ABNA24 - Democrats are set to take full control of the United States Congress in January after securing the Senate in Tuesday’s midterm elections, adding to their victories in the House of Representatives, according to projections by NBC News.
With control of both chambers, Democrats are expected to launch investigations into US President Donald Trump, his family and administration, while seeking to impose legislative checks on his presidency. However, Trump will retain his presidential veto power, which he has vowed to exercise if Democrats gained control of Congress.
Republicans entered the elections with narrow majorities in both chambers, holding a 53-47 advantage in the Senate and a 219-214 majority in the House.
NBC News projected that Democrats would secure at least 252 House seats, comfortably exceeding the 218 needed for a majority and potentially giving the party its largest House majority in nearly two decades. Democrats have also flipped at least six Senate seats.
The Senate victories came in several states that Trump carried comfortably in the 2024 presidential election.
In North Carolina, Democrat Roy Cooper defeated Republican Michael Whatley, securing the party’s first Senate victory in the state since 2008. Annie Andrews defeated incumbent Senator Darline Graham in South Carolina, while James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton in Texas, marking the first Democratic Senate victory there since 1988.
In Ohio, Sherrod Brown unseated Republican Senator Jon Husted, while Adam Hamilton defeated incumbent Senator Roger Marshall in Kansas. Democrat Josh Turek also captured an open Senate seat in Iowa. Meanwhile, Democrat Jon Ossoff secured reelection in Georgia.
Democrats also made significant gains in gubernatorial races, capturing several governorships in traditionally Republican states.
Gina Hinojosa defeated incumbent Governor Greg Abbott in Texas, while Amy Acton defeated Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio, becoming the first Democrat elected governor of the state since 2006. Rob Sand also won the gubernatorial race in Iowa, securing the state’s first Democratic governorship in 20 years.
NBC described the election outcome as “a forceful repudiation of Trump’s agenda,” reflecting voter dissatisfaction with Congress’s failure to adequately check the president and growing demands for action on affordability and corruption.
According to the NBC News Exit Poll, Trump’s approval rating stood at 38 percent, the lowest recorded for a sitting US president on Election Day since 2008. Approximately six in ten voters said their congressional vote was intended either to express support for or opposition to Trump.
Economic concerns featured prominently in voters’ decisions. Around 44 percent said they were financially worse off than two years ago, compared with just 18 percent who reported being better off. Meanwhile, 79 percent said inflation was causing financial hardship for their families.
Approximately 65 percent of voters said Trump’s tariffs were damaging the economy, while 62 percent held him responsible for high prices.
Corruption was another major issue, with 90 percent of voters describing it as a crucial or significant factor in their decision. However, opinions remained divided over which party was better equipped to address the problem: 36 percent favored Democrats, 31 percent chose Republicans and 33 percent said neither party could effectively tackle corruption.
The war against Iran also emerged as a major factor in the election, with approximately 74 percent of voters identifying it as a crucial or significant consideration in their congressional vote.
A separate CNN voter poll found that roughly seven in ten Americans believed Congress was not doing enough to provide checks and balances on presidential power.
The economic consequences of the war were also reflected in rising fuel costs. Gasoline prices averaged $4.16 per gallon on Monday, compared with $2.98 before the conflict began.
Meanwhile, individuals close to Trump have attributed the Republican Party’s heavy electoral losses partly to the war against Iran, launched by the United States and “Israel” on February 28. The aggression has now continued for more than eight months, with no clear end in sight.
Several White House officials and Republican allies reportedly argued that the war was a strategic mistake and maintained that the election results could have been considerably different had the conflict ended months earlier.
The military campaign has cost the United States at least $47.1 billion, according to a CENTCOM estimate that does not include extensive damage to American military bases. The Pentagon has also listed 21 US service members as having been killed.
As Republicans confront the electoral setback, internal disagreements and finger-pointing have begun within the administration. Some officials have suggested that Trump could consider changes to his team as part of a broader reassessment of the war and its political consequences.
Advisers have warned the president that his political legacy will be closely tied to the conflict he launched alongside “Israeli” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, arguing that he has lost political influence over a war that failed to accomplish its central objective.
In an interview with The New York Times on Tuesday evening, Trump said he was “absolutely willing” to accept the election results.
“We’ll work with the Democrats, and we’ll, you know, look forward to working with them,” he said.
The president also maintained that he had no regrets over some of his endorsements in Republican primaries, including his backing of Paxton and Graham, both of whom went on to lose their general election contests.
Ralph Norman, who lost the Republican primary in South Carolina to Graham, described the latter’s defeat as a “total rejection” of a “propped up candidate.”
Trump subsequently responded to the Republican losses in a post on Truth Social, writing: “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Throughout the campaign, Trump had actively rallied support for Republican candidates, repeatedly urging voters at campaign events to treat the elections as though he himself were on the ballot.
The White House had also circulated talking points emphasizing that no one had worked harder than Trump for Republican candidates, while preparing to attribute potential electoral defeats to the candidates themselves.
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