U S Midterm Elections 2026

Democrats win Senate

50 seats midpoint
Democrats. 54 seats. 7 seats gained.
Republicans. 44 seats. 7 seats lost.
33 out of 35 seats counted

Democrats win House

218 seats to win
Democrats. 228 seats. 25 seats gained.
Republicans. 139 seats. 25 seats lost.
367 out of 435 seats counted
Content closed.

Summary

  1. 'I wasn't on the ballot' - Trumppublished at 03:51 GMT
    Breaking

    President Donald Trump has just posted on his Truth Social platform in his first comments as his Republican Party suffers losses in the midterm elections.

    "I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!," he says.

  2. Ohio Senate race moves to likely Democratic - CBSpublished at 03:51 GMT

    Sakshi Venkatraman
    Reporting from Washington DC

    The Ohio Senate race has just moved to likely Democratic, CBS News rates. The contest between Republican Senator Jon Husted and Democrat Sherrod Brown was previously rated as leaning Democratic.

    We're still waiting on results from other Senate toss up races, but here's the latest on those contests:

    Iowa: The close challenge between Republican Ashley Hinson and Democrat Josh Turek is still being rated as a toss up by CBS.

    Kansas: CBS News has rated this race as leaning Democratic. The state has not elected a Democratic senator in 94 years.

    Maine: This race is still a toss up, CBS rates. It could be a while before we know the results of this race as Maine is usually one of the slowest states to count.

    Texas: CBS has updated its race rating for Texas, saying it now likely Democratic. James Talarico is trying to become Texas' first Democratic senator in 38 years.

    Michigan: The tight, highly-watched race between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rodgers is still a toss up, CBS rates.

    Alaska: Polls have not yet closed in Alaska, so we won't know this result for some time.

    Map
  3. In Ohio, only the music helps mood at Republican watch partypublished at 03:44 GMT

    Tom Bateman
    Reporting from Columbus, Ohio

    "Ohio" written in white against a purple background.

    Here at the main Republican watch party in Ohio, one activist in the Vivek Ramaswamy camp tells me he's "still optimistic", despite the candidate for governor trailing his Democratic rival Amy Acton all night as votes are counted.

    In the race for US Senate, the big margin Democrat Sherrod Brown had against Republican Jon Husted has narrowed.

    But overall, as the crowd watches the national picture unfold on the big Fox News screens, the mood is being held up only by the thumping 1970s hits on the PA system.

    Showing largely empty watch party
  4. As Mississippi Senate race now a toss up, here's what you need to knowpublished at 03:43 GMT

    Donald Trump embraces with Cindy Hyde SmithImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    President Donald Trump rallied alongside incumbent Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith earlier last month

    We've just told you that the Senate race in Mississippi is now considered a toss up, according to CBS projections.

    The race was not among the Senate contests we were watching for Democrats to potentially pick up, but their strong showing in the heavily Republican state is in line with the strong Democratic support we're seeing in the south.

    • Incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith is being challenged by Democrat Scott Colom
    • Hyde-Smith has been in the Senate since 2018. Colom is currently a district attorney in the state
    • Votes are still being counted in the race, stick with us and we'll bring you the latest
  5. This is starting to look like a historic night for the Democratspublished at 03:41 GMT

    Anthony Zurcher
    North America correspondent in Washington DC

    This is already shaping up to be historic night for Democrats, with the party on course to win control of US House of Representatives and on their way to flipping the Senate, too.

    A Democratic wave has formed on the horizon.

    Now it's just a question of exactly how far it crashes into Republican terrain.

  6. In Texas, James Talarico's election party is buzzing with excitementpublished at 03:34 GMT

    Gary O'Donoghue
    Chief North America correspondent in Austin, Texas

    BBC banner with the words Texas on a purple background
    A woman poses for a photo smiling. She is wearing a red t-shirt with the words: Red dirt feminist on it. The city skyline is behind her along with other people in the background.Image source, BBC/Iona Hampson
    Image caption,

    Kendra

    The music and energy is building inside the James Talarico election night party. There's a long queue of people still trying to get in.

    Inside the party, 40-year-old Chad tells me that the excitement is bleeding out of him.

    "We've been waiting for this for years," he says.

    Zak, 18, is a student at Texas A&M University and says he's feeling cautiously optimistic. His family is moving to Texas next year and he says he's voted for Talarico.

    Kendra, 37, face covered in blue Democratic coloured paint, says she's very hopeful.

    When I ask what she would do if the Democrats win in the Senate, she replies and says: "I'll cry for a little bit and then it's back to work."

