Democrats Win Control of Both the House and Senate in a Sweeping Midterm Rebuke

Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in Tuesday’s midterm elections, delivering a sweeping rebuke to President Donald Trump two years into his second term.

The calls

The Associated Press called the Senate for Democrats at 11:39 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, after the result in Iowa gave the party the seats it needed. The AP called the House for Democrats at 1:24 a.m. Wednesday.

As of 7 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday, Democrats had won 54 Senate seats to the Republicans’ 44, with races in Alaska and Mississippi still uncalled, according to a summary of AP calls by Duane Morris Government Strategies. In the House, the AP had called 228 seats for Democrats and 139 for Republicans, with 68 races outstanding.

A wave in the Senate

Democrats flipped at least seven Republican-held Senate seats: North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Ohio, Iowa, Kansas and Maine. They also held every seat they were defending that had been called, including Michigan, Georgia, New Hampshire and Minnesota.

Republicans held on in Nebraska, where Sen. Pete Ricketts defeated independent Dan Osborn, and in Florida, where Sen. Ashley Moody won.

Republican incumbents fall in the House

At least 18 Republican House incumbents were defeated, according to the AP calls, while no Democratic incumbent had lost as of Wednesday morning. The Republican majority before the election stood at 218 to 214, so Democrats needed only a small net gain.

Why voters moved

Exit polling pointed to economic pain. The NBC News exit poll found 88 percent of voters were concerned about grocery costs and 87 percent about gas prices, and 63 percent said US military action against Iran was the wrong decision. Trump’s approval among voters stood at 38 percent.

Reuters reported that Democrats blamed tariff policy and the Iran war for driving up costs, and the AP described voters as rebuking the president over high costs.

What changes in January

When the new Congress convenes in January, Democrats will control committee chairmanships, the legislative calendar and investigations. Hakeem Jeffries is in line to become the first Black Speaker of the House.

Trump said he would accept the results and work with Democrats, but would veto legislation he considers unacceptable, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Still counting

Dozens of House races, mostly in states that count slowly, remained uncalled. Mississippi’s Senate race was separated by only a few dozen votes, and Alaska’s will be decided by ranked-choice tabulation later this month.

Developing: some details in this report are preliminary or unconfirmed and are identified as such in the text.

Sources: Associated Press, Reuters, NBC News, The Wall Street Journal.