In the November 3, 2026 mid-term elections, Democrats gained 7 seats in the Senate, giving them a 54-46 majority. Senate races in Alaska and Mississippi are still too close to call.
Democrats gained 38 seats in the House giving them a 244-151 majority. Five other House races are still too close to call.
Democrats gained 5 state governorships.
Unexpectedly, in Texas Democrats picked up not only one senate seat (James Talarico 55.0%, Ken Paxton 43.1%), but also a governorship (Gina Hinojosa 52.8%, Greg Abbott 45.7%).
In Texas and North Carolina, gerrymanders favoring Republicans backfired. In Texas, Democrats gained one House seat with 3 still too close to call. In North Carolina, Democrats gained 5 House seats with 5 still too close to call. In his live stream of election results Brian Tyler Cohen called this "poetic justice." Read more about this in a Democracy Docket article entitled "Trump's gerrymanders fail spectacularly as Democrats hold nearly every seat."
Other notable Democrat gains include the states of Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Ohio, and South Carolina.
In my home state of Arizona, incumbents Governor Katie Hobbs, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, and Attorney General Kris Mayes (all Democrats) all won reelection by big margins:
- Katie Hobbs 55.7%, Andy Biggs 42.7%
- Adrian Fontes 54.8%, Alexander Kolodin 43.7%
- Kris Mayes 55.3%, Warren Petersen 44.6%
As of late on election night, Arizona Democrats were poised to gain a "trifecta" (control of Governor, state House, and state Senate).
View all Arizona election results here.
During the month of October, Real Clear Politics average polling statistics showed Democrats gaining 3-5 U.S. Senate seats and 21-26 U.S. House seats.
On November 2, Real Clear Politics showed Trump's approval rating at 39.1%.
The Cook Political Report projected a Democratic House majority of between 227 and 240 seats.
Nate Silver predicted a 'blue tsunami' on the horizon.
View all election results here.
Watch/listen to James Talarico's election night victory speech here.
Watch/listen to Abdul El-Sayed's election night victory speech here.
More:
- Democrats flip the Senate with stunning victories in deep-red terrain | Roll Call
- Democrats reclaim Senate majority in midterm fiasco for GOP | Washington Times
- Voters pummel GOP out of power | Politico
- Republicans Learned Nothing From 2006 About Midterms And Foreign Wars | The Federalist
- A massive blue wave just hit America. Here's what it could bring next. | Vox | MSN
- Republicans suffer historic Senate upset as Dem flips deep-red state for first time in nearly a century | Fox News
- Conservatives stunned by 'catastrophic' midterm blue tsunami, blame Trump's Iran war, high gas prices | Fox News
- Trump's Bid To Thwart Midterm History Flops | Real Clear Politics
Conservative radio host Erick Erickson put the blame for the Democratic wave squarely on the Trump administration posting the following on X:
It was gas prices.
It was the war.
It was also the corruption.
The incompetence.
The tariffs.
The playing nice with Russia.
The impression of cruelty.
The overly aggressive deportations.
The accidental arrests of American citizens who were Hispanic.
The arrogance.
The ballroom.
The reflecting poll.
The golf courses.
The arch.
The Qatari 747.
The aggressive redistricting push.
The threats against enemies.
A comment on Erickson's post added the Epstein files. I would add the relentless efforts by Trump and his administration's to subvert the 2026 mid-term elections.
In an Opinion article published on The New Republic website, Senior Editor Alex Shephard wrote:
There are many explanations for this blue tsunami—Iran, tariffs, horrific GOP candidate selection—but the simplest is also the most persuasive: This is a historic rebuke of Donald Trump and his party.
Trump, it turns out, had not really won hearts and minds in 2024. He won because Joe Biden had overseen a period of rampant inflation, which was not his fault, and had held onto a doomed reelection campaign despite widespread concerns about his age.
In the history of American politics, there has never been a problem quite like the one Republicans are facing now. For the last decade, they have allowed their party to transform into a cult of personality. Trump has had almost total control over the GOP at almost every level, and has remade the party in his own image. Now, voters have delivered a historic rebuke to that party. Ordinarily, you would expect members of that party to reject the massively incompetent and destructive person who has led it for three consecutive presidential cycles. You would expect them to learn lessons from their defeat and to start to rebuild. But that is simply not possible with Trump, who will not allow Republicans to reject him.
