Jose Bruno-Feliz, Staff Writer
Tuesday, Nov. 3 was a big day for the United States as the 2026 midterm elections took place across the nation, with all of the House of Representatives, 36 governorships and 35 seats in the Senate up for re-election. Approximately 124 million eligible voters cast their ballots in the midterms, and the results were quite impressive. The results shifted the balance of power in Congress, with Democrats retaking both chambers of Congress and winning a majority of the governorships across the nation.
In the House of Representatives, a party needs 218 seats to win a majority; Democrats have achieved a 255-seat majority to 169 for Republicans. Democrats flipped 44 seats, Republicans flipped three and 11 seats are left to be called.
In the gubernatorial races, Democrats flipped five states: Nevada, Ohio, Iowa and the two that have the whole country in shock – Texas and Georgia. Texas elected Gina Hinojosa, who will become the Lone Star State’s first Latina governor after defeating incumbent Governor Greg Abbott, and Georgia elected Keisha Lance Bottoms, who will become the Peach State’s first Black female to serve as a United States governor nationwide. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro won his reelection bid, while neighboring states such as New York and Maryland retained their Democratic governors; Ohio’s Amy Acton defeated Vivek Ramaswamy, further expanding Democratic control of governorships. The race in Alaska has not been called yet, although the Democratic candidate, Jonathan S. Kreiss-Tomkins is leading by roughly 51,000 votes. Florida did not see a blue wave, however it did make history by electing Byron Donalds who, upon inauguration, will become Florida’s first African-American governor.
The House and governorships had surprising and historic results, but all eyes were on the Senate – and it did not disappoint. Democrats took control of the Senate by flipping key seats that in some cases were historic. Over in Maine, Troy Jackson defeated incumbent Senator Susan Collins, ending her nearly 30-year career as a chairwoman. Former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper delivered North Carolina to the Democrats, becoming the first Democrat since 2008 to win the state. Over in South Carolina Annie Andrews defeated incumbent Senator Darline Graham, who had been appointed to serve the remainder of her late brother, Senator Lindsey Graham’s term. In Ohio, through a special election, former Senator Sherrod Brown flipped the seat blue and will serve out the rest of the term originally held by J.D Vance, who vacated the seat after becoming Vice President. In Iowa, Josh Turek will become Iowa’s first Democratic senator since 2015 and, in Kansas, Adam Hamilton will unseat incumbent Senator Roger Marshall, becoming Kansas’ first Democratic senator since 1939.
Georgia and Michigan stayed blue, with Senator Jon Ossoff winning his reelection bid and Abdul Al-Sayed winning his bid in Michigan and becoming the first Muslim senator in American history. Lastly, Mississippi was called for Scott Colom, defeating incumbent Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith and becoming the first Democrat to be elected to the United States since 1982. As of now, Democrats have won 55 seats, but that number could change to 56 as Alaska has not yet called its Senate race, where Mary Peltola, the Democratic candidate, is leading the race by roughly 4,000 votes. Just like the gubernatorial race, Florida was the only key state that did not see a blue wave, with Ashley Moody winning a special election and remaining in her position to serve the rest of Marco Rubio’s term, who resigned the seat upon becoming Secretary of State.
This election gave Democrats the control they were looking for, control of Congress that the party had not seen since the first half of the Biden era. Now the goal turns to electing the new leadership for both chambers, and most importantly, the question is: how will the results of the election define the remainder of President Trump’s time in office now that he will lose his Republican trifecta come Jan. 3, 2027?
Ultimately, these next two years will be defined by either bipartisan cooperation or partisan gridlock, with the scope for 2028 beginning to take focus.
