Update, 7:15 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026: AP's House tally at 6:12 a.m. had Democrats at 240 seats to Republicans' 147, with 48 races still to be called (down from 51 on Wednesday evening). Its Senate tally was unchanged at 54 Democrats to 44 Republicans, with two races uncalled. Five Florida U.S. House races remain uncalled; see our overnight wrap.

Update, 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026: AP's House tally at 6:13 p.m. had Democrats at 237 seats to Republicans' 147, with 51 races still to be called; 218 is a majority. Its Senate tally was unchanged at 54 Democrats to 44 Republicans, with two races uncalled. Speaker Mike Johnson won't run for Republican leader, and Hakeem Jeffries is seeking the speakership; see our story.

Update, 12:31 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026: AP's Senate tally at 12:29 p.m. was unchanged from Wednesday morning: Democrats had 54 Senate seats to Republicans' 44, with races in Alaska and Mississippi still uncalled and Democrats leading in both. In the House, Democrats picked up one more seat when AP called Michigan's 10th District for Democrat Christina Bertrand Hines at 12:26 p.m., bringing them to 229 seats to Republicans' 139, with 67 races still to be called. President Donald Trump said he was "a little bit surprised" by the results and promised vetoes, while Vice President JD Vance wrote on X that "the reason we lost is the war." Read our story on their reactions. Democrats also won a majority of governorships; see that story.

Update, 12:25 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026: AP's House tally at 12:19 p.m. ET had Democrats at 247 seats to Republicans' 153, with 35 races still to be called (down from 48 uncalled at 6:12 a.m.). Senate unchanged at 54–44 with two uncalled. Five Florida U.S. House races remain uncalled; see our midday wrap.

WASHINGTON, DC, Nov. 4, 2026 — Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in Tuesday's midterm elections, The Associated Press projected, taking the House and Senate from Republicans two years into President Donald Trump's second term.

AP said Democrats won both chambers in "a decisive rebuke of Republican governance in Washington," in its main election story, adding: "Tuesday's midterm elections laid bare voters' deep frustrations over high prices, the Iran war and concerns over government corruption."

The numbers, as of 7:53 a.m. ET

These are AP's projected seat counts from its national results pages. They're not final.

  • Senate (AP): Democrats 54, Republicans 44, with 2 races still to be called. A majority is 51 seats. The Democratic total includes 34 Democratic seats that weren't on the ballot this year, and the Republican total includes 31 such seats. Of the seats decided Tuesday, AP has called 20 for Democrats and 13 for Republicans.
  • House (AP): Democrats 228, Republicans 139, with 68 races still to be called. A majority is 218 seats.
  • Governors (AP): Democrats 28, Republicans 20, with 2 races still to be called. Those totals include governors not up this year.

Launchpad's results page shows these counts on a seat map, with solid dots for called races and faded dots for races where a candidate leads but AP hasn't called it.

Where the Senate flipped

Democrats flipped at least seven Senate seats, in Kansas, Iowa, Texas, Ohio, Maine, North Carolina and South Carolina, and held battleground seats in Georgia and Michigan, AP reported on its live updates page.

NPR reported that Democrat Troy Jackson defeated Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine, that Democratic state Rep. James Talarico won Texas's Senate race, and that Adam Hamilton became the first Democratic senator elected in Kansas in nearly a century. In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed beat Republican Mike Rogers; AP called that race at 2:27 a.m.

Republicans held some seats overnight. AP called Nebraska for Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts at 3:27 a.m. and Montana for Republican Kurt Alme at 2:54 a.m.

Governors

In Texas, Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, NPR reported, ending more than 30 years of Republican control of the office. Overnight, AP called Arizona for Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs at 3:20 a.m., Oregon for Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek at 3:49 a.m., Nevada for Democrat Aaron D. Ford at 4:46 a.m. and Nebraska for Republican Gov. Jim Pillen at 2:53 a.m.

In Florida, Republican Byron Donalds won the governor's race. See our Florida results story.

What leaders said

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, is poised to become the first Black lawmaker elected speaker, NPR reported. "We understand as House Democrats that we need to deliver dramatic change," Jeffries said Tuesday night, according to NPR.

Trump lashed out early as results showed Democrats ahead, but later congratulated them and said more than once that he'd respect the outcome, NPR reported.

NPR also reported that a record number of candidates endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America were elected to the House.

Why it matters

With majorities in both chambers, Democrats will control which bills get votes, run congressional committees and their investigations, and have a say over the federal budget and spending bills starting in January. The Senate also votes on the president's nominees, including judges and Cabinet members.

What's next

The new Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3, 2027, as set by the 20th Amendment. AP is still counting and calling the remaining House and Senate races, and states will certify their results over the coming weeks. Launchpad will update the balance of power as calls come in.

Sources: AP national results pages for the Senate, House and governors, including AP's race-call feed (read 7:53 AM ET Nov. 4); AP main story and AP live updates; NPR Up First, Nov. 4; U.S. Constitution, 20th Amendment.

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