Live. US midterm elections: Democrats take control of US Congress in rejection of Trump

Tech billionaire Elon Musk joked on Wednesday about Republicans' defeat in US midterm elections after spending hundreds of millions of dollars to help the party.

"Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn't work this time," Musk, who contributed nearly half a billion dollars to Republican political efforts, said on X.

Democrats seized control of the US Congress on Tuesday, capturing both the Senate and House of Representatives.

Democrat Abdul El-Sayed said early on Wednesday that he had won a US Senate seat in Michigan over former Republican lawmaker Mike Rogers, which would make him the first Muslim elected to the upper chamber of Congress.

"Michigan, we did it!" El-Sayed said in a speech at his election headquarters in Detroit. "I am so proud and honoured to stand here as your senator-elect from the great state of Michigan."

El-Sayed won despite a last-minute hiccup in his campaign when congresswoman Haley Stevens, who lost the primary to El-Sayed, came out in support of Rogers at the 11th hour.

The US midterm vote on Tuesday ushered in a wave of historic leadership firsts across the country, electoral milestones on a night that saw voters issue a sharp rejection of President Donald Trump's second term.

The first Black female governor, the first openly gay male senator and the first female Native American governor all won groundbreaking elections in the vote that racked up resounding wins for Democrats.

Read more in the article below.

Historic leadership firsts for minorities across US in midterm vote

The first Black female governor, the first openly gay male senator and the first female Native American governor all won groundbreaking elections in the vote t…

Democrat James Talarico said "we defeated Goliath" after winning a US Senate seat over Texas attorney General Ken Paxton, a close ally of President Donald Trump who was heavily backed by tech billionaire Elon Musk.

"In this race, we went up against our own Goliaths. The richest man in the world, the most powerful man in the world, and the entire Washington, DC establishment," Talarico told a victory rally in the Texas capital, Austin.

The Democrats look set to take control of Congress after sweeping gains in the US' midterm elections overnight into Wednesday, including in parts of the country traditionally most loyal to the Republican Party.

Democrats have already taken the Senate and are also projected to win a majority in the House of Representatives, which would give them a significant check on US President Donald Trump.

You can read the recap from Nathan Rennolds of how results have played out so far.

Democrats set to seize control of Congress after long night for GOP

It would give the Democrats a significant check on Trump, potentially allowing the party to investigate his administration and to increase pressure on the Whit…

Significant winners that won a Senate seat:

• Democrat James Talarico in Texas: The first Democrat Senator to represent Texas in more than three decades.
• Democrat Sherrod Brown in Ohio: Returning to the Senate and flipped a Republican-held seat.
• Democrat Annie Andrews in South Carolina: Defeated Republican Darline Graham, who was appointed to the seat of her brother, the late Senator Lindsey Graham.
• Democrat Roy Cooper in North Carolina: Cooper’s victory gave Democrats a key pickup in their efforts to regain Senate control.
• Democrat Adam Hamilton in Kansas: Won in a traditionally Republican state.
• Democrat Josh Turek in Iowa: Flipped a Republican-held seat and boosted Democrats’ efforts to retake control of Senate. 
• Democrat Jon Ossoff in Georgia: He was the only Senate Democrat running for re-election in a state that Trump won in 2024.
• Democrat Chris Pappas in New Hampshire: Blocked an opportunity for Republicans to gain a seat in holding onto Senate majority.

And since our last update on Senate seat wins, here are the latest additional developments:

• Republican Julia Letlow in Louisiana, defeating Democrat Jamie Davis
• Democrat Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota, defeating Republican Michele Tafoya
• Republican Mike Rounds in South Dakota, defeating Independent candidate Brian Bengs
• Republican Bill Hagerty in Tennessee, defeating Democrat Marquita Bradshaw
• Republican Barry Moore in Alabama, defeating Democrat Everett Wess
• Democrat Jeff Merkley in Oregon, defeating Republican David Brock Smith.
• Republican Tom Cotton in Arkansas, defeating Democrat Fred Love

In an interview with The New York Times, President Donald Trump said that he would accept the results of the elections and work alongside the Democratic party.

