Democrats projected to take US House as party makes Senate gains

WASHINGTON: Democrats were projected to regain control of the US House of Representatives in Tuesday’s midterm elections, while victories in two Republican-held Senate seats brought the party closer to securing a majority in the upper chamber.

Democratic Representatives Rashida Tlaib, Hakeem Jeffries and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have secured re-election to the US House of Representatives, according to the Associated Press (AP).

The AP projected Tlaib as the winner in Michigan, where she defeated Republican challenger James D. Hooper.

The results marked a setback for President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans, who have backed his agenda since he returned to the White House two years ago.

In South Carolina, Democrat Annie Andrews, a paediatrician, won a Senate seat, becoming the first candidate from her party to secure a Senate victory in the state since 1998. She defeated Darline Graham, whom Trump had endorsed, despite the state having backed him by nearly 18 percentage points in the 2024 presidential election.

Andrews’ victory, combined with Democrat Roy Cooper’s win in North Carolina, gave Democrats two of the four additional Senate seats they need to gain control of the chamber.

The outcomes also pointed to gains for Democrats in traditionally Republican territory, suggesting that the party’s momentum extended beyond its usual strongholds.

Graham had entered the race after the death of her brother, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally. She was appointed to serve out his term before Trump urged her to seek a full six-year mandate. However, her limited experience in electoral politics emerged as a disadvantage during the campaign.

It was still too early to determine whether Democrats would be able to replicate those performances in the other critical races that will determine the Senate majority, including Alaska, Iowa, Michigan, Maine, Ohio and Texas, with millions of votes still uncounted in those states.

Democrats held onto Senate seats in Georgia and New Hampshire, both races that were once considered competitive but moved out of reach for Republicans amid Trump’s declining approval ratings.

While several television networks projected that Democrats would eventually win a House majority, most of the chamber’s most tightly contested races had yet to be called. So far, Democrats have picked up four seats from Republicans, meaning they can afford to lose one of their existing seats and still take control of the 435-member chamber.

A rebuke to Trump

“In sweeping and decisive victories, the American people have rebuked the depravity, corruption and incompetence of the man named President Donald J. Trump,” incumbent Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff, the projected winner in Georgia, told supporters at a victory party.

In Florida, Republican Senator Ashley Moody fended off Democrat Angie Nixon but was ahead by only about 3 percentage points in a state Trump carried by 13 points in 2024, according to a vote count compiled by Reuters and USA Today, further evidence that even solidly Republican states were shifting dramatically toward Democrats.

Democrats held onto three House districts in Florida that Republican lawmakers had redrawn earlier this year, all of which backed Trump by at least 9 percentage points. The fate of the House overall remained uncertain, with the majority of races still uncalled.

Midterm elections are typically viewed as a referendum on the president, and that is especially true for Trump, who dominates attention like no other politician. Trump himself told his supporters to “pretend I’m on the ballot” and held dozens of rallies in the closing weeks.

According to exit polls conducted by SSRS on behalf of a consortium of US media outlets including major television networks and the Associated Press, half of voters nationwide said they saw the 2026 midterm elections as an opportunity to rebuke the president, and three-quarters said they are “angry” or “dissatisfied” with the way the country is headed.

In addition, 70% of voters surveyed said they want Congress to provide more checks and balances on the president.

History is against Republicans: The sitting president’s party has lost ground in Congress in all but two midterms since World War Two. Trump’s approval rating is hovering near his career lows, with voters frustrated by war with Iran, higher fuel prices and wider affordability concerns.

Led by Trump, Republicans have portrayed Democratic candidates as radical, un-American and even communist, labels Democrats flatly reject.

Opinion polls show voters are most concerned about affordability and disapprove of Trump’s handling of the issue. His tariffs on imports, many of which the courts threw out, and his decision to attack Iran in February raised prices for consumers.

Trump deploys election monitors

There are 47 US House races widely seen as competitive, according to a Reuters analysis of the leading election forecasters. If the other contests all proceed as predicted, Democrats would need to win only 13 of those races to secure a majority.

Legal observers and Democrats have warned that Trump, who has long falsely claimed that US elections are rigged, may attempt to challenge Tuesday’s results if Republicans lose.

The US Justice Department said it had deployed 1,000 election monitors and observers to all 50 states in what it called the largest Election Day monitoring effort in history.

Democrats criticized the plan as potential voter intimidation. In roughly two-thirds of the jurisdictions the department listed, voters supported Democrat Kamala Harris over Trump in the 2024 presidential election, a Reuters analysis found.

Election officials in several states reported no issues with the monitoring effort. New Mexico’s secretary of state’s office said it had received reports of federal monitors asking “unusual questions” in one county and that the Justice Department offered assurances that the conduct would be addressed.