U.S. voters reject Republicans decisively in midterm elections

Democrats take control of House and Senate after big wins in conservative strongholds Texas, Kansas and South Carolina

Published Nov 04, 2026  •  Last updated 26 minutes ago  •  3 minute read

Voters wait in line to cast their ballots at a polling station in Portland, Maine, during the U.S. midterm elections Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP /Getty Images

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The American electorate has decisively spoken.

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Tuesday’s U.S. midterm elections saw voters reject many Republican candidates for Congress, some of whom were handpicked and backed by President Donald Trump himself.

Many issues were weighing on voters’ minds heading into the election, including the cost of living as fuel and energy prices have gone up this year due to the war with Iran and Trump’s tariffs increasing the price of imported products.

Voter backlash to Republican rule

The Democrats took advantage of that backlash on Tuesday, seizing control of the House and Senate.

“When I first talked about taking back the Senate in 2025, people rolled their eyes. They said it couldn’t be done,” Democratic leader Chuck Schumer told reporters as results rolled. “There is now a generational remake of the Senate map.”

It was just two years ago that the Republicans swept the governing trifecta.

Trump told Fox News in a phone interview on election night that he was a little bit surprised by the results and thought his party would do better, but would ultimately accept Democrat victories.

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“Yes, sure I’ll accept them, why wouldn’t I,” Trump told host Bret Baier.

Trump lashes out at Fox News

However, the president laid some of the blame for the losses on the conservative broadcaster itself in a social media post late Tuesday evening.

“Fox News bears responsibility for these losses by constantly and consistently putting on the Dumocrat (sic) opposition, and worse,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, citing an appearance by former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio earlier in the evening.

Over on X, the White House account posted an image Wednesday morning of a steely-eyed Trump with the fact that he is still president.

“Thank you for your attention to this matter,” the account captioned the image as Trump has threatened to veto any Democratic legislation that comes to his desk for the next two years if the GOP lost control of Congress.

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According to the Washington Post, preliminary turnout data shows a collapse among Republican voters as fewer supporters cast a ballot than four years ago.

Vice President JD Vance said his party’s election numbers showed turnout was not the problem but that many people who voted for Trump two years ago voted for Democrats on Tuesday.

“There will be a lot of infighting and arguing over what happened and why that is,” Vance wrote on X Wednesday morning. “One of the pollsters I really respect told me that our economic messaging wasn’t sharp enough down the stretch. I’m sure that’s true.”

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Iran war, affordability on voters minds

The VP said his pollster told him many Trump voters in 2024 who abandoned Republicans on election day wanted an end to the Iran war, more focus on the cost of living and inflation, put America first, and a change to the U.S. relationship with Israel.

“Our voters showed up,” Vance said. “And the above four reasons are why many of them voted for Democrats. This is according to a pollster who nailed the results.”

By early Wednesday morning, the Democrats had won the House with the party elected or leading 228 seats, 10 more than what is required for a majority. After all the votes are counted and certified, the Democrats could have as many as 250 or more seats in the House.

Democrats flip conservative Senate seats

In the Senate, the Democrats flipped seven seats for a total of 54 as the Republicans currently sit at 44 elected members.

Democrat James Talarico turned Texas blue by defeating Trump-backed ultraconservative candidate Ken Paxton, the state’s former Attorney General.

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In Kansas, the state went 94 years without a Democratic U.S. Senator until Adam Hamilton defeated incumbent Roger Marshall by nearly five percentage points.

And in South Carolina, late Senator Lindsey Graham’s sister Darline Graham lost to Democrat Annie Andrews by less than five points as well.

Two races, one in Alaska and the other in Mississippi, are too close to call with ballots still being counted a day later.

Democratic contender Mary Peltola is leading Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan by a little more than 600 votes with 74% of precincts reporting.

In Mississippi, longshot Democrat Scott Colom is leading Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith by less than 50 votes with 96% of precincts reporting.

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