Democrats are expected to win control of the United States Senate, a seismic result serving as a direct rebuke of President Donald Trump and Republicans who have largely gone along with his agenda.
Democrats are now projected to flip Republican-held seats in Maine, Iowa, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Kansas and Ohio, giving them the 51 minimum seats necessary to control the upper chamber next year, even if Republicans somehow win Michigan, where Abdul El-Sayed holds the lead over Republican Mike Rogers. The victories come as the party ran hard against Trump’s corruption, which they linked directly to policies raising prices for an American public angry at the state of the economy.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said at a press conference in Washington that there had been a “generational remake” of the Senate map.
“Against all odds, we Democrats have won the Senate,” he said. “And we have five words to the American people: Relief is on the way.”
Mississippi, a state Trump won by more than 20 points two years ago, is yet to be called. Polls have not yet closed in Alaska, which was seen as a toss-up state in the battle for the upper chamber.
The idea of Democrats flipping the chamber, which had 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats before the election, was seen as borderline foolhardy at the beginning of the cycle. While the party was optimistic about possible victories in the swing state of North Carolina and in Maine, a state where Vice President Kamala Harris won in 2024, actually flipping the chamber would require at least two victories in states Trump won by more than 10 percentage points.
But by 2026, it was clear Democrats had developed a distinct edge in candidate quality — with significant help from Trump himself, who during the primary cycle threw his weight behind controversial candidates who were expected to be weaker in the general elections. Trump backed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, resulting in a GOP primary loss for Sen. John Cornyn, and pushed Sen. Thom Tillis out of the North Carolina race to make way for loyalist Michael Whatley. Democratic chances in both races suddenly skyrocketed. Republicans picked far-right Rep. Mike Collins to run against Sen. Jon Ossoff in Georgia.
Meanwhile, Democrats recruited the best possible candidates in key states: former Gov. Roy Cooper in North Carolina, former Rep. Mary Peltola in Alaska and former Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio made all three of those races instantly competitive.
There were speed bumps: The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee backed losing candidates in the Maine and Michigan Democratic primaries, their first losses in major primaries in over a decade. They ultimately ended up with progressive candidates — Troy Jackson and El-Sayed — in both states, worrying some of the party’s moderate members.
Republicans also developed a significant spending edge in key races, with megadonor Elon Musk pouring more than $200 million into the Texas race alone. They slammed Democrats as out-of-touch on key social issues, including immigration and transgender rights.
But Democrats were nonetheless strong favorites to win the chamber heading into Election Day, with polling giving them a shot at flipping as many as nine states.