2026 midterm election: Democrats prepare to take Congress as GOP grapples with stunning losses

Democrats take the House

Democrats flipped more than two dozen Republican-held House seats, winning in suburban areas of the Northeast and parts of South Texas. CBS News projects the party will control between 251 and 268 seats, though the final margin remains uncertain as votes are counted in Maine, Montana, Florida, Alaska and other places.

Republicans had redrawn congressional districts in several states in an effort to protect their House majority. The effort was rebuffed on election night, with the GOP on track to lose all the districts it sought to reshape.

Senate races remain unsettled

CBS News continues to rate Senate contests in Alaska and Mississippi as toss-ups. In Mississippi, Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith faces Democrat Scott Colom in a race that was not expected to be competitive. State officials say thousands of ballots remain to be counted, including absentee ballots not due for several days and affidavit ballots requiring eligibility checks.

Democrats plan oversight

Democratic leaders are preparing to use their new congressional majority while Trump remains in the White House. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer promised to surround the president with what he called “legislative razor wire,” as Democrats outline oversight plans.

Republicans debate their defeat

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz described the outcome as an “ass-kicking” and a “Watergate-level repudiation.” Vice President JD Vance said the war was the reason Republicans lost, pointing to voters’ concerns about the Iran war, living costs, the “America First” agenda and the U.S.-Israel relationship.

Trump said he believed Republicans would have won if he had been on the ballot, arguing that support at his rallies did not transfer to other candidates. He made the remarks during a visit to the White House ballroom construction site, where he praised contractors and signed a steel beam.