    A reminder, the BBC's US news partner CBS has just moved the Texas Senate race to likely Democratic.

  7. Texas Senate seat moves to 'likely Democratic' - CBSpublished at 03:33 GMT
    Breaking

    The BBC's US partner CBS has now moved the Texas Senate race to likely Democratic in favour of James Talarico.

    Prior to this, the closely followed Senate race was rated as lean Democratic.

  8. Analysis

    By winning the House, Democrats will have a major impact on Trumppublished at 03:28 GMT

    Sarah Smith
    North America editor in Washington DC

    Media caption,

    Sarah Smith on Democrats flipping the House of Representatives

    We don't yet know how large a majority the Democrats may have in the House of Representatives and that's going to be very interesting to see. Whether they have just the slim majority - like the one Republicans have held for the last two years - or whether they manage to win a sizeable majority still remains to be seen.

    It was always going to be easier for the Democrats to win in the House than in the Senate, so we can't read into this that they will definitely have a majority there.

    But it does show us the direction of the night, and that where the polls showed a surge in support for the Democrats across the country, they appear not to be too far off.

    It's going to have a real impact on Donald Trump as well if he is facing a House of Representatives controlled by the Democrats.

    They can now launch all sorts of investigations into the way he and his family have been making money since he returned to the White House, and they can also start looking into more controversial decisions like starting the war in Iran.

    They could try to impeach him again for a third time, but they might want to go for some of his cabinet secretaries instead.

    This is really going to have a major impact in what Donald Trump is able to achieve over the next two years.

  9. Senate race looks 'promising' - Kansas Democratic supporterpublished at 03:28 GMT

    Sheila Flynn
    Senior US Reporter, reporting from Kansas

    Taylor Snowden

    There is standing room only here in an Irish-themed pub and restaurant in Wichita, Kansas at a Sedgwick County Democrats election watch party - with cheers and claps erupting each time stats from races across the country show their candidates leading.

    Those roars are particularly loud whenever Kansas Senate hopeful and megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton's face appears on the TV monitors around the establishment and a huge pull-down screen along one wall.

    Early returns showed him leading by as much as 15 percentage points against incumbent Republican Senator Roger Marshall, a doctor and staunch Trump supporter.

    Attendees, who range from eighth graders to retirees, are ordering specialty sandwiches and drinks and dining on freely provided appetizers such as pretzel bites, nachos and meatballs.

    Wichita resident Taylor Snowden tells the BBC: "They haven't called it yet, but it's looking pretty promising."

  10. Mississippi Senate race now a toss uppublished at 03:17 GMT
    Breaking

    The Senate race in Mississippi has been rated as a toss up, according to CBS News.

    This is a race that was previously classified as lean Republican.

    A reminder, Mississippi hasn't elected a Democrat to the US Senate since 1982.

    Bar chart showing in the Senate race in Mississippi Republican candidate Cindy Hyde-Smith is on 51% and Democrat candidate Scott Colom is on 46.8% after 66% of the vote has been counted.
  11. Democrats win overall control in the House of Representatives, CBS projectspublished at 03:12 GMT
    Breaking

    Democrats are projected to win control of the US House of Representatives, flipping it from a Republican majority, CBS News projects.

    The Democrats are projected to win at least 218 seats and Republicans win at least 160 seats.

  12. Democrats pick up more seats in House of Representativespublished at 03:09 GMT

    Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, has won a seat from Republicans in New JerseyImage source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot, is projected to have won a seat from Republicans in New Jersey

    Democrats are rapidly picking up seats in the House of Representatives, where 218 seats are needed to form a majority in the 435-seat chamber.

    The House is the lower chamber of the US Congress. Lawmakers there serve fixed terms of two years. The House is commonly where proposed laws are introduced and debated before going to the Senate.

    Democrats appear to have snatched away another two House seats from their Republican rivals in the last hour.

    Zach Dembo in Kentucky and Rebecca Bennett in New Jersey are each projected to gain seats for the Democrats.

  13. Analysis

    South Carolina Senate victory is a shocking win for Democratspublished at 03:09 GMT

    Daniel Bush
    Washington correspondent

    Democrat Annie Andrews' Senate victory in South Carolina is a shocking upset in favour of Democrats that underscores just how much voters have soured on Republicans and President Donald Trump this election cycle.

    Just a few weeks ago a Democratic Senate win in deep red South Carolina wasn't on anyone's radar. The state hasn't had a Democratic US senator in more than two decades.

