WASHINGTON / RankWire.AI / – Democrats flipped Senate seats in Texas and Kansas on their way to winning control of both chambers of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections, CBS News projects. James Talarico and Adam Hamilton became the first Democrats elected to the Senate from their states in decades. The party also flipped Senate seats in Ohio, Iowa, North Carolina, South Carolina and Maine, according to projections.
CBS projected that Democrats would win the House at 10:39 p.m. ET and the Senate at 11:44 p.m. ET on Tuesday, November 3. Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton in Texas, which had not elected a Democratic senator since 1988. Hamilton beat Sen. Roger Marshall, who had held the Kansas seat since 2021. In Maine, Democrat Troy Jackson defeated longtime Sen. Susan Collins, who conceded. Democrats needed a net gain of four seats to take the chamber.
In Ohio, former Sen. Sherrod Brown defeated Sen. Jon Husted, overcoming millions of dollars spent against Brown by crypto super PACs targeting Congress. Iowa elected Josh Turek over Ashley Hinson, its first Democratic senator since 2008. Annie Andrews won in South Carolina. In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed beat Mike Rogers to hold an open seat in the often-contentious race. Rogers had narrowly lost a Senate race in Michigan in 2024 as well.
Alaska and Mississippi undecided
The Senate races in Alaska and Mississippi remain toss-ups. Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan is in a close contest with Democrat Mary Peltola in Alaska, where ballots are counted slowly. In Mississippi, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Scott Colom are neck and neck. The outcomes will decide how large the Democratic majority will be when the new Senate convenes in January. Democrats have already secured a majority without either seat.
In the House, Republicans flipped a range of key battlegrounds in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas and elsewhere, according to CBS News. Democrats offset those losses with gains of their own, including all three Republican-held seats in Iowa, Ohio’s 7th District and Pennsylvania’s 1st District, where Bob Harvie beat Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick. About 75 House races were still uncalled early Wednesday, November 4. Final House margins may take days to settle.
Trump vows to use veto
Exit polls showed Trump on track for the lowest approval rating ever recorded for a president in a midterm, at 38%. A senior GOP strategist blamed the president for the party’s losses. Trump has argued Republicans would have won with Trump on the ballot. Many voters cited the economy as their top concern. Early voting had been under way for weeks, after mail-in voting began in North Carolina in September.
Trump called CBS News to congratulate Democrats and said the White House would work with them. But Trump warned of plans to use the veto pen liberally if lawmakers do not cooperate. The results end unified Republican control of Washington and set up two years of divided government. Democrats are expected to use their new majorities to launch oversight of the administration. Trump’s term runs until January 2029.