Democrats have taken back the US House of Representatives. The Senate is still not decided, but Democrats have flipped seats in North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas.
Updated: 4 November 2026, 10:00 IST
Quick Read
- CNN and Decision Desk HQ project a Democratic win in the US House.
- Democrats flipped Senate seats in North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas.
- President Donald Trump said: “I wasn’t on the ballot.” Michigan results are still awaited.
Democrats have won control of the US House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections. CNN and Decision Desk HQ made the projection on election night, 3 November. The vote took place in the middle of President Donald Trump’s second term.
A midterm election happens halfway through a president’s term. Voters do not pick a president. They pick members of Congress, governors and local leaders. All 435 House seats were on the ballot. So were 35 of the 100 Senate seats.
The House is the lower house of the US Congress. The Senate is the upper house. To control the House, a party needs 218 seats. CNN and Decision Desk HQ said Democrats had crossed that mark. The exact final seat count is not yet known. Votes are still being counted in some states.
Senate flips change the night
Democrats entered election night needing four net gains in the Senate. Republicans held a 53-47 majority. Democrats have already flipped at least three seats, per media projections.
In North Carolina, former governor Roy Cooper beat Michael Whatley. Whatley had led the Republican National Committee. CNN called this win widely expected, but it still counts as a flip. It moves one seat from Republican to Democrat.
In South Carolina, Democrat Annie Andrews beat Republican Darline Graham. Andrews is a pediatrician, a doctor for children. Graham is the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham. CNN called this one of the night’s biggest shocks. The seat had been held by Republicans since 1964, when Strom Thurmond switched parties.
In Texas, Democrat James Talarico beat Republican Ken Paxton, per NBC News and CBS News projections. Paxton is Texas Attorney General, the state’s top law officer. Talarico is a state lawmaker. News reports call this the first Democrat win in a Texas statewide race since 1994. That is a long gap of 32 years.
Democrats also held key seats. In Georgia, Senator Jon Ossoff won re-election, per CNN’s Decision Desk. In New Hampshire, Democrats also won, per USA Today.
Also read: US midterms: November 3 impact for India | India-US trade deal at the finish line
Georgia makes history too
Georgia gave Democrats another big win. Keisha Lance Bottoms won the governor’s race. She beat Republican Rick Jackson. Reuters, CNN and NBC News called the race for her.
Bottoms is the former mayor of Atlanta. She is now the first Black woman elected governor of a US state. She is also Georgia’s first woman governor. She replaces Brian Kemp, a Republican who could not run again after two terms.
Bottoms is 56. She once worked as a senior adviser to former President Joe Biden. Her win ends 24 years of Republican control of Georgia’s governor’s office. The last Democrat governor there won in 1998.
What Trump said
President Trump watched results at the White House. He posted on Truth Social after 10:30 pm US time on 3 November. He wrote: “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!”
In plain words, he said voters did not reject him directly, because his name was not on the ballot. Democrats see it differently. They say the vote was a clear message against his policies and style.
Trump will stay president. A Democratic House cannot remove him on its own. But it can block his plans in Congress. It can also start investigations and demand documents from his government. The new Congress takes office on 3 January 2027.
What is still not decided
Senate control is still not called. NBC News had not projected Senate control as of the morning of 4 November, per its live reporting. That means no one can yet say which party will run the Senate.
Michigan is a big reason for the wait. Michigan’s Secretary of State office said full unofficial results were not expected until Wednesday, 4 November. Clerks were still counting a large number of mail-in ballots. Mail-in ballots are votes sent by post, not cast in person.
Some House races are also still too early to call. These include Indiana’s 5th district and Florida’s 9th district, per CNN. Final seat numbers will change as counting ends.
Also read: Cyclone Murasu: Andhra aftermath, November 3
Why this vote was watched in India
The US is India’s key partner on trade, jobs and defence. A change in Congress can change how closely the US government is checked. It can also change the tone of debates on visas, tariffs and trade deals. No new India policy has been announced because of this result yet. This post does not guess what will happen next. It reports what has been called so far.
FAQ
Q1 Who won the US House in 2026? Democrats won control of the US House, per projections by CNN and Decision Desk HQ. The final seat count is still being tallied.
Q2 Did Democrats win the Senate too? Not yet decided. Democrats flipped seats in North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas, but Senate control had not been projected as of the morning of 4 November.
Q3 When does the new Congress start work? The new Congress convenes on 3 January 2027. That is when the House majority formally changes hands.
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