The 2026 midterm race results saw a blue wave that secured a Democrat majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives. They flipped Senate seats in states the party hadn’t won in decades and took back a House that Republicans had controlled since 2023.
But what led to the turnaround that had voters turn out?
Democrats flipped key states in Senate race
The Democratic party needed a net gain of four seats to win back the Senate, and many in the party had seen 2026 as a testing ground.
“What we’re seeing in the early parts of 2026 really puts Democrats in a good position, as long as we don’t screw it up,” Jen O’Malley Dillon, a Democratic campaign strategist, said at a Dartmouth political event in April. “It’s never been more complex to find a way to reach people. We are such a polarized country when it comes to our politics and, and, you know, people are tuning out in a lot of ways and for good reason—because we need to survive.”
In a stunning showing, Democrats flipped seven Senate seats in North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Kansas, Iowa, Ohio and Maine.
Several of the wins came in what were once considered Republican strongholds. Kansas hadn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate in almost 100 years, and a surge in turnout helped Democrats win across the South.
The Senate control means Democrats have an effective veto over President Donald Trump’s nominees for the rest of his term.
Democrats flipped the House, too
All 435 House seats were on the ballot, and Democrats went in holding 214. The party then went on to flip 25 Republican seats, and CBS estimates the party could reach 259 seats—well above the 218 Republicans held going in.
Wins came in battleground districts in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Kentucky, and Colorado.
Trump was a factor
Trump wasn’t on the ballot, but many voters treated the election as a referendum on him. Across age demographics, voters said their vote in Congress was to show opposition to Trump about 39% to 60%, while only 7% to 22% said they voted to show support.
The opposition vote was strongest among the youngest voters—60% of 18- to 29-year olds voted with intent to oppose Trump. Voters 65 and older were the most likely to say they were backing Trump (22%), but even that group leaned toward opposition. Trump himself claimed Republicans would have “won IN A LANDSLIDE” if he had been on the ballot, according to his Truth Social post.
Dismal Trump approval ratings
Trump went into election day near the bottom of historical presidential approval. His most recent reading on the presidential approval rating sat at 29%, from Oct. 20. That’s the lowest for any president since George W. Bush fell to 25% in October 2008 during the financial crisis.
Democrats had voters under 65
Democrats won every age group under 65. Voters 18 to 29 backed Democratic House candidates 72% to Republican candidates’ 25%—but they made up only 11% of the electorate. That’s a sharp turn from 2024, when the youngest voters were roughly split between Trump and Kamala Harris.
The bigger gains came from the middle of the voting population. Voters aged 30 to 44 went Democratic 60% to 36%, and voters 45 to 64—the second largest group at 34%—went 51% to 47%. Only voters 65 and older, the largest group at 35%, narrowly favored Republicans 51% to 48%.
Affordability and economy
Concern about the economy remained a flashpoint among voters. About four in 10 named the economy as the most important issue facing the country—with the highest shares coming from Black voters (50%) and voters aged 30 to 44 (45%).
Democrat and Republican voters view different issues
The issue a voter named as most important was a strong predictor of their vote. About eight in 10 voters who said the state of democracy was the top issue backed the Democratic House candidate, while immigration was the clearest Republican issue—79% of those voters backed the GOP. Both Democrat and Republicans were close to evenly split on the economy.
Congressional checks and balances
Many voters perceived that Congress is not doing enough to check Trump’s presidential powers. Among voters who disapprove of Trump, 94% felt that way. Voters who approved of him were divided.
But neither branch has much public trust. In July, only 4% of adults had a great deal of confidence in the people running Congress, and 53% had hardly any.
The executive branch fared slightly better in public perception, but it still had weak support. With both chambers flipping, Democrats now control what Congress investigates—as the majority now gives the party oversight on presidential powers.
A historic night
The new Senate class includes several historic firsts: Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed will be the first Muslim U.S. senator, Minnesota’s Peggy Flanagan will be the first Native American woman in the Senate, New Hampshire’s Chris Pappas will be the first openly gay man elected to the chamber, Iowa’s Josh Turek will be the first Paralympian senator and South Carolina’s Annie Andrews will be the first woman elected to the Senate from her state.
In Kansas, Adam Hamilton became the state’s first Democratic senator since 1932. And in Texas, James Talarico beat Ken Paxton—ending a 32-year Democrat drought in the state’s Senate seat and overcoming Elon Musk’s $212 million effort.
Market moves post-race
Wall Street rallied overall following the midterm results. The S&P 500 was up 1.8% Wednesday morning and the DOW gained more than 1,000 points—but companies tied to Trump, Musk, and the AI buildout moved the other way.
Meanwhile, Trump Media fell 11.7%, adding to a 55% loss for the year. Musk had donated heavily to Republicans during the campaign, and both Tesla and SpaceX fell. Data center power providers took some hits as well: Vistra was down 9.6% and Vertiv 8.7%. Defense contractors including Lockheed Martin and L3Harris lost about 4%.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