On November 1, House Speaker Mike Johnson said:
I will tell you, you can dismiss the polls. The polls are wrong, all around the country.
Johnson also posted the following on X:
President Trump and I are leaving it all on the field ahead of Tuesday's midterm to SAVE AMERICA!
From Iowa and coast to coast, freedom-loving Americans must SURGE to the polls and vote common sense over far-left crazy.
2 more days to defy history and defend the majority! By God's grace, we WILL!
Speaking to supporters on November 3, Johnson acknowledged that Republicans "would have to defy more than a century of midterm history" in order to keep control of the House. Johnson also said:
Republicans will not be deterred by the outcome of one election. In fact, you know what we do? We double down. We double down. All right? We will continue pressing forward with our agenda of common sense and our vision to make America great again. And come 2028, we will take back the House, and we will finish this job.
On November 4 JD Vance posted a lengthy response to the blue wave on X. Here's some of what he said:
Another pollster—one of the smartest people I know in politics, told me yesterday we'd lose the generic ballot by 13 points. I felt negative going into Tuesday, but even I was shocked by this. In his polling, he saw that a lot of Trump 2024 voters were angry and planning to vote for Democrats. He asked those voters who had abandoned us what would cause them to come back on our team. The top four answers, accounting for nearly all of the responses were:
1) End the war
2) Focus on cost of living/inflation
3) Put America First
4) Change our relationship to Israel
The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night.
In a comment to Vance's post, Jared Washington @JaredFisher1112 posted:
You didn't lose because of the war. You lost because you're part of a regime that's been acting like an authoritarian group of fascists for the past two years. And America fucking hates it. Fuck you.
Over the past few months Trump repeatedly told voters to "pretend" he's on the ballot.
At 8:37 pm on November 3 Trump posted the following on Truth Social:
I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP
At 9:52 pm on November 3 Trump posted the following on Truth Social:
Why does FoxNews have Bill de Blasio, the Worst Mayor in the History of New York City, on air, ranting and raving like a Lunatic? He left the City in disgrace, and the damage he caused was incalculable — It has never been the same, and now he's telling us how to run America. FoxNews bears responsibility for these losses by constantly and consistently putting on the Dumocrat opposition, and worse. GOD BLESS AMERICA! President DONALD J. TRUMP
Commentary:
Regarding Johnson's comments, now he has to "eat crow" about his "polls are wrong" remark.
It's clear that voters DID "vote common sense," but over far-right crazy. It's also clear that "God's grace" didn't do Republicans one damn bit of good in this election.
You know what the definition of of "insanity" is, right? It's doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Johnson's comments about doubling down and continuing with the same "agenda of common sense" shows just how out of touch he his with reality. This blue wave isn't just a typical legislative branch mid-term adjustment, it's a rebuke of the radical, lack of common sense policies and actions of the Trump administration. But Johnson, being the Christian zealot that he is, is too blinded by his own self-righteousness and his belief that God is taking sides in elections to admit that the American public have had enough of Trump/MAGA.
Regarding Vance's post, yes, the Iran war and its effects on prices is one major reason for the blue wave, but Jared Washington's comment on Vance's post points out another major reason that Vance fails to mention. Vance, like Trump and all of his MAGA supporters, are so deep into the Trump/MAGA cult that they can't see or aren't willing to acknowledge that the Trump "regime" is viewed as authoritarian and facist.
If ever there was a statement from Trump that shows just how far removed from reality he is, his 8:37 pm post is it.
Trump is so self-obsessed, so narcissistic, and so controlled by his massive ego that he can't see that Republicans lost, big time, expressly because of Trump and everything his administration has done over the past two years.
Trump WAS on the ballot, but he can't see it or admit it.
At 9:52 pm Trump blames Fox News for "these losses." Trump NEVER admits to any blame for anything. It's always someone else's fault.
Over the past few months I've said many times that Trump would declare a bogus "national emergency" in order to meddle in the election results. With this stunning blue repudiation, Trump has no basis whatsoever to contest the overall results of this election.
This blue wave is the beginning of the end for Trump and MAGA. It's clear from the election results that America is sick and tired of the radical Trump/MAGA agenda, Trump's lies, his B.S., his fascist tendencies, and his corruption.
Now, Democrats must focus on policies and messaging that will set the stage for taking back the White House in 2028. California Governor Gavin Newsom and Senator Mark Kelly (Democrat-Arizona) should be their prime choices.