#midterms-2026

Democrats will control the Senate in January, CBS News and NBC News project, after the November 3 midterms. As of Thursday, November 5, the party had secured at least 54 seats. NBC lists seven flips: Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Maine, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas. Democrats also held Georgia, New Hampshire and Michigan, where Abdul El-Sayed beat former Rep. Mike Rogers and, CBS notes, becomes the first Muslim senator.

Among the upsets: James Talarico beat Attorney General Ken Paxton in Texas, the first Democrat Texas has sent to the Senate since 1988 (NBC); Elon Musk spent more than $150 million to boost Paxton, CBS reports. Pastor Adam Hamilton ousted Sen. Roger Marshall in Kansas, Troy Jackson defeated Sen. Susan Collins in Maine, and Annie Andrews beat Darline Graham in South Carolina. Republicans held Nebraska (Sen. Pete Ricketts over independent Dan Osborn), Montana and Florida.

The Alaska and Mississippi races were uncalled at the cutoff. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer vowed to "entangle" President Trump "in legislative razor wire" when he defies the law; Majority Leader John Thune said Republicans "will not stand idly by" as Democrats try to unwind their work. Trump told reporters he would "probably" get along with Democrats "unless they want to be destructive, but I have the power of the veto."

The U.S. Senate race in Mississippi was uncalled at the cutoff. By midday Thursday, November 5, Democrat Scott Colom led Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by just over 1,700 votes, CBS reports; CBS rates it a toss-up. At the end of Wednesday's count, WDAM reports, Colom had 464,926 votes (49%) to Hyde-Smith's 463,788 (48.9%).

Secretary of State Michael Watson says about 3,600 mail ballots are outstanding, plus an unknown number of affidavit (provisional) ballots from voters whose eligibility must be confirmed. Mail ballots must arrive within five business days; counties have until November 13 to certify. Mississippi has no recount provision, so the plurality winner takes the seat. Colom's campaign estimates 15,000 affidavit ballots; Magnolia Tribune cites unconfirmed reports of up to 18,000.

The NRSC and Hyde-Smith's campaign asked all counties to separate and preserve affidavit ballots; Colom's campaign called it a "desperate stunt." The DSCC has sent lawyers to monitor the count. A Colom win would make him the first Democrat Mississippi has elected to the Senate since 1982, and its first Black senator since 1881.

There were 41 local ballot measures on data centers in 10 states on November 3, according to Ballotpedia, and voters sided against data centers in every one but Harwood, North Dakota, CNBC reports. Ohio had 21 of them; several towns wrote data center bans into their charters, some limited to so-called hyperscalers. Kansas towns including Emporia and El Dorado passed bans, and Joliet, Illinois, voters said no to an advisory question on AI data centers, Reason reports. The results are preliminary, and trackers' counts differ slightly.

The issue also ran at the top of the ticket. In Ohio, Sherrod Brown ousted Sen. Jon Husted after calling him "the face of data centers," and Governor-elect Amy Acton supports a "conditional moratorium." In Texas, Gina Hinojosa blamed Gov. Greg Abbott for the rapid buildout. In a CNBC voter poll, 56% said data centers were a crucial or major factor in their vote.

The industry's Data Center Coalition told Fox Business that data centers bring jobs, tax revenue and investment.

Democrats will take control of the House in January, both CBS News and NBC News project. Estimates differ slightly and were still moving at the cutoff: NBC's Decision Desk projected at least 258 Democratic seats, a number the party hadn't reached since 1993, while CBS put Democrats on pace for about 256. CBS counted 42 districts shifted to Democrats and two to Republicans, with dozens of races still uncalled.

Notable results include Democrat Cait Conley defeating Rep. Mike Lawler in New York's Hudson Valley, Kristina Knickerbocker beating 23-year Rep. Mike Turner in Ohio, and Richard Ojeda beating Rep. Richard Hudson, chair of the House GOP campaign arm, in North Carolina. Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur kept her redrawn Ohio seat. NBC's exit poll put Trump's disapproval at 62%.

Speaker Mike Johnson told staff he will not run for minority leader, sources told CBS. Democratic Whip Katherine Clark launched a bid for majority leader; Republicans Erin Houchin and Lisa McClain are contesting the GOP conference chair. House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar said Democrats will pass bills on housing, health care, gas, groceries and utilities costs.

Democrats flipped governorships in Texas, Georgia, Nevada, Ohio and Iowa, NBC News projects. In Texas, Gina Hinojosa defeated Gov. Greg Abbott, and CBS reports every statewide seat on the ballot flipped to Democrats: NBC projects wins for lieutenant governor (Vikki Goodwin over Dan Patrick), attorney general (Nathan Johnson) and railroad commissioner (Jon Rosenthal, over Republican Bo French, who faced backlash in his own party for anti-immigrant, Islamophobic and antisemitic comments). Hinojosa named a bipartisan transition team and said she will be "the governor for all the people of Texas"; she called Abbott "gracious."

