Democrats Win Control of US House and Senate in Midterms

Democrats win control of both the US House of Representatives and the Senate in the midterm elections held on Tuesday (Nov 3), CBS News projected, ending Republican control of Congress.

Republicans went into the vote holding the House 220-215 and the Senate 53-47, according to an Associated Press analysis published by PBS NewsHour, meaning Democrats needed at least four Senate seats to flip.

Senate flips from Maine to Kansas

In Maine, Democrat Troy Jackson defeated Republican Senator Susan Collins, who conceded and said serving the people of the state had been the honour of her life. CBS also listed Ohio, Iowa and South Carolina as Democratic gains, while Texas and Kansas elected their first Democratic senators in decades. In Texas, Democrat James Talarico beat Republican Ken Paxton, who congratulated him.

In North Carolina, former governor Roy Cooper’s victory gave Democrats one of the flips they needed, AP reported. In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed defeated former Republican congressman Mike Rogers, becoming the country’s first Muslim senator, according to CBS.

At CBS’s latest update early on Wednesday (Nov 4), the Senate races in Alaska, between Republican Senator Dan Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola, and in Mississippi, between Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Scott Colom, were still undecided.

Democrats win control of the House

In the House, Democrats flipped battleground seats in Iowa, Pennsylvania and Texas. In Pennsylvania, Republican Representative Brian Fitzpatrick lost to Bob Harvie, while in Texas, Bobby Pulido defeated Republican Representative Monica De La Cruz. CBS said at 4.19am US Eastern time on Wednesday that about 75 House races had yet to be decided.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told supporters: “Against all odds, we Democrats have won the Senate.” Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who will lose that post in January, wrote on X that his party still had Trump in the White House.

Trump vows to work with Democrats

President Donald Trump congratulated Democrats and told CBS he would work with them, but warned he would use his veto pen liberally, the network reported.

CBS exit polling indicated Trump’s approval rating could set a record low for a president in a midterm election. An AP survey of voters cited by PBS found about seven in 10 wanted Congress to provide more checks on the president, while about six in 10 disapproved of his job performance.

The newly elected lawmakers are due to take their seats in January.

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US Voters Decide Control of Congress in Midterm Elections