Democrats seize House and Senate control as Trump calls for cooperation

Democrats won majorities in both chambers of Congress in the November 2026 midterm elections. The party flipped seven previously Republican-held Senate seats in Maine, Ohio, Kansas, Iowa, Texas, North Carolina, and South Carolina. They also secured open seats in Michigan and New Hampshire. The House results gave Democrats the 218 votes needed to retake the chamber.

Two Senate races remained undecided as the night progressed. In Mississippi, incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith and challenger Scott Colom were effectively tied. In Alaska, incumbent Dan Sullivan held a narrow lead over former Representative Mary Peltola while votes were counted. Gubernatorial contests in Alaska and Kansas also lacked final calls at that time.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer addressed reporters following the results. He stated that the American people reduced the red brick wall to a pile of bricks. Schumer said the party has five words for the public: Relief is on the way. He noted that the new Congress would begin work in January.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune responded to the shift in power. He said Senate Republicans would not stand idly by as the far-left, socialist wing of the Democratic Party attempts to unwind their work. Thune promised to work with President Donald Trump to stop what he called the worst impulses of Democrat extremism. He warned that fringe positions should not become the mainstream.

President Trump had spent the previous two months urging supporters to pretend he was on the ballot. As results came in on Tuesday night, he posted on social media that he was not on the ballot and would have won in a landslide if he had been. Minutes later, he appeared on Fox News with anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. He told the anchors that he thought the Democrats did a good job. Trump added that he can work with them on many things given their incoming congressional majorities.