• Analysis
Democrats win Senate control as voters reject Trump's agenda
Democrats have won back control of the US Senate, taking seats across traditionally Republican states and gaining the power to block Donald Trump's legislative agenda and appointments for the rest of his presidency.
What the new Senate majority means for Trump
The shift hands Democrats leverage over the White House that they lost two years ago. From January, they can hold up Trump's legislative agenda as well as any appointments he makes to his cabinet or the federal judiciary, including the supreme court, where conservatives currently hold a 6-3 majority.
If Democrats also win the House as expected, they would hold full control of Congress beginning next year, for the first time since 2022.
Where the seats flipped
Democrats carried Senate races in South Carolina, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Iowa and Kansas, according to the Associated Press. Republicans, for their part, failed to unseat Democrats in New Hampshire and Georgia, states that had backed Trump in 2024.
Counting is still under way elsewhere:
- •Votes are still being counted in Minnesota, Michigan and Maine, where Susan Collins is the last Republican senator representing a blue state.
- •Democrats hope to unseat two-term Republican Dan Sullivan in Alaska, but the result in that race may take days.
Historic breakthroughs in Republican strongholds
Several of the wins ended droughts measured in decades. Kansas has not sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1932, and Texas since 1988; the gap in South Carolina is 38 years, and in Iowa and North Carolina 18 years.
In North Carolina, Trump's attacks on senator Thom Tillis over his domestic policy bill pushed him into retirement, and former governor Roy Cooper easily won the race to replace him. In Texas, Trump endorsed scandal-plagued attorney general Ken Paxton over longtime senator John Cornyn, who lost his primary; Democratic state representative James Talarico then won the seat by a double-digit margin, according to the AP.
Why voters turned away
Democrats lost control of the Senate in 2024, when voters returned Trump to the White House and his allies won a 53-seat majority. His approval ratings slumped over his second term, particularly on his handling of the economy and immigration.
The report points to the strike on Iran and immigration raids that resulted in the killings of two US citizens in Minneapolis as having alienated voters, while conflict in the Middle East pushed up gas prices.
Vote counting continues in Minnesota, Michigan and Maine, and the Alaska race against Dan Sullivan may take days to resolve. With a likely House win, Democrats are expected to hold full control of Congress beginning next year, for the first time since 2022.
