Democrats Win Control of Congress, Taking the Senate and the House

Decision Desk HQ and NBC News projected late Tuesday night that Democrats will take control of the U.S. Senate. The call came hours after the same outlets projected that Democrats will retake the House, giving the party control of both chambers of Congress.

The New York Times, the Washington Post and CNN were also projecting a Democratic Senate by late Tuesday, according to the Statesman Journal.

Democrats entered Tuesday needing a net gain of four seats to take the Senate from Republicans, who held a 53-47 majority. They flipped seats in South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas, Ohio, Kansas and Iowa, according to the projections.

In South Carolina, Democrat Annie Andrews defeated Republican Sen. Darline Graham, Decision Desk HQ and NBC News projected. In North Carolina, former Gov. Roy Cooper defeated Republican Michael Whatley. In Texas, state Rep. James Talarico defeated Attorney General Ken Paxton.

In Ohio, former Sen. Sherrod Brown defeated incumbent Republican Sen. Jon Husted, CNN, NBC News and the Associated Press projected. In Kansas, pastor Adam Hamilton defeated incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, Decision Desk HQ and CNN projected. In Iowa, state Rep. Josh Turek defeated Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson, Decision Desk HQ and NBC reported.

Hamilton is the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in Kansas since 1932. Talarico is the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Texas since 1988.

What it means

With both chambers, Democrats will set the legislative agenda in Congress and control committee chairs in the House and Senate. The party will also control the confirmation process for judges and administration officials in the Senate. Most major legislation will still need 60 votes in the Senate to advance.

Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledged the House loss late Tuesday. He thanked President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance for their work to keep the Republican majority, and said it was not enough to defy history. Trump told the New York Times he will accept the midterm results.

The House was projected for Democrats earlier in the evening, with NBC News estimating the party will hold about 244 seats. The final size of both majorities will take longer to settle as western states finish counting.

The projections are not official results. Several Senate races were still uncalled late Tuesday, including Michigan, where Democrat Abdul El-Sayed was trying to hold a seat for his party. Results will not be final until states complete their canvasses.