Democrats are projected to take control of both chambers of Congress in a sweeping midterm election defeat for Donald Trump, with the results threatening to reduce the president to a largely lame-duck figure during the final two years of his term.
The party’s gains included a series of remarkable victories in traditionally Republican territory. James Talarico defeated Trump-backed Republican Ken Paxton in Texas, while South Carolina elected a Democratic senator for the first time since 1998.
Kansas also turned Democrat, electing Adam Hamilton to the Senate. It was the first time the state had chosen a Democrat for the chamber since 1932, during the Great Depression.
Democrats hailed the results as a “blue tsunami” or “Bluenami”. Although Mr Trump was not on the ballot, the election had been widely viewed as a national verdict on his presidency and his party’s direction.
Exit polling suggested that the cost of living was at the centre of voters’ concerns. An expansive AP voter poll found that 75 per cent of the electorate felt angry or dissatisfied with the way the country was being run, while roughly six in 10 blamed high prices on Mr Trump’s policies.
Some 71 per cent said Congress should provide more checks and balances on the presidency. About four in 10 identified the economy as the most important issue, while three in 10 chose democracy, placing both concerns ahead of crime, healthcare and immigration.
Trump faces Democrat-led investigations
A Democratic majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate will leave Mr Trump unable to rely on Congress to advance much of his legislative programme.
Democrats are expected to launch investigations into the president, his allies and his family. Robert Garcia, who is set to lead the probes as chairman of the Oversight Committee, issued a blunt two-word response to the result: “Lawyer up.”
Mr Trump could also face the prospect of a third impeachment, although the source material does not specify whether proceedings will be launched.
The president is likely to depend more heavily on executive orders in areas where he retains authority, including tariffs, immigration, foreign policy and military action. He will also be able to use his veto power to block Democratic legislation.
After the House was called for the Democrats, Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social: “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!”
Earlier in the evening he had attacked Fox News over its exit poll questions, describing them as “BULLS***.” The network’s polling found that 87 per cent of voters were concerned about petrol prices and 62 per cent held Mr Trump responsible.
He later told Fox News host Greg Gutfeld: “I inherited the worst prices and inflation in history from Sleepy Joe. Prices are heading down FAST!”
The political consequences could extend beyond Mr Trump’s current term. The scale of the Republican losses is expected to cast doubt over Vice President JD Vance’s ambitions for a possible 2028 presidential campaign.
Democrats make gains in Republican strongholds
One of the earliest blows came in Georgia, where Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff defeated Mike Collins, the Republican challenger personally backed by Mr Trump.
In North Carolina, Democrat Roy Cooper quickly won a Republican-held Senate seat against Michael Whatley, another Trump favourite.
South Carolina then delivered one of the night’s biggest shocks. Dr Annie Andrews, a paediatrician, narrowly defeated Republican Darline Graham, who had been personally chosen by Mr Trump and was seeking to fill permanently the seat of her late brother, Lindsey Graham.
Mr Trump carried South Carolina by 17 points in the 2024 presidential election.
In Kansas, Mr Hamilton defeated sitting senator and Trump loyalist Roger Marshall, despite the president holding two rallies in the state towards the end of the campaign in an effort to save him.
Republican Senator Ashley Moody held on in Florida against Democratic socialist Angie Nixon, while Mr Trump’s candidate for Florida governor, Byron Donalds, also secured a narrow victory.
Democrats recorded their first Republican-held House gain of the night in western North Carolina, where Jamie Ager, a farming-background candidate, defeated state legislator Jennifer Balkcom.
Evidence in the results suggested that some Latino voters who supported Mr Trump in 2024 had returned to the Democratic fold amid frustration over the economy and Immigration and Customs Enforcement round-ups.
A CNN exit poll found that 65 per cent of voters believed Mr Trump had worsened economic conditions. Sixteen per cent said they had voted to support him, compared with 43 per cent who said they were voting against him; for 41 per cent, he was not a factor.
Hakeem Jeffries set to become Speaker
Hakeem Jeffries, the current Democratic leader in the House, is expected to replace Republican Mike Johnson as Speaker.
Mr Jeffries, a 56-year-old former corporate lawyer from New York, would become the first black Speaker of the House. The position places him second in line to the presidency after the vice president.
His priorities are expected to include overseeing investigations into the Trump family, reversing Medicaid cuts, restoring Obamacare subsidies and reducing the cost of groceries, housing and energy.
Republicans entered the election with a narrow 218-214 majority in the 435-seat House. One independent member caucused with the Republicans and two seats were vacant. In the Senate, Republicans held a 53-47 majority.
All 435 House seats and 35 of the 100 Senate seats were contested. Twenty-two of the Senate seats up for election were held by Republicans and 13 by Democrats, while 36 states also held gubernatorial elections.
More than 100 million people are believed to have voted after weeks of early polling, amounting to around two-thirds of the turnout in a presidential election.
Campaign spending reached a record-breaking $12 billion, according to advertising intelligence agency AdImpact, with about $4 billion spent during October alone. Republicans slightly outspent Democrats in the final month, including more than $300 million from Elon Musk.
The election followed the familiar pattern of a midterm backlash against the party controlling the White House. Democrats gained 40 House seats in 2018 during Mr Trump’s first term, while Republicans won 63 additional House seats in 2010 during Barack Obama’s presidency.
