Analysis of Tuesday's anti-Trump election rout
The gist
Democrats took control of the House and Senate in Tuesday's US midterms, with 54 Senate seats.
Republicans are blaming Trump, and a Democratic majority now can block his agenda.
How it unfolded
- Nov 3, 2026Democrats win control of the Senate and House, with bigger majorities than many projected weeks earlier. They hold 54 Senate seats, with Alaska and Mississippi too early or too close to call, and Decision Desk HQ projects 256 House seats as of 1 a.m. Eastern.
- Nov 3, 2026In Texas, 37-year-old state Rep. James Talarico (D) beats state Attorney General Ken Paxton for a Senate seat, becoming the state's first Democratic senator-elect in 38 years; three-term Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is also defeated.
- Nov 3, 2026Democrats win Senate seats in Kansas (Adam Hamilton over incumbent Roger Marshall, the party's first Kansas Senate win since 1932), South Carolina (Annie Andrews over Darline Graham, its first this century) and Ohio (Sherrod Brown, a state Trump won three times).
Key terms
- midterms
- US general elections held near the midpoint of a president's four-year term, when all House seats and about a third of Senate seats are contested.
- gerrymandering
- Having electoral district boundaries drawn to favor a particular political interest.
- executive order
- A legal instrument issued by a government's executive branch under authority granted by law.
Source: Wikipedia