Election 2026LiveSenate54 Dem · 44 Rep · 2 to callHouse254 Dem · 162 Rep · 19 to callGovernors28 Dem · 20 Rep · 2 to callUpdated 09:07 ET · AP race calls
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US Politics

Democrats win control of Congress in the midterm elections

Democrats ran on affordability, but Trump can still veto bills and the party remains divided over its direction.

The U.S. Capitol in Washington
The U.S. Capitol in Washington. Photo: Architect of the Capitol, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
8 news outlets reported this
Liberal3 outletsAffordability won the vote, delivering it is harderCenter4 outletsClear win, limited power, unsettled party directionConservative1 outletKeeping the winning coalition together will be harder
Published 3 min readMoney and daily life
Overview

Democrats won control of both chambers of in the elections held Tuesday, and NBC News projected the full sweep. The Associated Press calls it their largest congressional majority in decades. The Christian Science Monitor says Democrats will hold at least 54 seats and are expected to have a House majority of up to 81 seats.

Progressive Abdul El-Sayed won the Senate race in Michigan, and progressive Troy Jackson defeated Sen. Susan Collins in Maine, the AP reports. More moderate Democrats won upsets in Kansas and South Carolina and flipped North Carolina. In NBC's exit poll, more than 80% of voters said prices for basics such as gas, groceries and healthcare worry them.

The Monitor adds that voters also want action on the Iran war and corruption. Trump remains president and can veto bills, and Democrats lack the two-thirds majorities needed to override him. Trump said he would be willing to work with them.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries says the party will move to reverse cuts and extend tax credits. The AP reports that the win did little to settle the party's debate over its direction. NewsNation reports that more than half of midterm voters had an unfavorable view of the Democratic Party.

Key figures
  • at least 54 Democratic Senate members, per the Christian Science Monitor — Christian Science Monitor
  • 81-seat largest expected Democratic House majority, per the Christian Science Monitor — Christian Science Monitor
  • more than 80% midterm voters worried about the price of necessities, per the NBC News Exit Poll — NBC News
  • $67 billion administration request to sustain the Iran war that Democrats might refuse — Christian Science Monitor
  • More than half midterm voters with an unfavorable view of the Democratic Party — NewsNation

Three sides of the story

Liberal3 outlets

Affordability won the vote, delivering it is harder

NBC News opens with Democrats' "historic electoral victories" on a pledge to make life more affordable, then turns to "the hard part." It cites its exit poll, in which more than 80% of voters said they worried about the price of gas, groceries and healthcare. It also notes that Trump can veto bills and that Democrats lack two-thirds majorities to override him.

Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed says "we have a mandate to get stuff done." Vox runs an interview in which Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, reelected with roughly 63 percent of the vote, urges the party to "move fast" on housing, childcare and costs. He says Congress should use its authority to end the Iran war.

At The New York Times, Lisa Lerer, a national political correspondent, explains what unites moderates and progressives, affordability and oversight among them, and which issues still divide them.

Center4 outlets

Clear win, limited power, unsettled party direction

The Seattle Times runs an Associated Press report headlined "Democrats' victory was clear. The party's future is not." It describes the largest congressional majority in decades and progressive wins in Michigan and Maine alongside moderate upsets elsewhere.

Rep. Ro Khanna says the debate will play out in 2028 and "there should be an ideological brawl." The Christian Science Monitor's headline says Democrats "were elected to deliver change" and "must pivot to governing." It quotes Sen. Mark Kelly saying Americans "just Donald Trump," and Steven Huefner of Ohio State University, who says delivering will be hard because "Trump can veto anything they do."

It notes a $67 billion Iran war request that Democrats could refuse. NewsNation's headline says Democrats won but that doesn't mean voters like them, citing more than half of voters with an unfavorable view of the party. The Journal says Democrats "strolled to victory" and now face tough decisions on energy prices.

Conservative1 outlet

Keeping the winning coalition together will be harder

The Dispatch headlines its piece "After the Midterms, It's Ideological Trigonometry for the Democrats." It reports that Democrats won with three different kinds of candidates, and says holding that coalition together may prove harder than the victory itself.

Money and daily life

Democrats take control of Congress in January, but NBC News notes that Trump can veto bills and they lack the votes to override him. According to NBC, Jeffries has put reviving the expired Affordable Care Act tax credits on his House agenda, along with reversing the Medicaid cuts and work requirements in the Republicans' 2025 tax bill. NBC also reports that Democratic candidates have proposed suspending the federal gas tax and limiting new data centers to ease electricity costs.

All sources: 9 articles from 8 outlets

Liberal (3)

Center (5)

Conservative (1)

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Guardian: Cost of living is a top worry for voters as midterms near

The Guardian cites a long Ohio county strike and union leaders, while The New York Times says many voters blame President Trump's policies for inflation.

41 news outlets reported this · Liberal outlets only
1 min
Congress

The US parliament: the Senate and the House of Representatives. A bill becomes law when both pass it and the president signs it.

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Midterm elections

US elections halfway through a president's four-year term. The whole House, a third of the Senate and many governors are elected. In 2026 Election Day is November 3.

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Senate

The upper chamber of Congress: 100 senators, two per state, elected for six years. It confirms judges and ministers and approves treaties.

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Medicaid

Public health coverage for people with low incomes, paid by the federal government and the states. The rules differ by state.

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Affordable Care Act (Obamacare)

The 2010 health law. It created marketplaces where people without employer insurance buy plans with subsidies based on income, barred insurers from turning away people with existing illnesses, and let states expand Medicaid.

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Impeachment

A formal accusation against a top official, up to the president, voted by the House of Representatives. Only the Senate can then remove the official, with two-thirds of the votes.

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A street in New York where the stock exchange stands. In the news it means US financial markets and the big banks and investment firms as a whole.

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