Democrats have won control of both chambers of Congress, according to projections by NBC News, CBS News and ABC News, giving the party a majority in the House and the Senate for the final two years of President Donald Trump's term. NBC News projected at 11:04 p.m. ET that Democrats had won the House, and at 11:23 p.m. ET that they had captured full control of Congress. CBS News projected Democratic control of the House at 10:15 p.m. ET and of the Senate shortly after 11:30 p.m. ET. ABC News is also projecting Democratic majorities in both chambers.
The Senate majority was built on a string of projected Democratic pickups in states Trump carried: Texas, where James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton; Ohio, where former Sen. Sherrod Brown unseated Republican Sen. Jon Husted; Kansas, where Adam Hamilton defeated Republican Sen. Roger Marshall; Iowa, where Josh Turek defeated Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson for an open seat; South Carolina, where Annie Andrews defeated Republican Sen. Darline Graham; and North Carolina, where Roy Cooper defeated Michael Whatley, according to NBC News and CBS News projections. NBC News said Turek's win clinched the Democratic majority in the Senate.
What the Left Is Saying
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is poised to become speaker, told supporters, "America is back," and called the results a change election. "The American people have spoken and made clear they’ve had enough of the extremism, enough of the corruption," he said, according to NBC News.
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi congratulated House Democrats and endorsed Jeffries for speaker. "Tonight, the American people have changed the course of our country," she said in a statement reported by CBS News. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CBS News the results were "absolutely tectonic" and "less of a result than it is a revolt."
What the Right Is Saying
Trump congratulated Democrats in a call with CBS News' Weijia Jiang. "My message is congratulations to the Democrats, and I look forward to working with you for the good of our country," he said. Earlier, on Truth Social, he wrote: "I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!"
House Speaker Mike Johnson pointed to historical precedent. "From the first day of this election, we knew that to keep the House and sustain our majority, we would have to defy more than a century of midterm history," Johnson told supporters, NBC News reported. A senior Republican Party official involved in House GOP strategy called the night a "bloodbath," CBS News reported.
What the Numbers Show
NBC News' House projection rests on an analysis that Democrats will win about 252 House seats, an estimate NBC says could still move up or down by a few seats but is well beyond the 218 needed for a majority. CNBC's Election Desk projects Democrats will win at least 235 House seats once all races are tallied.
In Kansas, Hamilton is the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in the state since 1932, according to NBC News, in a state Trump carried by 16 points in 2024. Talarico is the first Democrat to win a Senate race in Texas since Lloyd Bentsen in 1988, and Andrews is the first Democrat South Carolina has elected to the Senate since 1998, according to NBC News.
Republicans kept Senate seats in Florida, where Sen. Ashley Moody defeated Democrat Angie Nixon, and won races in Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama and South Dakota, according to CBS News and NBC News projections. Democrats won in Georgia, where Sen. Jon Ossoff defeated GOP Rep. Mike Collins; in New Hampshire, where Chris Pappas defeated Republican John Sununu; and in Virginia and Oregon, where Sens. Mark Warner and Jeff Merkley won new terms.
The Bottom Line
Several Senate races were still uncalled late Tuesday. In Maine, Republican Sen. Susan Collins faces Democrat Troy Jackson in a race CBS News described as a toss-up that may take longer to count because Maine uses ranked-choice voting. In Michigan, NBC News reported at 11:01 p.m. ET that with 22% of the vote in, both sides were projecting confidence in the race between Republican Rep. Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed.
With a House majority, Democrats will gain subpoena and investigative power, CBS News noted. Trump said in a call with Politico that he would work with Democrats but would use his veto power. All results are projections by the outlets named and may change as counting continues. This story will be updated.