US midterm election results: Democrats projected to take Congress

Democrats are projected to have won both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the US midterm elections held on Tuesday (3 November), ending Republican control of Congress for the rest of President Donald Trump’s second term, according to projections by NBC News and the BBC. Counting is still under way in some races, so final seat totals may change.

NBC News projects that Democrats flipped seven Senate seats: Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Maine, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas. In the House, NBC’s analysis shows Democrats winning at least 258 seats, “an estimate that could still tick up or down by a few seats”, against the 218 needed for a majority. The Guardian’s results tracker, updated on Wednesday, showed Democrats on 228 of the 367 House races called so far. The tallies differ because outlets are calling races at different times.

Democrats also flipped governorships in Texas, Georgia, Ohio and Iowa, NBC News projects. In Texas, Gina Hinojosa is set to become the state’s first Latina governor, and in Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms is projected to become the state’s first Black governor and first woman governor, the BBC reported. Republican Byron Donalds, backed by Trump, will be Florida’s first Black governor, one of the few bright spots for the party on the night.

Maine’s Susan Collins, a Republican senator for three decades, lost to Democrat Troy Jackson. In a statement reported by US media, she conceded defeat and said it had been the “honour of my life” to serve the state, the BBC reported. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries told supporters: “Today begins the great American comeback.” If House Democrats keep him as their leader, he will succeed Republican Mike Johnson as speaker.

Trump spoke to several US media outlets through the evening in a conciliatory tone and conceded that Democrats did a “good job”, the BBC reported. He said he would accept the results and looked forward to working with the opposition, though he keeps the power to veto legislation. He distanced himself from some losing Republican candidates, saying: “In some cases they didn’t like the candidates, and in some cases those candidates were not my friend.” On the US-Israel war on Iran, which has pushed up consumer prices in the US, he said: “Iran was a piece of it.”

NBC News exit polls showed Trump’s disapproval rating at 62%, with more than three-quarters of voters disapproving of Congress. Nearly half said they saw the election as a chance to rebuke the president.

What changes, and when? Midterms elect lawmakers halfway through a president’s term, not a new president, so Trump stays in office. The new Congress convenes on 3 January 2027, and until then Republicans control both chambers, The Indian Express reported. After that, Democrats will chair House committees, set hearing agendas and be able to issue subpoenas, and a Democratic Senate could block or delay Cabinet, judicial and other nominees.

There are limits. Most major bills need 60 votes in the 100-member Senate to beat a filibuster, and Trump’s veto can be overridden only by a two-thirds majority in both chambers. Democrats may therefore find it easier to block Republican proposals and scrutinise the administration than to pass sweeping laws of their own, The Indian Express said. Democrats have not ruled out impeaching Trump a third time, but conviction needs two-thirds of the Senate, so Republican senators would have to cross party lines.

What it means for India: experts told The Hindu the result will likely speed up India-US trade deal talks, but could also bring higher US tariffs on India until a deal is closed. “Expect heightened pressure on India for a trade deal to prove American clout,” said Ajay Srivastava of the Global Trade Research Initiative. Deep Pal of the Koan Advisory Group said Indian negotiators may see the new political reality as a chance to get a better deal. As The Indian Idiot reported earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last month that the trade deal was weeks, not months, away.