“I am absolutely willing to accept those results,” he said shortly before 10:30 p.m. “We’ll work with the Democrats, and we’ll, you know, look forward to working with them. We’ll probably work something out.”

Shortly afterwards, the US president shared an image of his trademark red "Make America Great Again" hat on Truth Social, "MAGA" replaced by the word "VETO".

Credit: @readDonaldTrump via Truth Social

President Donald Trump has criticised the defeat of Texas Governor Greg Abbott, one of the president's longtime allies.

Trump called him a "RINO," or a "Republican In Name Only".

“If Greg Abbott, the Governor of Texas, hadn’t become a RINO in the last six months of his Political Life, he wouldn’t have lost,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He went back to his original formula, and it wasn’t pretty!”

As the Democrats appeared to seize control of Congress, Trump once again took to Truth Social, writing: "I’m going to become a political pundit, both good and bad, on the reasons these candidates won and lost."

Credit: AP Photo

The Democrats have secured a majority in the US Senate, after earlier being projected to take control of the House of Representatives.

The US midterm elections were widely seen as a referendum on President Donald Trump's second term. If they win control of both chambers of Congress, Democrats will be in a position to exert greater influence over the presiden'ts agenda and potentially rein him in for the remainder of his term.

Credit: AP Photo

Acton is projected to beat GOP candidate and entrepreneur Ramaswamy in the Ohio gubernatorial election, despite the state's Republican lean in recent years.

Governor results:

• Republican Byron Donalds wins in Florida, defeating Democrat David Jolly
• Democrat Phil Weiser wins in Colorado, defeating Republican Victor Marx
• Republican Eric Barlow wins in Wyoming, defeating Democrat Kenneth Casner
• Democrat Kathy Hochul wins in New York, defeating Bruce Blakeman
• Democrat Josh Shapiro wins in Pennsylvania, defeating Republican Stacy Garrity
• Democrat JB Pritzker wins in Illinois, defeating Republican Darren Bailey
• Democrat Wes Moore wins in Maryland, defeating Republican Dan Cox 
• Democrat Ned Lamont wins in Connecticut, defeating Republican Ryan Fazio
• Democrat Maura Healey wins in Massachusetts, defeating Republican Mike Minogue
• Democrat Xavier Becerra wins in California, defeating Republican Steve Hilton
• Democrat Deb Haaland wins in New Mexico, defeating Republican Gregg Hull
• Democrat David Crowley wins in Wisconsin, defeating Republican Tom Tiffany
• Republican Phil Scott wins in Vermont, defeating Democrat Amanda Janoo
• Republican Alan Wilson wins in South Carolina, defeating Democrat Jermaine Johnson
• Democrat Rob Sand wins in Iowa, defeating Republican Zach Lahn
• Democrat Gina Hinojosa wins in Texas, defeating Republican Greg Abbott
• Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms wins in Georgia, defeating Republican Rick Jackson
• Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders wins in Arkansas, defeating Democrat Fred Love

US media have reported that the Democrats are now also projected to take control of the Senate.

The party needs to make a net gain of at least four seats in order to gain a majority of 51 seats.

US President Donald Trump told The New York Times that he would accept the results of the elections and work alongside the Democratic party.

“I am absolutely willing to accept those results,” he said shortly before 10:30 p.m. “We’ll work with the Democrats, and we’ll, you know, look forward to working with them. We’ll probably work something out.”

Democrat James Talarico is projected to defeat Republican Ken Paxton in one of the night's key Senate races, a major blow for the GOP.

Talarico is set to become the first Democrat Senator to represent Texas in more than three decades.

Credit: AP Photo

President Trump has appeared to try and put some distance between himself and his party as the Democrats continue to make gains.

"I wasn’t on the ballot and if I was, we would have won in a landslide!" he wrote on his Truth Social account.

The GOP governor of Arkansas is projected to defeat Democrat Fred Love in the stronghold Republican state.

Sanders previously served as White House Press Secretary under Trump from 2017 to 2019.

