US midterm elections 2026 live updates: Democrats win Senate control and edge

Democrats are continuing to react with enthusiasm to tonight’s election results.

“Tonight, the American people sent a clear message — they want a politics that brings people together rather than divides them, and leaders who offer concrete solutions to the challenges they face,” former president Barack Obama wrote in a social media post. “While this administration has another two years in office, our job now is to roll up our sleeves, make changes wherever we have the power to do so, prevent further damage, and lay the groundwork for the future.”

“The American people just impeached Donald Trump,” senator Mark Kelly of Arizona wrote in a social media post.

“They are going to need to plant new forests for all of the subpoenas we’ll be printing,” Massachusetts senator Ed Markey wrote in a social media post replying to a comment about tech company executives. In a later post he wrote, “WHO WANTS MEDICARE FOR ALL?”

Jamie Raskin, the congressman from Maryland, quoted Tom Paine, writing in a social media post: “Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered, but we have this consolation: The more difficult the struggle, the more glorious in the end will be our victory.”

“A great night for the rule of law. A great night for democracy. America is back,” Minnesota governor Tim Walz wrote in a social media post.

in Portland, Oregon

Oregon’s Democratic governor, Tina Kotek, declared victory in a speech to supporters in Portland late Tuesday, although the race has not yet been called by the Associated Press, and her Republican challenger, Christine Drazan, refused to concede with close to a third of the votes still to be counted.

“I am proud to stand here as your next governor of the beautiful state of Oregon,” Kotek told supporters in downtown Portland after two other media outlets (CBS News and Decision Desk) projected that she would win re-election. She led 52.3%-45% at the time.

“Tina Kotek, as I’ve heard, has gone on stage and declared victory. Now all the votes haven’t been counted and I am continuing to pray for the victory for us,” Drazan said about 30 minutes later in Hillsboro, Oregon. “This race isn’t over.”

More than 100 Democratic women have been elected to the House of Representatives, marking a 60% increase in their representation since 2016.

“Women have borne the brunt of the Trump administration’s recklessness and Republicans’ extremist agenda, and on Tuesday they made it clear they have had enough, senator Teresa Leger Fernández, the chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, said in a statement.

“The millions of women who showed up at the polls voted for a better future for all women and girls. Their rights to healthcare, childcare, and even their right to vote was on the line,” she added.

Democrat Jocelyn Benson, Michigan’s secretary of state, has won the state’s gubernatorial race.

Benson beat her Republican opponent, Congressman John James, to succeed the term-limited governor Gretchen Whitmer.

in Detroit, Michigan

Abdul El-Sayed declared victory in Michigan’s US Senate race early Wednesday, saying he would become the first Muslim to serve in the upper chamber of Congress.

However, the Associated Press has yet to call the race. As of now, 79% of votes have been counted, and El-Sayed is leading his Republican challenger, Mike Rogers, by five points.

“You welcomed me in your homes, your churches, your synagogues,” El-Sayed told supporters at the Democratic headquarter election party in Detroit.

He credited a movement built over a year and a half of campaigning in Michigan’s biggest cities and smallest towns, and said voters gave him strength in his lowest moments.

His opponents, he said, chose to divide rather than address the cost of gas and groceries, pointing to his name and faith as if to say he was “a little different.”

“They want an America that is too small for some of us,” El-Sayed said. “We know that America is big enough for all of us.”

Donald Trump told Fox News that he planned to veto Democratic legislation after tonight’s midterm results and repeated his belief that he didn’t “consider it a defeat for me, I wasn’t on the ballot”.

Trump added that he hoped he could work with Democrats on immigration, and said that he “shouldn’t feel guilty” about the loss, noting that the president’s party typically fairs poorly in midterm elections.

Although he echoed claims that he’d secured historic foreign investments in the United States, he acknowledged that voters didn’t see that because of gasoline prices, “and the gasoline was caused by Iran”.

Asked if he’d accept the results of the election, Trump said, “Yeah, sure, I’ll accept them.”

in St. Paul, Minnesota

Peggy Flanagan addressed a roaring crowd of supporters at around midnight, after winning her race for US Senate.

“All across the state and all across this country, people are saying ‘enough is enough’,” Flanagan said. “You just beat Donald Trump. America did too.”

Flanagan won with over 54 percent of the vote, surpassing Republican Michele Tafoya.

“You said no more war, no more healthcare cuts, no more taking away food from children and seniors,” Flanagan said. “And you said no more masked goons shooting our neighbors,” referring to the surge of immigration officials that descended on Minnesota early this year.

Operation Metro Surge, an aggressive immigration enforcement operation led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol in Minnesota, gained international attention. The operation led to the shooting deaths of two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

“We will rip ICE apart,” Flanagan added to cheers and applause.

Republican Congressman Max Miller has lost his re-election bid for Ohio’s seventh congressional district.

Democrat Brian Poindexter, a union organizer and ironworker, won the race after Miller faced allegations of domestic abuse from his ex-wife, the daughter of US Senator Bernie Moreno.

Senate majority leader John Thune said he stood by Republicans’ work in the Senate over the past two years and added that “Senate Republicans will not stand idly by” when Democrats take control of the chamber in January.

“Thankfully, we still have President Trump in the White House, and we’ll work with him to stop the worst impulses of Democrat extremism. We cannot let their fringe positions become the mainstream,” Thune wrote in a social media post.

Democrats have officially clinched 219 House seats in this midterm cycle, which means they will now have control of the lower chamber.

Along with the Senate they will now have complete control of Congress.

We will continue to bring you the latest race calls as they come through.

In Indiana, Democrat JD Ford has flipped the state’s fifth congressional district – a seat that Donald Trump carried by 17 points in 2024.

Ford beat the Republican incumbent, Victoria Spartz, in another Democratic pickup in this election cycle.

Amy Klobuchar, the senator for Minnesota, won the state’s governorship on Tuesday, beating out the Republican candidate.

“Tonight, you chose to put your trust in me,” Klobuchar said during her victory speech in downtown Saint Paul to roaring applause and chants from supporters. “I’m going to be working, not just for everyone who voted for me, but for all Minnesotans.”

“I will give you my best,” she added.

Klobuchar, a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), the state’s affiliate of the Democratic Party, beat out Republican Lisa Demuth, the current state’s House speaker. Demuth called Klobuchar to congratulate her on her win, the latter told the crowd.

Klobuchar will now be the first woman to serve as governor in Minnesota after receiving over 55 percent of the state’s vote.

Klobuchar announced her candidacy for governor in January of this year after Democratic incumbent Tim Walz withdrew from the race. Walz withdrew his candidacy after investigations alleged fraud in social services in the state.

Wisconsin Democrats have won a trifecta in state leadership tonight, as the party claimed control of the governor’s office, the state Senate and the state Assembly for the first time since 2010.

“Voters have sent a resounding message that they are tired of a broken political system, where politicians put billionaires, special interests, and their own self-interest ahead of working families,” state Democratic Party chair Devin Remiker said in a statement.

“The fair maps movement fought for years to end the legislative gerrymander, Governor Evers held firm for maps that reflect the will of the people, and Attorney General Kaul argued the case against the GOP’s unconstitutional maps,” he added.