US midterm election results: Democrats score huge wins on inflation anger, Trump fatigue | Today’s news

Riding on a massive wave of voter angst, Democrats in Congress swept to power, with outrage over the cost of living and the war in Iran leading to a thunderous rebuke of President Donald Trump and his party just two years after his dominant return to the White House.

In a seismic political shift that seemed unlikely just a few months ago, the strength of the Democrats signaled the collapse of the coalition that secured Trump’s second term even after he pleaded with voters to vote as if he were on the ballot.

As of Wednesday morning, Democrats had won at least 228 seats in the House, well above the 218 needed for a majority. Republicans won 139 districts, with 68 still up for grabs. In the Senate, Democrats will now hold at least 54 seats, with only Alaska and Mississippi still undecided.

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A major factor was voter anger over inflation and the cost of living, including rising fuel and borrowing costs. The Iran war, Trump’s policies and dissatisfaction with his leadership also contributed to the Democratic gains.

As of Wednesday morning, Democrats had won at least 228 seats in the House and at least 54 seats in the Senate, giving them control of both chambers. Senate races in Alaska and Mississippi were still undecided at the time.

Trump will face increased scrutiny from Congress during his remaining two years in office. Democrats have indicated they will conduct oversight and investigations, while also focusing on affordability and policymaking.

A Democratic victory could bring greater scrutiny to the expansion of AI infrastructure and the interests that support it. In Texas, Governor-elect Gina Hinojos called for a freeze on new data center projects until stricter regulations are passed.

No. Republicans had a big financial advantage, including the support of Trump’s political action committee and Elon Musk, but that didn’t overcome voter discontent. Candidates backed by powerful corporate interests also lost.

The defeat of the Democrats creates cracks in the electoral map, which has become calcified under deep polarization. They flipped Senate seats in Republican strongholds including South Carolina, Texas and Kansas — places some strategists dismissed as out of reach for the party for at least a generation. They claimed victories in competitive House races in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and New Jersey. The wave even hit governors’ mansions and state legislatures.

It was the kind of midterm election romp that neither party has enjoyed in two decades, breaking the full Republican rule in Washington. The results leave Trump far more in a bind than he was in the first two years of his second term, when GOP control of Congress left few checks on his power.

Some of the GOP’s most stunning losses of the night came from candidates personally anointed by Trump. In the Texas Senate race, Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton for the party’s first statewide victory in more than 30 years. And in South Carolina, Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed to the U.S. Senate seat following the death of her brother Lindsey Graham, failed in her bid for a full six-year term against Democrat Annie Andrews.

“This is a disaster almost entirely caused by Trump,” said Democratic strategist David Axelrod. “Voters are upset about the costs and upset about the decisions he made that helped pull them up. And on top of that, several of his weak, hand-picked candidates clearly lost tonight.”

In other cases, Republican officials in deep red states appeared unprepared to fend off challengers. Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall lost to Democrat Adam Hamilton, a pastor and moderate with a strong name in the state. And in Ohio, Sen. Jon Husted was defeated by former Sen. Sherrod Brown after trying to overcome voter anger over data centers and backlash from a negative campaign aired by the state’s Republican gubernatorial candidate.

In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed became the first Muslim elected to the US Senate in the face of repeated attacks from Trump, who called him a “jihadist”. Even Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who previously held her seat in the blue state, couldn’t hold on, giving way to Democrat Troy Jackson.

Jubilant Democrats quickly declared a turning point in Washington. Still, he must grapple with how to use his newfound power, bridging the divide in the party over whether to prioritize oversight of Trump and his allies or focus more on policymaking, particularly on affordability issues. There are also deep divisions between progressives and establishment leaders that could make it difficult for Democratic leaders to keep their caucus united.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries took a victory lap at an election night party. He signaled that House Democrats would focus on affordability and investigations, saying they would “fight to reverse these painful Medicaid cuts” and “bring accountability to those who visited unprecedented corruption.”

Trump immediately sought to deflect blame from the White House, saying “we would have won IN A LOT” if he had been on the ballot. He spent the weeks leading up to Election Day at rallies in Republican strongholds, imploring his supporters to turn out but also frustrating many in his party with rhetorical detours about Husted’s stature and plans for a White House ballroom.

