Democrats Take Both Chambers of Congress as Washington Enters Divided Government
The midterm elections of November 3, 2026 have fundamentally shifted the balance of political power in Washington. The Democrats have wrested control of both chambers of Congress from the Republicans under President Donald Trump, creating a classic divided government.
In the Senate, the Democrats managed to capture several seats that had previously been firmly in Republican hands. Particularly striking were the victories of James Talarico in Texas (the state’s first Democratic senator since 1988), Adam Hamilton in Kansas (the first since 1932), Sherrod Brown in Ohio, as well as other candidates in South Carolina, North Carolina and Iowa. This gives the Democrats, including their allies, a clear majority.
In the House of Representatives, too, they crossed the 218-seat threshold required for an absolute majority early on and are continuing to extend their lead. At the same time, they achieved historic successes in the gubernatorial races, for example with Gina Hinojosa as the first Latina governor in Texas and Keisha Lance Bottoms as the first Black governor in Georgia.
For Trump, the result means a significant limitation of his ability to act during his remaining two years in office. He has accepted the outcome, congratulated the Democrats and announced that he wants to work with them – while at the same time attributing his party’s losses to the fact that he himself was not on the ballot.
The exact final seat distributions may still change slightly as long as individual races have not been fully counted. The fundamental shift of power in Congress, however, is settled.
