Democrats have won control of both the U.S. House and Senate, giving them the power to check President Donald Trump for the last two years of his term.
CNN reports Democrats capitalised on Trump’s historically low popularity. They flipped seven Senate seats, in Ohio, Iowa, South Carolina, Maine, North Carolina, Kansas and Texas. In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed is set to win and become the first Muslim senator in U.S. history.
Two Senate races, in Alaska and Mississippi, are still too close to call. In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom and Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith are separated by 43 votes. Several dozen House races haven’t been projected.
In Texas, Democrats James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa won the Senate and governor’s races. CNN says it’s the first time Democrats have taken statewide office in Texas in 32 years.
The biggest upset for House Republicans was the loss of their own campaign chief. Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, who chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee, lost to Democrat Richard Ojeda in the state’s 9th District. Trump won the district by almost 16 points two years ago.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told staff on Wednesday that he is not running for House Republican leader, two sources told CNN. Attention now turns to a possible race between House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan. Leadership elections by secret ballot are expected next week.
Trump said he doesn’t see the losses “as a hit on me”. He said he’ll work with the Democratic-controlled Congress and doesn’t “want to be just sitting there for two years vetoing everything”, despite earlier saying he would be “Mr Veto”.
Former Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, once a close Trump ally, said on X that the Republican Party has been damaged by him.
“If the GOP wants any chance in the future, it will have to kick Donald Trump out of the party.”
