Democrats Win the House and Senate With Seven Senate Flips as Trump Says He Was Not on the Ballot

CBS News projected at 10:29 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday that Democrats had won control of the House of Representatives. By 6:45 a.m. on Wednesday NBC News was projecting the Senate as well, and by 4:51 p.m. it counted 35 Republican House seats flipped with races still uncalled, according to NBC's live blog. Those are the figures as of Wednesday evening US time; the count goes on in a handful of states.

The Senate is the bigger surprise. Democrats needed a net gain of four. NBC's Wednesday morning exit-poll summary said they had flipped as many as seven: Texas, where James Talarico beat Ken Paxton 55 to 43 percent on the final count; Maine, where Troy Jackson unseated Susan Collins after nearly 30 years; Ohio, where Sherrod Brown won back a seat in the special election; North Carolina, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina. Two races remain open. In Alaska, Mary Peltola led Senator Dan Sullivan. In Mississippi, Scott Colom led Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith by 65 votes at 5:25 p.m.

In the House, Hakeem Jeffries said at 12:44 p.m. that Democrats would win at least 255 seats, and CBS's range ran from 251 to 268 against 218 for control, its live page reported. Speaker Mike Johnson said he was disappointed and, at 10:26 a.m., that he would not seek the minority leader post. Jeffries launched his bid for speaker at 4 p.m.

Which Senate seats did Democrats flip?

Texas we cover separately. In Maine, Jackson, a former logger from Allagash and the state Senate president from 2018 to 2024, beat Collins, who has served since 1997, chairs Appropriations and was the only Republican senator from a state Trump lost in 2024, NBC reported. In South Carolina, pediatrician Annie Andrews, 45, defeated Senator Darline Graham, 62, who was appointed in July to finish the term of her brother Lindsey Graham after his sudden death and won a special primary to stay on the ballot; the state had not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1998, CBS noted. In Kansas, the Rev. Adam Hamilton, 62, who leads the largest United Methodist congregation in the country, ousted Senator Roger Marshall for the first Democratic Senate win in the state since 1932, CBS projected. In North Carolina, former governor Roy Cooper took the open seat from Michael Whatley by roughly 59 to 39 percent and Whatley conceded by phone on the night, WUNC reported. In Iowa, Ashley Hinson lost her bid to Josh Turek, and in Michigan Abdul El-Sayed won the open seat against Mike Rogers, 52 to 45 percent on CNBC's count.

What did Trump say about the result?

At 8:51 a.m. he said he did not like to consider it a defeat for him because he was not on the ballot. He told the New York Times he was absolutely willing to accept the results, said he could work with Democrats on many things but not an open border, promised to veto bills he considered insane, and agreed that the Iran war was largely behind the losses while saying he would do it again. In the afternoon he toured the White House ballroom site and praised the project. Vice President JD Vance was blunter on X: the reason we lost is the war.

What did the exit polls show?

NBC's exit poll surveyed more than 79,000 voters. One number stood out: about 78 percent of men aged 18 to 29 said Trump's policies had made economic conditions worse, and only 32 percent of them voted Republican, against 49 percent who backed Trump in 2024. Chuck Schumer, expecting to become majority leader, said Democrats would deliver with or without the president.

What is still being counted?

Alaska and Mississippi in the Senate; Alaska and Kansas for governor; and a string of House seats, including Florida's 27th, where Elliot Rodriguez trails by 0.46 points and says he is not conceding. CNBC's election desk had Democrats on track for at least 54 Senate seats with two open, so the number that decides how far the new majority can push next year is still being tallied, in Mississippi 65 votes at a time.