United States: In a stinging rejection of Trump, US voters gave control of the Congress to the Democrats, letting a blue wave sweep through America.
Routing the Grand Old Party (GOP), Democrats won both the House and the Senate, in an election that was widely seen as a referendum on Donald Trump.
Trump's handling of the economy, voter frustration over rising living costs and concerns regarding the war with Iran were all factors that played into giving Democrats the decisive victory in the midterms.
With most of the results being called so far, Democrats have won 54 Senate seats and 234 House seats as opposed to the 44 Senate seats and 139 House seats won by the Republican party.
Two Senate seats - Alaska and Mississippi - and 62 House seats are yet to be called, as reported by the Associated Press.
All 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 35 of the 100 Senate seats and 36 gubernatorial posts were contested in the midterms.
Democrats swept through the midterms, flipping seven states and making inroads into deep-red states.
In a seismic shift in Texas, Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton, becoming the first from his party to be sent by the state to the Senate since 1988.
In Kansas, Democrat Adam Hamilton defeated Republican Roger Marshall, marking the first instance of the state sending a Democratic representative to the Senate in 94 years.
In South Carolina, Democrat Annie Andrews defeated Republican Darline Graham, the first instance of the state sending a Democratic representative to the Senate since 1998. Graham is the sister of late Republican leader Lindsay Graham.
In Maine, Democrat Troy Jackson defeated five time senator Susan Collins, in another significant victory.
In Iowa, Democrat Josh Turek defeated Republican Ashley Hinson and in North Carolina, Democrat Roy Cooper defeated Republican Michael Watley.
Democrats also made gains in gubernatorial contests.
Amy Acton defeated Trump-backed Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio, while Aaron Ford defeated incumbent Republican Joe Lombardo in Nevada. David Crowley was projected to win the Wisconsin governor's race.
The elections also saw Keisha Lance Bottoms win Georgia's governorship and Deb Haaland secure the top post in New Mexico.
The midterm elections also delivered a series of historic firsts by electing a Black female governor, a Native American governor, and a senator. Here is a snapshot of the landmark outcomes of the elections:
Even though he was not on the ballot, President Donald Trump urged Americans to vote as if he were.
And voting indeed they did, delivering a resounding blow to the President's party.
In one of his first official comments, Trump appeared reluctant to accept the defeat, saying that had he been on the ballot, Republicans would have won by a landslide. The remarks were made in a post on Truthsocial.
Later, the president said that he will accept the results of the midterm elections and is prepared to work with Democrats.
"I am absolutely willing to accept those results... We'll work with the Democrats, and we'll, you know, look forward to working with them. We'll probably work something out," Trump told The New York Times in an interview.
In a phone-in interview with The Wall Street Journal, Trump, in addition, acknowledged that the war with Iran was partly to blame for the Republican losses in midterms.
Vice President J D Vance offered a detailed assessment, saying the war was the principal reason for the party's defeat.
In a lengthy post on X, Vance said Republican turnout had not been the main problem. Instead, he argued that many voters who supported Trump and Vance in 2024 switched to Democratic candidates in 2026.
One of the things the data analysts on our side obsessed over was "composition"—whether the electorate looked close enough to 2024 for Republicans to win. And despite polls that showed a Democrat blowout, the data kept on telling us the same story: in some states turnout was merely OK, in other states it was downright amazing, and in no state was it catastrophic. There was a genuine sense of optimism on our team: our people were showing up. So, I asked the smartest data guy I know, does that mean we're going to shock the world? "No," he told me. "We might do better than the polls suggest. But the data is telling us that a lot of Trump/Vance 2024 voters are pissed and planning to vote for the other guys. Our voters are turning out, but they may not vote for us."Well, that looks prophetic now. Our voters did show up. In Florida, for example, the electorate was 9 points more Republican than Democrat, just a couple points worse than 2024. Undoubtedly there were places we could have done better on turnout. But the main problem is not turnout. The main problem is that many people who voted for Trump/Vance in 2024 voted for Democrats in 2026. There will be a lot of infighting and arguing over what happened and why that is. One of the pollsters I really respect told me that our economic messaging wasn’t sharp enough down the stretch. I’m sure that’s true. But the real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone. Another pollster—one of the smartest people I know in politics, told me yesterday we’d lose the generic ballot by 13 points. I felt negative going into Tuesday, but even I was shocked by this. In his polling, he saw that a lot of Trump 2024 voters were angry and planning to vote for Democrats. He asked those voters who had abandoned us what would cause them to come back on our team. The top four answers, accounting for nearly all of the responses were:1) End the war2) Focus on cost of living/inflation3) Put America First4) Change our relationship to IsraelOur voters showed up. And the above four reasons are why many of them voted for Democrats. This is according to a pollster who nailed the results. While many spent Monday attacking Rachel Campos Duffy for calling for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict, it turns out her political advice was sound. (She’s also a great person.)In the next few months, there's going to be a lot of gaslighting. Expect to hear any number of establishment politicians say the solution to our woes is amnesty. I'm open to the idea that we should change enforcement—by focusing more on businesses that hire illegal labor, for instance. But anyone pushing amnesty is lying to you. The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night. If you'd like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that's at least honest.But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there.I remain hopeful about our country. To the people who are pissed off and want to say, “I told you so”: you’re right, you did tell us so. Take that energy into electing Republicans who share your worldview. To the people who are just pissed at the results, you should be. Let’s take that anger and get back to the work of saving our country.
He identified the war, inflation, demands to prioritise domestic interests and US relations with Israel as major concerns among disaffected voters.
The war with Iran was one of the key factors that weighed heavy in the minds of voters in the recently concluded midterms.
However, Iran's supreme leader Khamenei said those who think partisan changes in the United States can change its hostility toward the Islamic Republic are “gravely mistaken.”
In a letter shared on his social media account, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who hasn't been seen publicly since the war began in late February, said: “If there are still those who harbour even a slight hope for a change in behaviour or partisan and factional shifts within the system of domination, or who imagine that by giving concessions to America they can dissuade it from hostility toward the Iranian nation, they are gravely mistaken.”
The results featured celebratory moments for several Indian-American leaders.
Several Indian-Americans including Aruna Miller, Pia Dandiya, Pramila Jayapal, Suhas Subramanyam, Ami Bera, and Ro Khanna, secured key victories in the midterm elections.
Indian-American candidates win key seats in US midterms. Photo: Handout via PTI
Most opinion polls said that the rising cost of living is the biggest issue on people's mind this election time.
Issues such as inflation, the economy, immigration, and healthcare were also likely to influence how Americans voted.
The war with Iran is also a key factor that determined the results of midterms.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris welcomed the results, saying voters had rejected the conduct of the Trump administration and Republican leadership. She urged elected Democrats to focus on economic relief for working families and government accountability.
Republican leaders, meanwhile, began assessing the scale of their losses. Senator Ted Cruz warned that Democratic control of Congress could lead to investigations and impeachment proceedings targeting Trump and senior administration officials.
The election results also drew international reactions, with China signalling its willingness to continue cooperation with Washington and Iranian leaders linking the Republican defeat to public opposition to the war.
US stock markets rallied following the results, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising more than 1,100 points at Wednesday's opening bell.
The Democratic takeover of Congress is expected to create significant challenges for Trump's administration, particularly over legislation, government spending and congressional investigations.
Although several individual races remained uncalled as of Wednesday evening, the broader outcome had become clear, with Democrats securing control of both chambers and making substantial gains in state-level contests.
The new Congress will take office in January 2027, beginning a period of divided government in Washington as Trump enters the final two years of his presidency.
(With inputs from PTI, AP via PTI, ANI)