The key question now is how Trump will respond to his party’s defeat. The president said he would accept the results, but for years he falsely argued that he had won the 2020 presidential race and used his leverage to try to challenge the outcome of certain races before the polls closed.

Republicans will also face tough choices about how to proceed over the next two years, with their numbers dwindling in the Capitol and Trump’s power shrinking. The result is a setback for many in the party who supported Trump on his trade agenda, his war with Iran and his efforts to remake Washington and the White House, despite deep public disapproval.

In the Democratic House, key pickups included former Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett, who defeated Republican Congressman Tom Kean Jr. in a hotly contested New Jersey seat after the incumbent spent months largely out of the public eye.

State-level contests also featured significant Democratic victories. Republican Governor Greg Abbott of Texas lost his bid for re-election to Democrat Gina Hinojosa. In Ohio, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton defeated Trump ally Vivk Ramaswamy. And in Georgia, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms became the first black woman elected governor of a US state.

Democrats also flipped seats in state legislatures, snapping majorities in Indiana and South Carolina and flipping control of the Wisconsin state Senate.

Before the election, polls suggested that Democrats had made gains with key constituencies that supported or leaned toward Trump in 2024, including rural voters in states like Iowa and Kansas and Latino voters in states like Arizona and Florida.

Throughout 2026, Trump has sought to create more favorable terms for his party, including getting GOP-led states to redraw congressional districts in hopes of creating more Republican-leaning seats. But the effort has led to a number of Democratic-led states taking similar steps. It was not immediately clear whether either party was favored.

The president also repeated unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud and attempted to increase the federal government’s control over voting, including aggressively pushing to limit mail-in voting and suing states to try to obtain voter records, which his Justice Department continued despite opposition from the courts.

Fighting against their electoral headwinds, the GOP had a huge financial advantage in what was on pace to become the most expensive election ever. Much of their money came from Trump’s super political action committee and from Elon Musk, who spent heavily in Texas to support Paxton.

In the final weeks of the race, Trump hit the road aggressively after months of mostly staying on the sidelines. He tried a number of tactics, including arguing to his supporters that they needed to vote like him, as well as promising sweeteners including $5,000 checks to every American if the Republicans held both chambers.

Economic burden

Economic tension among voters has been a defining theme of the midterm elections — and that frustration has spilled over at the ballot box.

“This election was a lesson in political gravity,” said Republican strategist Kevin Madden. “When inflation and affordability are the primary concerns of voters, and you respond to those concerns with tariffs, a trade war, and a war with Iran that exacerbates those concerns, you’re going to lose the election.”

According to The Voter Poll, a comprehensive survey conducted by the Associated Press and SSRS, about three-quarters of midterm voters said they feel “angry” or “dissatisfied” with the direction of the country under Trump.

While U.S. employers are adding jobs, the unemployment rate is low and overall economic growth has picked up ahead of the election, inflation and borrowing costs have also risen, frustrating many Americans hoping for relief from rising prices and declining affordability.

The beginning of 2026 gave hope. Gasoline was at multi-year lows and price pressures eased. But the Iran war sent energy prices soaring and reignited inflation. Key indicators now show consumer prices rising faster than they have for six straight months, households saving less and mortgage rates hovering around their highest levels since 2023.

That helped Trump’s approval rating to record lows as voters felt his administration was doing little to keep the cost of living down. Food and gas were particular sore points, though voters also expressed deep concern about health care costs, especially in states with aging populations.

A weekly Morning Consult survey of registered voters updated Nov. 1 found 69% of respondents said making health care more affordable should be a top priority for the Trump administration, while 57% said the same for housing costs. The poll also found that respondents trust Democrats more than Republicans on both issues by at least 15 points.

The results will quickly set off a reshuffle in Washington as Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill choose their leaders and prepare for a new Congress in January.

While Democrats will continue to debate how much to focus on the Trump investigation, additional surveillance efforts are undoubtedly coming for the president, members of his team and possibly their allies outside of government.

And Republicans will have to determine whether they see any benefit in working across the aisle on shared priorities, such as efforts to lower the cost of living. More immediately, they will have to decide how to proceed with the upcoming lame-duck session, which offers the last window to advance legislation or confirm judicial appointments under full Republican control.

Whatever happens on Capitol Hill, Trump will likely continue to look for ways to exercise executive power and move forward with projects he sees as polishing his legacy.