    The victory is also a symbolic blow to Trump, who endorsed Andrews' opponent, Senator Darline Graham, after she was appointed to replace her brother Senator Lindsey Graham after his death earlier this year.

    The win in South Carolina is another indicator that this is shaping up to be a big night for Democrats.

  14. Polls continue to close in the western USpublished at 03:07 GMT

    In the last few minutes, more polls have closed across the US, including: Idaho, Montana, Utah, Washington and Nevada.

  15. Democrats projected to win Senate seat in South Carolina - CBSpublished at 03:01 GMT
    Breaking

    Democrat Annie Andrews is projected to win the South Carolina Senate seat, CBS says.

    As our reporter said earlier, flipping this seat would be one of the biggest upsets of the night and would also point towards a likely blue wave across the country.

    South Carolina
  16. In Michigan, Democrats strike an optimistic note at El-Sayed watch partypublished at 02:58 GMT

    Nada Tawfik
    North America correspondent in Detroit, Michigan

    A dancefloor with lights and people milling around watching tv

    The stage is set and the DJ is already playing hits at the Michigan Democrats’ election night headquarters here in Detroit.

    The Democrats I’ve spoken with are feeling far more optimistic than they were just a few days ago.

    Political consultant Adrian Hemond believes Abdul El-Sayed is likely to win and that the party will have a big night. His optimism, he says, comes from polling, but more importantly from voter turnout patterns today.

    He’s observed that lines have been quite long in Democratic leaning areas and that early voting shows a Democrats lead based on geography.

    He says Republicans will struggle to make up ground.

    A reminder: The BBC's US news partner CBS rated Michigan as still being a toss up in its latest update.

  17. Still no sign of Republican candidates at Ohio watch partypublished at 02:52 GMT

    Tom Bateman
    Reporting from Columbus, Ohio

    Purple banner graphic with the word OHIO on the left and a map of the US on the right. A white star on the map locates the state.

    Here at the main Republican watch party in Ohio, there's still no sign of the candidates Jon Husted and Vivek Ramaswamy, running for the US Senate and Governor respectively.

    I was just chatting with a few Ramaswamy supporters and I wouldn't say the mood is overwhelmingly optimistic.

    People are glued to their phones checking out the returns, so far showing both of their candidates well behind their Democratic challengers.

    But it's still early days.

  18. These midterms are shaping up to be very good for the Democratspublished at 02:50 GMT

    Anthony Zurcher
    North America correspondent in Washington DC

    This is already shaping up to be a very good night for Democrats, with much of the vote counted in the eastern United States and polls closing in key midwestern battleground states.

    Two Senate races that a year ago were thought to be battlegrounds have turned out to be slam-dunks for the Democrats - Jon Ossoff’s re-election race in Georgia and the open Republican-held seat in North Carolina.

    That North Carolina contest was the first of the four pick-ups Democrats need in order to wrest control of the Senate.

    Attention has now turned to Republican-held Senate seats in Texas, Kansas, and Ohio, where counting is taking place.

    In South Carolina, the BBC's partner CBS News is rating the Senate race as leaning Democrat, which would be an earth-shaking result.

    In the House of Representatives, there are other encouraging signs for Democrats.

    While the mood of the electorate appears to have turned against Donald Trump and Republicans, it's still early.

    But at this stage, it looks like Democrats have strong reasons to be hopeful.

  19. 'Our most vital work lies ahead,' says re-elected Georgia Democrat Jon Ossoffpublished at 02:48 GMT

    Carl Nasman
    Reporting from Atlanta, Georgia

    Georgia
    US Senator Jon Ossoff stands at a podiumImage source, t Reuters

    Democrat Senator Jon Ossoff, who has just been re-elected in Georgia, is now addressing supporters from Atlanta.

    He says the evening's victories are a rebuke to the "depravity, corruption and incompetence" of President Donald Trump.

    Ossoff says that for those who "doubted whether our republic would survive" over the last two years, the "first light of dawn is on the horizon".

    But he adds: "Our most vital work lies ahead."

    His speech could easily be called presidential by many analysts, which isn't surprising since Ossoff is considered a potential candidate for the White House in 2028.

    His acceptance speech here in Atlanta got big cheers from the crowd and traced wide themes from health care to artificial intelligence.

  20. Kansas Senate and governor's races rated lean Democrat - CBSpublished at 02:46 GMT

    The BBC's US news partner CBS has just rated two state-wide races in Kansas.

    Both the Senate and the governor's race there are rated as lean Democrat.

    Kansas has not elected a Democratic senator since 1932.