MAJOR PROJECTION: Democrats have won both the House and the Senate in a resounding, historic victory
Democrats have taken back Congress, and they did it by winning places nobody thought they could.
Democrats flipped control of both the House and the Senate in the 2026 midterms, capitalizing on Donald Trump’s historic unpopularity and gaining significant power to check the final two years of his presidency.
How they did it is the story. Democrats swept through starkly red territory and won races that haven’t gone their way in decades. They won a Senate seat in South Carolina, which Trump carried by 18 points in 2024. They won Texas, which hadn’t elected a statewide Democrat since 1994. They broke through in Kansas, which hasn’t elected a Democratic senator since 1932. Democrats also won Senate seats in Ohio and Iowa.
It’s rare. Only twice in the last 50 years has control of both chambers changed in the same election cycle.
The voter poll tells the reason. More than 6 in 10 voters disapproved of Trump, and a majority strongly disapproved. Two-thirds said his policies made the economy worse. Voters pointed to inflation, tariffs, the Iran war and concerns about Trump’s conduct and self-enrichment.
And the power shift is real. Democrats now have subpoena power to investigate what they see fit, and controlling the Senate means they can halt Trump’s judicial picks, even if there’s a Supreme Court vacancy.
Trump spent the final days begging voters to pretend he was on the ballot. They did, and the country made its choice.