Elsewhere, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford beat Gov. Joe Lombardo, Amy Acton beat Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio (Reason), and Rob Sand will be Iowa's governor (CBS). Democrats held Michigan (Jocelyn Benson), Arizona (Katie Hobbs) and Oregon (Tina Kotek). Republicans held Florida, where Byron Donalds becomes the state's first Black governor, plus New Hampshire, Nebraska, Idaho, Alabama and Tennessee.

Sen. Ted Cruz called the night "a blue tsunami" and "a Watergate-level repudiation." Data centers were a campaign issue in several of these races; see our separate story.

On Sunday, November 1, U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason dismissed the Justice Department's suit seeking to block certification of Alaska's Senate race if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan lost to Democrat Mary Peltola. She called the relief "infeasible" because many people had already voted, said the government offered "no workable plan" to investigate ballots for the second candidate, retired teacher Daniel J. Sullivan, while preserving voter secrecy, and wrote that the effort ran counter to the Constitution's grant of election authority to states. The department filed notice it will appeal. AP also reports the department escalated a criminal investigation with new grand jury subpoenas.

After Tuesday's vote the race was uncalled at the cutoff; NBC called it too early to call, and Sullivan said he was "confident when all the votes are counted." On Truth Social, President Trump said votes for Daniel J. Sullivan and candidate Gerald Heikes "should be immediately given to the REAL Dan Sullivan." Alaska uses ranked-choice voting: if no one tops 50%, last-place candidates are eliminated and their voters' next choices counted. A separate measure to repeal ranked-choice voting was too early to call in NBC's tally.

Voters sent mixed signals on statewide measures. On abortion, Missouri rejected Amendment 3, which would have repealed the abortion-rights amendment voters passed in 2024 and allowed abortion only for medical emergencies, rape, incest or fatal fetal anomalies; it failed about 55% to 45% in preliminary results, and its constitutional ban on gender-transition care for minors fell with it. Nevada's Question 6 and Virginia's Question 1 passed; Idaho's Proposition 1, which would have created an abortion right, failed with about 44% yes (NBC).

Measures requiring voter ID or proof of citizenship passed in Alaska, Arkansas, Kansas, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota and West Virginia, while Arizona's Prop 144 and California's Prop 39 failed, NBC projects. Arizona and Colorado approved measures tying school sports or facilities to birth sex. Missouri voters rejected Proposition A, the 2025 congressional map; Virginia voters removed the state's same-sex marriage ban and restored voting rights on release from prison. California's billionaire wealth tax (Prop 40) was trailing but uncalled.

Some results were still being counted at the cutoff.

Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman defeated Mayor Karen Bass, and Bass conceded on Thursday, November 5. "While this is not the outcome we hoped for, the people of Los Angeles have spoken," Bass said, committing to "a smooth and seamless transition." Raman, of Indian descent, becomes the city's first South Asian mayor, LAist reports. A member of the Democratic Socialists of America, she joins New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, meaning DSA-backed candidates will run the country's two largest cities.

Raman filed on the last possible day in February, less than two weeks after endorsing Bass. Bass led early on election night; Raman pulled ahead early Wednesday as later ballots were counted. She has promised to tackle housing affordability, homelessness and police reform, including removing LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, and to improve basic services such as pothole repair.

Results are not final: ballots postmarked by Election Day count if they arrive within seven days, and the county is due to certify on November 27. AP estimated 76% of votes counted by Thursday morning.

A U.S. Central Command estimate given to Congress puts the cost of the Iran war at $47.1 billion as of October 16, AP reported on October 28, up about $3.5 billion since early September. About $29 billion is for replacing munitions, especially air-defense interceptors such as Patriot and THAAD; about $11.9 billion covers operations and $6 billion equipment losses. The New York Times, which also obtained the figures, reports that congressional officials call the numbers almost certainly low: they leave out $1.5 billion for fuel and other costs, and the repair of U.S. bases damaged by Iranian strikes, which a Pentagon inspector general report released in September said damaged or destroyed hundreds of structures across eight countries.

The Pentagon lists 21 service members killed and 865 wounded. The war began in late February; the White House is asking Congress for a $95 billion package that would help fund it. AP notes most voters in a recent AP-NORC poll want Congress to prioritize ending the conflict, and Trump has said new strikes are an option after the midterms.

On October 22 the Justice Department sued Alaska's Division of Elections in federal court, asking it to block or delay certification of the U.S. Senate race if Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan loses to Democrat Mary Peltola but would have won had the votes for a second candidate, Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. of Petersburg, gone to him. President Trump said he ordered the suit. The state's Department of Law answered that the suit "has no legal basis": the ballot labels the senator as the Republican incumbent, voters can rank both Sullivans, and probing voter intent would breach the secret ballot. Peltola's campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee moved to dismiss. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said the department "should have never filed this lawsuit."

