Midterm election results: Democrats win crucial seats; here’s what else the data tells us

Senate control changes hands

Democrats secured a Senate majority by winning six seats previously held by Republicans. Their victories came in North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Kansas, Texas and Iowa, giving them the 51 seats needed to control the chamber.

House results remained incomplete. Democrats had flipped 13 seats and held 187, while Republicans had retained 110; 218 seats are needed for a majority. All 435 House seats were being contested.

Why congressional control matters

Before the election, Republicans held narrow majorities in both chambers of Congress. Midterm results will shape US politics in the coming years, and congressional approval is needed for most federal political decisions to take effect.

Voters divided by demographics

A representative survey of more than 75,000 verified voters was conducted by SSRS for the Associated Press and other news organizations. It included interviews with early and mail-in voters and exit polls of people who voted in person; some percentages do not total 100% because of third-party voters.

Republicans received 55% of white men’s votes, while 91% of Black women voted Democrat. Three-quarters of voters aged 18 to 24 backed Democrats, compared with 51% of voters aged 65 and older backing Republicans. Most Latino men and women voted Democrat.

Democrats won 61% of voters with college degrees. Among voters without a degree, 45% voted Democrat and 51% Republican. Nearly 70% of urban voters backed Democrats, as did 57% of suburban voters; almost 60% of rural and small-town voters supported Republicans.

Economy and shifting support

The survey found Republicans had lost support across demographic groups compared with the November 2022 midterms. Their share among white men fell from 60% to 55%, and among white women from 56% to 48%; the Republican share among Latinos also declined.

Nearly half of Americans said their family’s financial situation was worse than two years earlier. Among voters who said they were better off, 75% voted Republican and 23% Democrat. Among those who felt worse off, 72% voted Democrat and 24% Republican.

Voters’ views of the country’s most important issue differed by party. Among people who named immigration, 89% voted Republican and 9% Democrat.