Democrats seized control of both the House and Senate in Tuesday’s midterm elections, delivering one of the clearest mid-cycle rebukes of a sitting president’s party in modern U.S. politics. As counting continued Friday, the size of the Democratic majorities was still coming into focus, but the direction of the result was no longer in doubt.
CBS News estimates Democrats will hold at least 54 Senate seats and around 256 seats in the House when the new Congress convenes in January. The party flipped more than 40 House districts — including seats once viewed as deep red — while also flipping Senate contests in states that had reliably backed Republicans for years.
Voters said high prices, the Iran war, and frustration with Washington corruption were central to their decisions. Democrats routed rivals from coast to coast and in surprising places in between, flipping states that President Donald Trump won by double digits just two years ago.
Two Senate races and more than two dozen House seats remained unresolved Friday. In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom led Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith by roughly 1,800 votes as absentee and affidavit ballots continued to be processed. If Colom prevails, he would become Mississippi’s first Black U.S. senator since Reconstruction and deliver one of the cycle’s biggest upsets.
Alaska’s Senate race also remained unsettled, along with several California and Western House contests still counting late ballots. Election officials said verification of affidavit ballots and remaining mail ballots could stretch through the weekend in multiple states.
The result will force President Trump to govern with a Democratic Congress for the first time in his current term. Democratic leaders said they intend to use their majorities for aggressive oversight and an affordability-focused agenda, while Republicans began an internal debate over messaging, leadership, and how to recover from losses in suburban and traditionally conservative areas.
In California, state Sen. Scott Wiener won the race to succeed retiring former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in San Francisco’s congressional seat. Elsewhere, Democrats celebrated gubernatorial and attorney general wins that expand their bench ahead of the 2028 presidential cycle.
The Justice Department also saw fresh turmoil after the elections. Assistant Attorney General for National Security Jon Eisenberg resigned Friday, and South Florida U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones submitted his resignation as well, adding to a wave of departures that began with Civil Rights Division chief Harmeet Dhillon.
Markets, foreign allies, and state governments are now recalibrating to divided government. Investors immediately focused on Democratic pledges to slow AI data-center construction, while foreign-policy analysts watched whether Congress will constrain the administration’s approach to Iran and Ukraine.
For Democrats, the challenge shifts from winning to governing. Incoming majorities must decide leadership contests, committee assignments, and how far to push investigations without losing the coalition of swing voters who powered Tuesday’s wave.