On October 28, AP reported that The New York Times had obtained texts in which Peltola campaign members discussed recruiting people named Dan Sullivan. Trump said Peltola and the other Sullivan "should be prosecuted"; Murkowski said Alaskans "deserve the honest truth." Peltola's campaign says it "has no involvement with either Sullivan campaign," the DSCC denies involvement, and Dan J. Sullivan has long denied any contact with Peltola's campaign. Legal experts told AP the report won't change the lawsuit. Election Day is November 3.

On October 28, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter denied the Trump administration's request that California set aside the mail ballots of up to 20,000 registered voters that Homeland Security agencies flagged as likely noncitizens. Carter wrote the request "would wreak havoc and disrupt the election that is already underway" and that "if the Executive can discount votes and threaten an ongoing election due to unproven allegations, then our democracy is in danger." More than 3.7 million Californians had already voted, and Los Angeles County said over 500,000 ballots had been separated from their envelopes. Prosecutors filed an appeal the same evening; the 9th Circuit had dismissed an earlier appeal 2-1 on October 26 because Carter had not yet ruled.

On October 29, Carter appointed a special master to examine the federal list, which both sides agree includes an unspecified number of citizens. AP also reported that federal prosecutors subpoenaed Los Angeles County election staff to appear in court on November 4, citing a Homeland Security criminal investigation.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced on October 28 felony charges of unlawful voting and identity theft against conservative activists James O'Keefe and Cameron Higby over videos filmed at Minneapolis polling places during Minnesota's August 11 primary. In the videos, the men, wearing Islamic dress and using accents, ask election workers about vouching, the Minnesota rule letting a registered voter swear to the address of up to eight unregistered voters. Moriarty said they gave names of registered voters, including some who had died and at least one who had voted. "I think it's pretty clear they did not intend to vote. That's not the question here," she said, adding "you cannot give somebody else's name and misrepresent yourself." Neither man signed a vouching oath.

O'Keefe's group said in August its people "did not cast ballots" and were testing the law; Higby denied breaking any law. A first court appearance is set for November 16.

The Justice Department began notifying counties this week that it plans to send monitors on Election Day, NPR reports; counties in Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, Texas and Washington have been told so far. Civil Rights Division head Harmeet Dhillon said last month the department would send 1,000 observers nationwide, which she called the largest monitoring effort in its history. In the last midterm year, 2022, the department monitored 64 jurisdictions in 24 states. A DOJ spokesperson said details will be shared closer to the election and that the department prioritizes places with competitive elections.

Officials in three states told NPR they were not initially notified alongside their counties, as in past cycles; after NPR asked the department, several said they then received notice. In Colorado, Adams County's Democratic clerk said he suspected political motives because the neighboring Republican-run county that shares a toss-up district was not contacted. Wyoming's Republican governor had raised concerns about monitors' behavior in the August primary, which the DOJ disputes.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee told members on October 21 that it will no longer issue endorsements, make direct PAC contributions or earmark funds for candidates, NPR reports. AIPAC began direct political involvement five years ago. Its letter said it will instead prioritize "direct, organized contributions from individual Americans to candidates." Its affiliated super PAC, United Democracy Project, will keep operating and can raise unlimited money.

According to FEC filings cited by NPR, AIPAC gave nearly $25 million to candidates and political committees in 2026 through Sept. 30; the super PAC contributed $13 million and spent another $53.5 million independently. A spokesperson said members gave more than $90 million directly to candidates this cycle and that this giving will "continue and increase." The change comes amid growing criticism of the group, especially among Democrats, The National reports; its super PAC has been spending against Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic Senate nominee in Michigan.

On October 22 the Supreme Court granted New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan's emergency request and paused two October orders by U.S. District Judge Joseph Laplante. A state law enacted in April removed student IDs from the forms of identification accepted when someone requests a ballot. Laplante left that law in place, but blocked Scanlan's guidance that student IDs could not be used for any purpose, including under a "safety valve" that lets officials weigh other evidence of identity. With the stay, NBC reports, student IDs cannot be used even as backup evidence in the Nov. 3 election.

The unsigned order cited precedent that lower courts "should ordinarily not alter the election rules on the eve of an election." Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented alone, writing that the injunction targeted misleading official guidance rather than changing the law. The Republican National Committee backed the state; the challenge was brought by the Coalition for Open Democracy. New Hampshire has an open U.S. Senate seat on the ballot.

The Justice Department has sued California and asked a federal court to make the state segregate ballots from about 20,000 registered voters that federal officials call "likely noncitizens." On October 19, Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter announced charges against 28 green-card holders, all on that list, and acknowledged it may include some citizens. In an October 20 filing, state Attorney General Rob Bonta called the suit "a reckless political stunt." Los Angeles County officials reviewed a sample of 200 names; of those with a reported birthplace, 38.9% indicated they were born in the U.S., NPR reports.

Separately, on October 21 U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín barred Homeland Security officers in nine states from field operations aimed at people they know or should suspect are citizens, or based only on USCIS data matches, writing that the effort likely violates the Voting Rights Act's ban on voter intimidation. DHS said it has "no plans to question or investigate people we believe to be U.S. citizens." The order runs through election night unless it is appealed.