Democrats have seized control of both houses of Congress, in a rout of President Donald Trump’s Republicans in the midterm elections, US networks projected.
asserted
networks → seize → elections
After earlier seizing the House of Representatives, Democrats have flipped Senate seats in at least six states, including traditional Republican strongholds Texas, Kansas and South Carolina.
asserted
Democrats → seize → strongholds
According to media projections, pediatrician Annie Andrews became the first Democrat to win a Senate seat since 1998 in South Carolina, a stunning victory over Trump’s hand-picked candidate Darline Graham in a state that he carried by nearly 18 percentage points in 2024.
uncertain
he → accord → 2024
Andrews’ win, along with Democrat Roy Cooper’s projected win in North Carolina’s Senate race, gave the party two of the four seats it needs to net in order to take control of the chamber.
asserted
it → project → chamber
The results also suggested that a Democratic wave was growing large enough to swamp even deeply Republican areas.
uncertain
wave → suggest → areas
After the death of his ally, US Senator Lindsey Graham, Graham’s sister Darline was appointed to fill his seat and Trump encouraged her to run for a full six-year term.
asserted
Trump → appoint → term
But her political inexperience proved a liability.
asserted
inexperience → prove → liability
Democrat Sherrod Brown defeated Republican Jon Husted in a tight US Senate race in the Midwestern state of Ohio, notching another flip for his party in the all-important race to control the upper chamber of Congress.
asserted
Brown → defeat → Congress
The special election was called to fill the seat for the last two years of what had been Vice President JD Vance’s term, after Husted served in 2025-26.
asserted
Husted → call → 2025
CNN and NBC News called the race in Brown’s favor.
asserted
CNN → call → favor
Democrat Josh Turek won his Senate race in the midwestern state of Iowa, defeating Republican lawmaker Ashley Hinson and flipping yet another seat for President Donald Trump’s rivals, media projections showed.
asserted
projections → win → rivals
Turek, a state lawmaker, triumphed amid voter anger over Trump’s tariffs, which hit Iowa’s farmers especially hard.
asserted
which → triumph → farmers
NBC News and CBS News called the race in Turek’s favor.
asserted
News → call → favor
It was still too early to determine whether Democrats would be able to replicate those performances in the other critical races that will determine the Senate majority, including Alaska, Michigan, Maine and Texas, with millions of votes still uncounted in those states.
asserted
millions → determine → states
Democrats held onto Senate seats in Georgia and New Hampshire, both races that were once considered competitive but moved out of reach for Republicans amid Trump’s declining approval ratings.
asserted
that → hold → ratings
While several television networks projected that Democrats would eventually win a House majority, most of the chamber’s most tightly contested races had yet to be called.
asserted
most → project → races
So far, Democrats have picked up four seats from Republicans, meaning they can afford to lose one of their existing seats and still take control of the 435-member chamber.
asserted
they → pick → chamber
A rebuke to Trump, winner says
“In sweeping and decisive victories, the American people have rebuked the depravity, corruption and incompetence of the man named President Donald J. Trump,” incumbent Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff, the projected winner in Georgia, told supporters at a victory party.
asserted
Ossoff → say → party
In Florida, Republican Senator Ashley Moody fended off Democrat Angie Nixon but was ahead by only about three percentage points in a state Trump carried by 13 points in 2024, according to a vote count compiled by Reuters and USA Today, further evidence that even solidly Republican states were shifting dramatically toward Democrats.
uncertain
states → fend → Democrats
Democrats held onto three House districts in Florida that Republican lawmakers had redrawn earlier this year, all of which backed Trump by at least nine percentage points, according to media projections.
uncertain
all → hold → projections
The fate of the House overall remained uncertain, with the majority of races still uncalled.
Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, a former mayor of Atlanta, on Tuesday was elected governor of the state of Georgia, becoming the first Black woman elected to that office in the US, media projections showed.
asserted
projections → remain → US
CNN and NBC News called the race in her favour.
asserted
CNN → call → favour
Bottoms defeated billionaire health care executive Rick Jackson, who ran as a Republican.
asserted
who → defeat → Republican
Current Governor Brian Kemp is term-limited and could not run again.
uncertain
Kemp → limit → ?
Midterm elections are typically viewed as a referendum on the president, and that is especially true for Trump, who dominates attention like no other politician.
asserted
who → view → politician
Trump himself told his supporters to “pretend I’m on the ballot” and held dozens of rallies in the closing weeks.
asserted
I → tell → weeks
According to exit polls conducted by SSRS on behalf of a consortium of US media outlets including major television networks and the Associated Press, half of voters nationwide said they saw the 2026 midterm elections as an opportunity to rebuke the president, and three-quarters said they are “angry” or “dissatisfied” with the way the country is headed.
uncertain
country → accord → way
In addition, 70 per cent of voters surveyed said they want Congress to provide more checks and balances on the president.
asserted
Congress → survey → president
Democrats were favoured to win the House, while the Senate battle was unfolding across several closely contested states, as millions of Americans cast ballots in an election that served as a referendum on the first two years of Trump’s second term.
asserted
that → favour → term
Trump himself told his supporters to “pretend I’m on the ballot.”
asserted
I → tell → ballot
History is against Republicans: the sitting president’s party has lost ground in Congress in all but two midterms since World War Two.
asserted
party → sit → War
Trump’s approval rating is hovering near his career lows, with voters frustrated by war on Iran, higher fuel prices and wider affordability concerns.
asserted
voters → hover → Iran
Led by Trump, Republicans have portrayed Democratic candidates as radical, un-American and even communist, labels Democrats flatly reject.
asserted
Democrats → lead → labels
Opinion polls show voters are most concerned about affordability and disapprove of Trump’s handling of the issue.
asserted
voters → show → issue
His tariffs on imports, many of which the courts threw out, and his decision to attack Iran in February raised prices for consumers.
asserted
courts → throw → consumers
Trump deploys election monitors
asserted
Trump → deploy → monitors
If the other contests all proceed as predicted, Democrats would need to win only 13 of those races to secure a majority.
asserted
Democrats → proceed → majority
Legal observers and Democrats have warned that Trump, who has long falsely claimed that US elections are rigged, may attempt to challenge Tuesday’s results if Republicans lose.
uncertain
Republicans → warn → results
The US Justice Department said it had deployed 1,000 election monitors and observers to all 50 states in what it called the largest Election Day monitoring effort in history.
asserted
it → say → history
Democrats criticised the plan as potential voter intimidation.
asserted
Democrats → criticise → intimidation
…and 3 more, not listed.
The Aporia
