Democrats’ ‘blue wave’ wrests congressional control from Republicans in resounding rebuke of Trump

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - American voters -- distressed by soaring costs, an unpopular war and a president who often appears more concerned with White House renovations and vanity projects -- delivered a resounding rebuke of the Republican party Tuesday night (Nov. 3).

In a critical midterm election seen by many as a referendum on President Trump’s second term, voters stripped control of both chambers of Congress from Republicans and returned Democrats to the majority in the US House and Senate. The outcome puts stronger guardrails on Trump’s final two years in office and opens the president and his political allies to months of potential new investigations and hearings.

Democrats surged with victories both expected and unexpected across the country, including stunning captures of Senate seats by James Talarico in Texas, Annie Andrews in South Carolina, Sherrod Brown in Ohio and Adam Hamilton in Kansas.

As of 11:30 p.m., Democrats held a 194-115 edge in the House, with 126 races still to be called. Their Senate advantage was at 52-40 with eight races still to be called. Democrats were projected to hold significant advantages in both chambers when the dust finally settles.

Only twice in the last 50 years has control of both chambers of Congress changed hands in the same cycle. It happened to Republicans just two years after Trump won every swing state in defeating vice president Kamala Harris to win his second term.

“Americans will break the MAGA extremism,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told a Democratic committee luncheon in Washington D.C., according to Politico.com . “We are on the verge of ending this nightmare.”

Jeffries now is poised to become the first Black Speaker of the House in the nation’s history.

Trump made his final appeal to voters Monday evening in an address in front of the Reflecting Pool at the National Mall.

“Our country is doing great. I think it’s the greatest we’ve ever done,” Trump declared. “We had a great first term, in terms of the economy. We had the best term ever. We had the most successful economy.”

But even in that appearance, Trump focused less on the election ahead and more on the appearance of the Reflecting Pool, one of his pet renovation and construction projects in Washington D.C. that has included a teardown of the White House’s East Wing for a ballroom and plans to build a triumphal arch and remake a golf course in the nation’s capital.

None of the projects have generated much public support as Americans struggle with higher grocery and fuel costs Democrats successfully linked to Trump’s tariffs, trade battles and war with Iran.

The president defiantly posted to his Truth Social that Tuesday’s electoral outcome would have been different, if only he had been on the ballot.

“If I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!” Trump posted.

A look at the country’s key races

The battle for control is playing out mostly in states and districts Trump previously won by wide margins.

All eyes are on Senate contests in Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Ohio and Texas. House battlegrounds are scattered across the country.

Among the nation’s most notable early results:

• The Associated Press projected Democrat James Talarico to win the U.S. Senate seat in Texas, defeating Ken Paxton. Trump supported Paxton over incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn in the primary. Texas had not elected a Democrat to a statewide office since 1994.
• Incumbent Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff (D) easily defeated Republican challenger Mike Collins to win re-election. Ossoff, 39, has positioned himself as a rising star in the Democratic party and potential presidential candidate as early as 2028.
• Dr. Annie Andrews (D) upset Darline Graham (R) in their South Carolina Senate race. Trump’s preferred choice Graham was appointed to the seat after the death of her brother, longtime South Carolina senator Lindsay Graham. Trump won the state by 18 points in 2024.
• CNN projects Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) wins the Georgia governor’s race. She becomes the nation’s first Black female governor.
• CNN also projects Democrat Amy Acton defeated Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in the very combative Ohio governor’s race.
• Former two-term governor Roy Cooper flipped the first Senate seat of the night for Democrats, defeating Republican Michael Whatley in North Carolina to replace the retiring Thom Tillis. Cooper is the state’s first Democrat to be elected senator since 2008.
• Rep. Chris Pappas (D) toppled former Sen. John E. Sununu in the New Hampshire Senate race, becoming the first openly gay man elected to the US Senate.
• The Associated Press called the Florida governor’s race for Republican Byron Donalds (50.05%) over Republican-turned-Democrat David Jolly (48.68%). Donalds becomes the first Black governor in Florida’s history.
• Republicans expected to pick up four congressional seats in Florida through a gerrymander. But Democrats Jared Moskowitz, Pia Dandiya and Kathy Castor have won three of those redrawn district seats already, according to CNN analysis.
• Republican Ashley Moody was projected to save Florida’s US Senate seat for the GOP, defeating DSA Democrat Angie Nixon by a 51-48 percent margin.
• Democrat Adam Hamilton is projected to win the U.S. Senate seat for Kansas, the Associated Press reported. He will be the first Democrat from Kansas to hold the seat in 94 years.

Affordability tops voters’ concerns

Only 17% of U.S. adults approve of Trump’s handling of the cost of living, according to a recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Just 26% approved of Trump’s handling of the economy overall, a new low for the president.

Many voters have linked their higher costs of living to Trump’s affinity for tariffs, trade conflicts with longtime allies, and an eight-month war with Iran that has cost at least 21 American lives.

The Iran conflict has cost the U.S. an estimated $47.1 billion and caused the national average for a gallon of gasoline to jump from $2.98 in February to $4.29. Diesel prices have spiked even higher, from $3.67 to $6.52 per gallon, according to industry trackers. Similar jumps in jet fuel costs have placed additional pressure on the aviation industry and consumers’ wallets.

The next lame duck?

Presidents from both major parties have been relegated to lame-duck status after tough midterm election returns. But rarely has a president led his party into the midterms with Trump’s historically low approval rating (30-37 percent in most polls). Only Democrat Harry Truman (33 percent approval rating before the 1946 midterms) comes close, resulting in a Republican landslide that gave the GOP control of both chambers for the first time since 1928.

Fox 8 political analyst Mike Sherman said, “Republicans have had tremendous headwinds in this race, from affordability being the top issue for most Americans, fuel prices as part of that issue, to unpopular foreign wars, to a president who’s in the mid-30s in his approval rating right now.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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