Democrats capture full control of Congress
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The gist
Democrats captured full control of Congress, flipping five Republican-held Senate seats, NBC News projects.
Control of both chambers lets Democrats challenge Trump's agenda and launch oversight probes.
Background
Democrats are the opposition party to President Donald Trump, whose agenda and policies NBC News says voters rejected in the midterms. Democrats had long been expected to flip the House, but Republicans entered 2026 favored to keep the Senate because Democrats needed to flip at least three Senate seats in states Trump carried in 2024; Trump's dipping popularity and skyrocketing cost of living altered that outlook. Since returning to the White House, Trump dismantled federal agencies through DOGE cuts, unilaterally imposed sweeping tariffs and nixed congressionally approved funding while a GOP-controlled House and Senate mostly looked the other way, per NBC News.
How it unfolded
- Nov 3, 2026Polls open in the midterm elections; Democrats enter Election Day with a 9-point advantage in the generic congressional ballot, per CNN's Poll of Polls.
- Nov 3, 2026Democrats flip their first two House seats, in western North Carolina and central New Jersey, where Rebecca Bennett ousted Rep. Tom Kean Jr.
- Nov 3, 2026The New York Times projects Democrat Annie Andrews would defeat GOP Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina; Democrats also flip the Senate seat in North Carolina and hold seats in Georgia and New Hampshire, per The Associated Press.
- Nov 3, 2026In Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms becomes the first Black woman elected governor in the country's history and the first Democrat elected to lead the state since 1998.
- Nov 4, 2026NBC News projects Democrats have won control of the House of Representatives; the Senate is not yet projected at that point.
- Nov 4, 2026Decision Desk HQ and NBC project Democrats would take the Senate; Democrats needed to pick up four seats to take control of the chamber.
- Nov 4, 2026NBC News projects Democrats have captured full control of Congress, flipping five Republican-held seats in Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas.
- Nov 4, 2026Adam Hamilton is projected to be the first Democrat to win a Kansas Senate seat since 1932; James Talarico is the first Democrat to win a Texas Senate seat since 1988.
- Jan 3, 2027Democrats take control of the House; Rep. Hakeem Jeffries is expected to be sworn in as the first Black speaker of the House.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- President Trump said in a social media post that he was not on the ballot and that's why Republicans lost: "I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!"
- Party
- Rep. Hakeem Jeffries told NBC News' "Meet the Press" that Democrats "haven't ruled anything in and we haven't ruled anything out" on impeachment.
- Party
- Rep. Robert Garcia, poised to chair House Oversight, said his panel plans to focus on "Trump family corruption," including cryptocurrency ventures, and scrutinize "abuses" by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, corporate corruption and the Jeffrey Epstein files.
- Party
- Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has openly said one reason his party should win the Senate is to prevent Trump from appointing "horrible justices, MAGA justices, on the Supreme Court and the lower courts."
- Caution
- Sen. Richard Blumenthal said before the elections that it is "slim to none" Democrats would support a Trump Supreme Court nominee, calling such nominees "a politician in robes who is following Trump's orders on most major questions."
Still unverified
The Michigan Senate race, where Abdul El-Sayed is looking to keep the seat in Democratic hands, remains uncalled. Some Democrats have vowed to impeach Trump for a third time, though there is an internal debate about whether that's the right political path.