Democrats sweep the House and Senate, taking Congress for Trump's final two years and winning deep-red Kansas and South Carolina.
Democrats win Texas and Georgia governorships after campaigning to rein in data centers, briefly pushing NASDAQ 100 futures down 0.5%.
Hakeem Jeffries is positioned to become Speaker with Democrats' 215 called House seats and likely cut a debt-limit or spending deal.
Democrats Take Congress as Voters Rebuke Trump
Democrats took control of Congress in the final midterm of Trump's second term, a sweep that reached states like Kansas and South Carolina they had not expected to contest. The result turned on Trump's unpopularity rather than on persuasion, with most voters who disapproved of him voting Democratic. Hakeem Jeffries will run the House from a majority built in moderate districts, and Democrats won Texas and Georgia on promises to slow the data center build-out.
Takeaways
Democrats sweep Congress in rebuke of Trump. Decision Desk HQ called 215 House seats for Democrats and 127 for Republicans, with 93 outstanding. Jon Ossoff won Georgia, Democrats took Senate seats in Kansas and South Carolina, and Abdul El-Sayed beat Mike Rogers in Michigan, becoming the first Muslim elected to the Senate.
Trump's unpopularity drove the Democratic wave. Ron Brownstein says 62% of national voters disapproved of Trump's performance and 84% of them voted Democratic. Two thirds said his tariffs and economic agenda harmed the economy. In Michigan, 60% disapproved and 81% backed El-Sayed.
Democratic coalition gains stayed narrow. Democrats made only modest gains with white working class voters, slightly larger in the Midwest and Plains. Non-college whites shrink two to three points every four years. Trump's 2024 gains with Latino, Asian-American, black and young male voters were vaporized, though not back to Obama-era levels.
Lame duck ambitions shrink after the rout. Patrick McHenry expects the lame duck to prioritize the National Defense Authorization Act and a continuing resolution, with a permitting reform bill backed by Brian Schatz also possible. He calls the result a repudiation, and notes the fight with Trump produced the largest government shutdown in American history.
Jeffries will govern from moderate districts. Adam Hodge says the new majority is built on moderate districts, and that affordability and health care costs drove the campaign. He expects Jeffries to cut a deal, such as a debt limit extension, to buy breathing room and become a historic Speaker with a comfortable margin.
Data centers became a campaign issue. Democrats won governorships in Texas and Georgia, both epicenters of the data center build-out, and both candidates campaigned on slowing development until rules protect communities. NASDAQ 100 futures fell about half a percent before recovering.
What the result means for 2028
Brownstein says parties of unpopular presidents have lost the White House in 1952, 1968, 2008 and 2024, so Democrats would be favored in 2028 if Trump stays this unpopular, though nothing is guaranteed.
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On this episode 5
Show 1
Winning Michigan in a national environment that is plus 11 or 12 for Democrats is one thing. A more neutral 2028 turns out more culturally conservative non-college voters, and the map looks different.
Democrats have not won a Texas Senate seat since Lloyd Bentsen in 1988, when a quirk of Texas law let him run for vice president and the Senate at once.
Talarico won going away in Texas, where 69% of Latinos disapproved of Trump and most said ICE enforcement has gone too far.