The information presented in this article is as of 10 p.m. on Nov. 4, 2026.
On the morning of Nov. 4, the world woke up to major political shifts across the United States. Following midterm elections, Democrats have won majorities in both chambers of Congress, so far winning 237 out of 435 seats in the House and 54 out of 100 in the Senate. By nationwide popular vote, Democrats are winning by 13 percentage points, marking one of their biggest landslide victories since 1976. At the time of this article’s printing, the Senate races in Alaska and Mississippi as well as 51 seats in the House remain undecided. Democrats have also taken the majority of governorships, winning at least 28 seats, with Kansas and Alaska still remaining.
In the Senate, Democrats have flipped a total of seven seats thus far, one in each of Texas, Maine, North Carolina, South Carolina, Iowa, Kansas, and Ohio.
Notably, the one remaining Senate race in Alaska, primarily between Democrat Mary Petola and incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan, is too close to call. As of current counts, Petola holds a razor-thin lead over Sullivan. If the race is still too close after all ballots have been tabulated, the state will defer to ranked-choice rounds.
Out of the flips, Democrats won in several battleground states. Perhaps most surprisingly was Texas, in which Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Attorney General of Texas Ken Paxton. This marks a breakaway, as Talarico is the first Democratic Senate elect from Texas in almost 40 years.
In Kansas, Democrat Adam Hamilton ousted first-term Republican incumbent Senator Roger Marshall in a historic win. Hamilton is the first Democratic elect to the Senate from Kansas since 1932, breaking an almost 100-year-old precedent.
In Maine, Democrat Troy Jackson defeated longtime Republican incumbent Senator Susan Collins, who was first elected in 1996. Jackson is the first Democratic Senator from Maine since 1995.
In South Carolina, Democrat Annie Andrews unseated appointed Republican Seantor Darline Graham, the state’s first Democratic Senator since 1998. In North Carolina, former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper won the open seat left by retiring Republican Senator Thom Tillis, defeating Republican Michael Whatley. This is the state’s first Democratic Senator in ten years.
In Iowa, Democrat Josh Turek won the open seat left by retiring Republican Senator Joni Ernst, defeating Republican Representative Ashley Hinson. Finally, in Ohio, Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown won back a Senate seat by defeating appointed Republican incumbent Senator Jon Husted.
Some seats, while not flipped, will now be occupied by new faces. These include Michigan, where Democratic elect Abdul El-Sayed won the competitive open seat to succeed retiring Democratic Senator Gary Peters, defeating Republican Mike Rogers. In New Hampshire, Democrat Chris Pappas won the seat to succeed retiring Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, defeating former Sen. John Sununu. Notably, Pappas is the first openly gay male U.S. Senator elected in American history.
In Florida, Republican Ashley Mody won the special election for the remainder of Marco Rubio’s (R) term, defeating Democrat David Jolly. In Wyoming, Republican Representative Harriet Hageman won the seat of retiring Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis.
The seven seats flipped thus far secure an at least 54-seat majority for Democrats in the Senate. Alongside newly gained control of the House, this historic “blue wave” ushers in a new era of intensely divided government, and places direct roadblocks in front of the Trump administration’s legislative and administrative agenda.
As of now, Democrats have taken 28 seats from Republicans in the House of Representatives. The full list of flips is too long to be detailed here, but there have been six standout races thus far.
First is in PA-1, where Democrat Bob Harvie defeated Brian Fitzpatrick. Harvie is a Bucks County commissioner, former high-school teacher, and former Fall Township supervisor. Fitzpatrick on the other hand is a five-term incumbent who had won reelection by roughly 13 percentage points in 2024.
Second is in NC-9, where Democrat Richard Ojeda defeated Republican Richard Hudson. Hudson was seeking his eighth consecutive term, and was the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee.
Third is in TN-4, Democrat Victoria Broderick defeated Republican Scott DesJarlais. DesJarlais had represented the district since 2011. The state’s final unofficial results put Broderick ahead by just 280 votes.
Fourth is in TX-15, Democrat Bobby Pulido defeated Republican Monica De La Cruz. De La Cruz, first elected in 2022, was the first Republican to win this South Texas seat and was seeking a third term. Redistricting is part of the story here, too. According to the AP, approximately three-fifths of voting-age residents in De La Cruz’s redrawn district were new to her constituency, potentially weakening her incumbency.
Fifth is in MI-7, where Democrat William Lawrence defeated Republican Tom Barrett. Barrett, an Army veteran, had captured the seat for Republicans in 2024, after Democrat Elissa Slotkin left to run for the Senate. Lawrence’s win therefore returns the district to Democratic control after just one Republican term.
Sixth and finally is in TN-9, where Republican Brent Taylor defeated Democrat Justin Pearson, succeeding Democrat Steve Cohen. Cohen had ended his own reelection campaign after Republicans substantially redrew his Memphis-based district, and the redraw, according to the AP’s district analysis, substantially affected this race.
In an unprecedented national shift for the Governor elections, five seats have been flipped from Republican to Democrat so far. Republicans entered Tuesday holding 26 of the 50 governorships, consequently holding 21 after the midterm results. The seats that flipped to blue are Georgia, Nevada, Iowa, Ohio, and Texas, with the results of Alaska and Kansas’s elections still pending.
In Georgia, former Atlanta mayor Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms will succeed Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, as he is no longer eligible to seek re-election. Notably, Gov. Bottoms is not only the first Black and first female governor in Georgia, but the first Black woman to be elected governor in any state in U.S. History.
In Nevada, Democrat Aaron Ford defeated Republican incumbent Joe Lombardo. Ford also broke racial barriers on Wednesday morning, becoming the first Black governor west of the Mississippi.
In Iowa, state auditor and Democrat Rob Sand defeated his Republican opponent Zach Lahn. He will succeed Gov. Kim Reynolds (R), who previously announced she would not seek re-election to renew her term.
In Ohio, former state health director Amy Acton flipped Republican Vivek Ramaswamy’s seat blue. Acton will succeed Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, becoming the first woman to be elected as Ohio’s governor.
Finally, in Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who occupied his governorship for three terms, was defeated by Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa.
Other barrier-breaking candidates who were elected include Ded Pauland of New Mexico, who will be the first female Native American governor in American history.
While we may be caught up in our day-to-day activities as Exonians, engagement with the wold’s political landscape is necessary as responsible global citizens. The results of the 2026 midterm elections thus far are a demonstration of how politics can quickly shift — especially considering the turnout, potentially the second-highest midterm rate since 1914. As President Trump’s second term enters its latter half, Democrats taking the majority in both chambers of Congress, as well as the majority of governorships, signals a large shift in American political power. It remains to be seen how these changes will manifest until 2028 and beyond, but however they do, Exonians ought to stay informed and engaged.