US midterm elections · 3 November 2026

Democrats win back Congress: the House and the Senate

Seven Republican Senate seats flipped, Texas among them. In the House, Democrats turned a four-seat deficit into a clear majority. Counting continues in a few races, and nothing here is certified yet.

United States · vizmaya desk · 5 November 2026

The upset of the night

The pink granite dome of the Texas State Capitol in Austin under a violet evening sky, framed by live oaks.
Texas, which had not sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1988, elected one. Texas State Capitol, Austin. Photo: Stuart Seeger / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
54

Senate seats for Democrats and their allied independents, with two races still uncalled. They needed 51.

+35

House seats Democrats flipped by NBC News’s count. Republicans flipped one.

Texas, top to bottom. James Talarico won the Senate seat by about 12 points. Gina Hinojosa unseated Governor Greg Abbott.

Sources: NPR, KUT

House of Representatives · 435 seats

Democrats are 24 seats past the majority line, with 42 races still to call

NBC News counts 242 Democratic wins and 151 Republican ones. A majority takes 218.

  • Democrats 242
  • Not yet called 42
  • Republicans 151

Source: NBC News House results, retrieved 5 Nov 2026. Each dot is one seat. Outlets’ counts differ while calls come in.

From a four-seat deficit to a majority

The outgoing House had 218 Republicans and 214 Democrats. The new one already has 242 Democrats.

Sources: Al Jazeera (outgoing House); NBC News (new House).

The maps backfired

Republicans redrew 15 districts to their advantage before the election. Democrats will hold at least 11 of them.

Source: NBC News

Senate · 100 seats

A 53–47 Republican Senate became at least 54–44 for Democrats

Democrats needed a net gain of four seats. They flipped seven, and lead in both races still being counted.

  • Democrats and allied independents 54
  • Not yet called 2
  • Republicans 44

Source: AP race calls, via TIME live coverage, 4–5 Nov 2026.

Seven flips, five of them in states Trump won comfortably

Texas, Kansas, Iowa, Ohio and South Carolina joined the battlegrounds of North Carolina and Maine.

  • Democratic flip
  • Still counting

Sources: AP calls via TIME; CNBC. Map: us-atlas, US Census Bureau.

TXTexas

James Talarico beat Attorney General Ken Paxton by about 12 points, 1.1 million votes.

Republican seat flipped

NCN. Carolina

Roy Cooper, the former two-term governor, beat Michael Whatley for an open seat.

Republican seat flipped

IAIowa

Josh Turek beat Republican Ashley Hinson.

Republican seat flipped

KSKansas

Adam Hamilton unseated Senator Roger Marshall.

Republican seat flipped

OHOhio

Sherrod Brown returns, beating Senator Jon Husted for the rest of JD Vance’s term.

Republican seat flipped

SCS. Carolina

Annie Andrews won a seat Republicans had held.

Republican seat flipped

MEMaine

Troy Jackson beat Senator Susan Collins, who conceded.

Republican seat flipped

Still counting

Two Republican seats hang on a few hundred votes

In Alaska, Mary Peltola leads Senator Dan Sullivan by 626 votes with 74% counted. In Mississippi, Scott Colom leads Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith by 1,138 with 96% counted.

Neither can undo the majority. If Republicans win both, the Senate is 54–46.

Source: AP counts via TIME live coverage. Leads are as last reported and will move.

Young voters went heavily Democratic; rural voters stayed Republican

About seven in ten voters aged 18 to 29 backed the Democratic House candidate. Rural voters went Republican, 57% to 41%.

Source: AP VoteCast, via TIME live coverage. The 18–29 figure is “about 7 in 10”.

Almost every flip went one way

Democrats also flipped five governorships and as many as 12 state legislative chambers. Republicans’ only pickup so far is one House seat.

Sources: CNBC on AP data (Senate, governors, chambers); NBC News (House).

“I don’t view it as a hit on me.”

President Trump to Fox News, after congratulating Democrats. He told the New York Times he would accept the results.

Sources & method

  1. TIME live coverage (AP calls, VoteCast)
  2. NBC News House results and live blog
  3. NPR on Texas; NPR takeaways
  4. KUT; CNBC; Al Jazeera
  5. Live tallies: AP Senate, AP House
  6. Photo: Stuart Seeger, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Reported results as of 5 Nov 2026, not certified. Counts differ between outlets and are still moving. Senate totals count independents who caucus with Democrats. More at vizmaya data stories.

the House the Senate the seven flips still counting beyond Congress

  1. Congress changes hands

    The 2026 midterms, pinned to one board. Follow the tour, or drag the board and zoom into any card.

  2. Both chambers flip

    Democrats hold at least 54 Senate seats and a House majority. Republicans controlled both going in.

  3. The House: 24 past the line

    NBC News counts 242 Democratic seats to 151 Republican, with 42 still to call. A majority is 218.

  4. A four-seat deficit, erased

    Republicans went in with 218 seats to 214. Even the districts they redrew mostly went Democratic.

  5. The Senate: 54 and counting

    Democrats needed a net gain of four seats. They flipped seven, and lead the two races still uncalled.

  6. Seven flips, mostly in red states

    Only North Carolina and Maine were classic battlegrounds. Texas, Kansas, Iowa, Ohio and South Carolina were not supposed to be close.

  7. Texas, the upset of the night

    James Talarico beat Ken Paxton by about 12 points, the first Democratic Senate win in Texas since 1988.

  8. The other six

    Cooper in North Carolina, Turek in Iowa, Hamilton in Kansas, Brown in Ohio, Andrews in South Carolina and Jackson in Maine.

  9. Two races still counting

    Democrats lead narrowly in Alaska and Mississippi. Even losing both, they keep a 54–46 Senate.

  10. Almost every flip went one way

    Democrats also took five governorships and up to 12 state legislative chambers. Republicans have flipped one House seat.

  11. Who moved

    About seven in ten voters under 30 backed Democrats for the House. Rural voters stayed with Republicans, 57% to 41%.

  12. What changes in January

    The new Congress sits on 3 January 2027. Democrats gain committees and confirmations; Trump keeps his veto.

  13. The whole board

    That’s the tour. The board is yours to explore; sources are pinned bottom right. Counts are still moving.