Democrats win control of both US congressional chambers in sweeping midterm defeat for Republicans

Democrats are set to control both chambers of the US Congress after a sweeping 2026 midterm victory that overturned Republican majorities and sharply weakened President Donald Trump’s position for the final two years of his term, according to DW and reports on House Republican leadership. By Wednesday, Democrats were projected to hold at least 237 House seats to the Republicans’ 139 and lead the Senate 54 to 44. Some races remained too close to call or required additional counting, so the final margins were not yet certain.

Democrats flipped seven highly competitive Senate seats, including in states that had long been reliable Republican strongholds. Texas elected James Talarico as its first Democratic senator since 1988 and chose Gina Hinojosa as governor, the state’s first Democratic governor in more than 30 years, according to DW. Other unexpected Democratic Senate victories came in Kansas, Iowa, South Carolina and Ohio.

Kansas will send a Democrat, Adam Hamilton, to the Senate for the first time in more than 90 years. DW reported that Democrats won the House popular vote by 13 percentage points, the largest such margin since 1976, based on data analysed by the New York Times. The elections were widely treated as a referendum on Trump.

His approval rating was around 38% before voting, and Democrats campaigned against the economic effects of the war in Iran, higher fuel costs and broader concerns about affordability. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said his party would focus on “affordability and accountability”. Jeffries said Democrats were preparing a 100-day programme aimed at reducing the cost of fuel, groceries and healthcare, alongside extensive oversight and investigations of Trump’s administration.

He said impeachment was not the party’s immediate focus, despite questions about whether the president or cabinet members could face proceedings over alleged legal violations. The Democratic majority will still face important limits. Its Senate advantage is below the two-thirds threshold required to convict in an impeachment trial or override a presidential veto.

Trump will retain executive authority, including broad influence over foreign policy, even as a lame-duck president. Trump did not dispute the Republican defeat, saying Republicans might have won if he had been on the ballot. He also said he was willing to work with Democrats while promising to use his veto power.

He acknowledged that the Iran war had probably contributed to the result because it pushed up gasoline prices in the short term; Vice-President JD Vance was more direct, calling the war “the reason we lost”. House Speaker Mike Johnson will not remain the top House Republican when the new Congress begins in January, according to NPR and NDTV. Johnson, who had led the House since October 2023, is stepping aside after the party’s defeat.