Democrats seized both chambers of Congress in Tuesday’s midterm elections, flipping at least seven Senate seats in a sweep unseen for two decades.
The party’s gains included victories in Kansas, Texas, South Carolina and other Republican strongholds that had not sent Democrats to the Senate in generations. James Talarico, a Texas state representative, became the first Democrat elected to the US Senate from the Lone Star State since 1988, defeating state Attorney General Ken Paxton, 63, by more than one million votes. AP called the race just after 11 p.m. With Talarico at 55.2% to Paxton’s 42.9%.
Paxton had unseated 24-year incumbent John Cornyn in May’s primary runoff, but his history of scandals and controversy proved fatal in the general election. Despite nearly $200 million in financial backing from Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, Paxton could not overcome voter skepticism.
The Texas upheaval extended to the governor’s mansion, where three-term Republican Greg Abbott lost re-election to state Rep. Gina Hinojosa. The seismic Democratic sweep in America’s second-most populous state now positions Texas as a key 2028 battleground.
In Kansas, megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton became the first Democrat elected to the Senate from the Sunflower State since 1932, stunning Sen. Roger Marshall. Hamilton won with 52.1% of the vote to Marshall’s 45%, with 94% of ballots counted as of 11 p.m. Tuesday.
Marshall, an obstetrician-gynecologist, faced damaging reports that he sued some 700 patients over unpaid bills, including an eight-month pregnant woman who was arrested after missing a medical debt payment carrying 18% interest.
South Carolina Republican Darline Graham failed to hold her late brother Lindsey Graham’s US Senate seat, losing to Democrat Annie Andrews in another historic upset. Andrews became the first Democrat to win a Palmetto State Senate race since 1998, defeating Graham by almost 100,000 votes. AP called the seat for Andrews with vote tallies at 51.1% to 46.7%.
President Trump had thrown his support behind Graham and joined her on the campaign trail, but the endorsement could not save the seat. Gov. Henry McMaster had plucked Graham from obscurity to fill the seat following her brother’s death in July at age 71.
In Maine, Democrat Troy Jackson defeated longtime Sen. Susan Collins, ending the incumbent’s nearly 30-year run in the upper chamber. Jackson garnered 53.8% to Collins’ 46.1% with 86% of votes counted, despite initially finishing third in the Maine Democratic gubernatorial primary.
His victory came after he was swapped in at the last minute to replace original nominee Graham Platner, whose campaign collapsed amid scandals including alleged Nazi tattoos and allegations of sexual assault and infidelity. Collins had been the longest-serving female Republican senator in history.
Michigan delivered another milestone as Democrat Abdul El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers, becoming the first Muslim Senator in US history. El-Sayed led Rogers by 52.5% to 45.5% with 97% of votes counted, defying conventional wisdom that a hard-left candidate could not win in a Midwestern swing state.
His campaign had drawn intense national attention for its far-left platform of universal Medicare for All, abolishing ICE, and cutting off military aid for Israel.
Ohio and Georgia also elected Democratic governors in Tuesday’s wave. Former health director Amy Acton bested former Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio, while Keisha Lance Bottoms won in Georgia. Bottoms’ victory makes her the first Black woman elected governor of any US state.
Ramaswamy’s campaign unraveled after he produced a controversial campaign ad featuring Acton’s estranged mother, who had remained married to Acton’s alleged rapist after he was criminally charged.
The Democratic sweep marks the first time any party has captured both the House and Senate in a midterm election in 20 years, dealing a stinging rebuke to President Trump’s administration and complicating his final two years in office.