The Democrats have flipped six House seats so far.

• Kentucky 6th District: Zach Dembo defeated Republican Ralph Alvarado
• North Carolina 11th District: Jamie Ager defeated Republican Jennifer Balkcom
• New Jersey 7th District: Rebecca Bennett defeated Republican Thomas Kean Jr.
• Pennsylvania 7th District: Bob Brooks defeated Republican Ryan Mackenzie
• Pennsylvania 8th District: Paige Cognetti defeated Republican Bob Bresnahan Jr.
• Pennsylvania 10th District: Janelle Stelson defeated Republican Scott Perry

Democrats have yet again flipped another seat, this time in South Carolina. It marks the second seat taken by the Democratic party. Earlier, Roy Cooper won election to the US Senate in North Carolina.

Democrat Annie Andrews won the US Senate seat in the conservative South Carolina, beating Republican Darline Graham.

Credit: AP Photo

In the past hour, these results also emerged in the Senate race:

• Republican Kevin Hern in Oklahoma, defeating Democrat N’Kiyla Jasmine Thomas
• Republican Andy Barr in Kentucky, defeating Democrat Charles Booker

Democrats are projected to win control of the House of Representatives, US media is reporting, capturing at least 218 seats.

It would give the party a significant check on President Donald Trump, potentially allowing Democrats to investigate his administration and increase pressure on the White House over its policies.

Bottoms is set to defeat Republican Rick Jackson and become the first Black woman elected as governor in US history.

Other results from governors' races:

• Republican Byron Donalds wins in Florida, defeating Democrat David Jolly
• Democrat Phil Weiser wins in Colorado, defeating Republican Victor Marx
• Republican Eric Barlow wins in Wyoming, defeating Democrat Kenneth Casner
• Democrat Kathy Hochul wins in New York, defeating Bruce Blakeman
• Democrat Josh Shapiro wins in Pennsylvania, defeating Republican Stacy Garrity
• Democrat JB Pritzker wins in Illinois, defeating Republican Darren Bailey
• Democrat Wes Moore wins in Maryland, defeating Republican Dan Cox
• Democrat Ned Lamont wins in Connecticut, defeating Republican Ryan Fazio
• Democrat Maura Healey wins in Massachusetts, defeating Republican Mike Minogue

Credit: AP Photo

Prominent Democratic figures Rashida Tlaib, Hakeem Jeffries and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have been re-elected to the House of Representatives.

Tlaib represents the state of Michigan, while Jeffries and Ocasio-Cortez both represent the state of New York.

Why are they prominent?

Jeffries is currently the Democratic leader in the House and could become the next Speaker if his party wins a majority, Ocasio-Cortez has previously said she would weigh out the decision to run for President in 2028, and Tlaib made history as the first Palestinian-American woman, as well as one of the first two Muslim women, to serve in Congress.

All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for election, of which a 218 majority is needed to gain control of the chamber.

The Democratic Party will likely be pleased with what it has seen so far in Florida, where it is projected to win at least three House seats targeted by redrawn congressional district lines.

The new map, proposed by the GOP's Ron DeSantis earlier this year, was designed to be more favourable to Republican candidates.

Here's another wrap of the latest Senate and Governor wins across the US.

Senate races:

• Democrat Ben Lujan in New Mexico, defeating Republican Larry E. Marker
• Democrat John Hickenlooper in Colorado, defeating Republican Mark Baisley
• Republican Harriet Hageman in Wyoming, defeating Democrat James Byrd
• Republican Shelley Capito in West Virginia, defeating Rachel Fetty Anderson

Governor races:

• Republican Byron Donalds in Florida, defeating Democrat David Jolly
• Democrat Phil Weiser in Colorado, defeating Republican Victor Marx
• Republican Eric Barlow in Wyoming, defeating Democrat Kenneth Casner
• Democrat Kathy Hochul in New York, defeating Republican Bruce Blakeman

More polls closed at 9PM ET in ten states, including in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Wisconsin, and Wyoming

Republican Ashley Moody won election to the Senate seat in Florida, defeating Democrat Angie Nixon.

