Democrats are set to take control of both chambers of Congress after the 2026 midterm elections, with Senate results showing a sharp shift away from the margins recorded by Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
Of the 35 Senate contests on the ballot, 33 have so far been projected. Democrats won 20 of those races, including eight in states carried by Mr Trump in 2024, while voters in seven states turned previously Republican-held Senate seats blue.
The remaining Senate races in Alaska and Mississippi are still considered toss-ups.
The scale of the movement was also reflected in contests where Republican candidates held on. In West Virginia, where Mr Trump won by 42 percentage points in 2024, Republican incumbent Shelly Moore Capito secured victory by about 20 points in the midterms.
Alabama Republican Barry Moore won by roughly nine points, compared with Mr Trump’s margin of more than 30 points in the state. In Florida, Ashley Moody was re-elected by about three points after Mr Trump carried the state by 13 points.
The figures, which are based on 99% of votes counted as of November 4, contrast with the performance of Democratic candidates in states they retained.
In Rhode Island, Kamala Harris won by about 14 points in 2024, while Democratic senator Jack Reed won his 2026 re-election contest by 37 points.
Across states where Democrats won Senate races, their average margins were twice as large as Ms Harris’s margins in those states during the presidential election. Republican margins, by comparison, were half the size of Mr Trump’s 2024 victories.
Every state that switched political allegiance between the 2024 presidential election and the 2026 Senate contests moved towards the Democrats, with the party gaining roughly 20 points in those states.
