomes the state’s first Democratic senator in nearly 30 years. In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed held the open seat for Democrats against former Republican congressman Mike Rogers. Republicans did record wins elsewhere, including the Montana Senate race and the governorships of Nebraska and South Carolina.

In the House, Democrats were on course for more than 230 seats while counting continued, Al Jazeera reported. That would make Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader, the first Black speaker of the House when the new Congress convenes. “Today begins the great American comeback,” Jeffries said.

Why voters swung

An AP voter survey cited by Al Jazeera found the economy was the top issue for about four in ten voters, with frustration focused on high petrol and grocery prices that rose after the US went to war with Iran in February. One unnamed Democratic official described the result as “a tsunami” rather than a wave. A Republican source quoted by Al Jazeera blamed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for selling the Iran war to the president.

Trump, who had urged supporters to “pretend I’m on the ballot”, changed tack overnight, posting that he “wasn’t on the Ballot” and that Republicans would have won a landslide if he had been, according to Infobae and Al Jazeera. He also published a post consisting of a single word, “VETO”, and has said he will veto “everything” a Democratic Congress sends him.

What changes, and when

The new Senate majority takes over on January 3. Until then, Republicans keep control and Trump can still move nominations and spending through the outgoing Congress. After January, Democrats will be able to block cabinet, ambassador and judicial nominees, including any Supreme Court vacancy, and Senate committees will gain subpoena power without White House approval. Democrats could also try to limit funding for the Iran war, although any budget bill would face a veto, and overriding a veto requires two-thirds of both chambers, which means Democrats would need Republican votes.

Markets reacted calmly. Infobae reported that European stocks and Wall Street futures were trading higher on Wednesday morning after the results.

Confirmed and pending

Confirmed: Democratic control of both chambers, as projected by the AP and reported by Al Jazeera and Infobae; the Senate flips listed above. Pending: final seat totals in both chambers, since several races were still too close to call and results could take days; official certification by the states.

Featured image: the US Capitol in Washington. Photo by Caleb Perez on Unsplash (Unsplash License). Illustrative image.

Sources

• Al Jazeera: Democrats deliver a historic routing to Republicans in US midterms
• Al Jazeera: Democrats win Congress: how they did it, and what it means
• Infobae: live coverage of the US midterm elections (Spanish)
• Infobae: Trump says Republicans would have won a landslide if he had been a candidate (Spanish)

Mary del Castillo · World · Virtual editorial byline
Editorial direction: Leonidas Ferraz · November 4, 2026 · AI-assisted writing