Moody first took the seat in 2025 when she was appointed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to replace Marco Rubio when he became US Secretary of State. Moody will finish the last two years of the term Rubio won in 2022.

Her victory marks the first Senate seat secured by the Republican party.

Credit: AP Photo

Final polls have now closed in Arkansas, where Republican Senator Tom Cotton is defending his seat against Democrat Hallie Shoffner.

GOP Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders is also bidding for re-election in the state, which has increasingly become a Republican stronghold.

Democrat Roy Cooper has won election to the US Senate in North Carolina, defeating Republican Michael Whatley.

Cooper was the former governor of North Carolina. His victory marks the first Republican-held seat to flip to Democrats, giving the party a key pickup in their effort to regain control over Senate from Republicans. The seat was open after Republican Senator Thom Tillis decided not to seek another term.

Credit: AP Photo

Pappas is projected to defeat Republican candidate John Sununu to the US Senate representing New Hampshire.

Sununu previously held the seat before he was succeeded by the retiring Democrat Jeanne Shaheen.

Speaking to CBS News before polls closed, Trump said he could veto Democratic legislation if the party takes control of either the House or the Senate.

"I have the ultimate power - it's called veto," he told the outlet, adding that he did not mind being dubbed "Mr. Veto."

Results continue to trickle in, with more results declared in several states.

Senate races:

• Democrat Edward Markey in Massachusetts, defeating Republican John Deaton
• Democrat John Reed in Rhode Island, defeating Republican Raymond McKay
• Democrat Cory Booker in New Jersey, defeating Republican Justin Murphy
• Democrat Juliana Stratton in Illinois, defeating Republican Don Tracy
• Democrat Chris Coons in Delaware, defeating Republican Mike Katz

Governor races:

• Democrat Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania, defeating Republican Stacy Garrity
• Democrat Wes Moore in Maryland, defeating Republican Dan Cox
• Democrat Maura Healey in Massachusetts, defeating Republican Michael Minogue
• Democrat JB Pritzker in Illinois, defeating Republican Darren Bailey

A large number of polls just closed at 8PM ET, including in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, DC, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.

Surveys suggest that the economy will be a crucial factor for Americans voting in the midterms.

The US' war in Iran will also likely be on people's minds, as will Trump himself.

Congressional elections take place every two years, with midterms coming halfway through a sitting president's four-year term. They are often regarded as a referendum on the president's performance in office.

Democrat Jon Ossoff won re-election to the Senate in Georgia, defeating Republican Mike Collins.

Ossoff, who was first elected in 2021, was the only Senate Democrat running for re-election in a state that Trump won in 2024. Holding his seat was critical for his party to reclaim control of the Senate.

Credit: AP Photo

Polls have closed across more states across the US at 7:30PM ET, including North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia.

All three states are expected to count votes relatively quickly.

Democratic senator Mark Warner won election to the US Senate representing Virginia, defeating Republican Bert Mizusawa.

The president criticised Fox News as polls started closing, saying the conservative outlet's ratings were "collapsing" as it had spent "too much time covering the Trump Deranged Dumocrats."

"My numbers are better than they have ever been," he wrote in a post on his Truth Social account.

Another round of polls closed at 7PM ET in six states, including in Florida, Georgia, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia.

Voters across the US are heading to the polls to decide the balance of power in Congress for US President Donald Trump's final two years in office.

Around a third of the Senate's 100 seats are up for grabs, with 51 needed for a party to hold a majority. The Republicans currently hold 53 to the Democrats 45, while two are with independents.

Eyes will be on six key Senate races in Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Ohio and Texas. In the House of Representatives, 218 seats are needed to gain control of the chamber, the exact number held by the Republicans.

Follow the 2026 US midterm elections live as millions of Americans head to the polls to vote for members of Congress.

Track key races in the House of Representatives and Senate, see which candidates are leading and follow the battle for control of Congress.

435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the Senate’s 100 seats are up for election. The results will determine which party controls Congress.