Key points

  • Democrats have secured at least 51 seats in the US Senate, enough for a majority, according to Associated Press projections reported by Al Jazeera — with a handful of races still being counted.
  • The majority rests on six Republican-held seats changing hands: North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Ohio, Iowa and Kansas, Agence France-Presse and USA Today report.
  • Democrats had already been projected to retake the House, so the Senate call gives the party control of both chambers of Congress and ends the Republican trifecta won in 2024.
  • The calls are media projections, not certified results: the new senators take their seats in January 2027, and the exact size of the majority is not yet known.

Democrats have taken control of the United States Senate, completing a midterm sweep that hands the party both chambers of Congress. The Democratic Party has regained control of the upper chamber, according to Associated Press projections reported by Al Jazeera, which put the party at at least 51 seats in the 100-seat chamber — enough for a majority, with a handful of races still being counted. Hours earlier, the same party had been projected to retake the House of Representatives, a call this site reported in the morning. Read more: Democrats projected to retake the US House in midterm wave, as Senate control stays undecided

The six seats that changed hands

The Senate had been projected to be harder to flip than the House, Al Jazeera notes, given that only about a third of seats are contested at a time — and this cycle saw 35 Senate races, including two special elections. Democrats needed a net gain of four seats to take the chamber from a Republican majority of 53–47, Al Jazeera reports, and they won six. In North Carolina, former governor Roy Cooper beat Michael Whatley, and in South Carolina, paediatrician Annie Andrews beat Darline Graham — the first Democratic Senate win in South Carolina since 1998, Al Jazeera reports. In Texas, state legislator James Talarico beat Attorney General Ken Paxton, in a state where a Democrat had not won a statewide election since 1994, Al Jazeera reports. In Ohio, Sherrod Brown beat incumbent Jon Husted, and in Kansas, pastor Adam Hamilton beat incumbent Roger Marshall — the first Democrat elected to the Senate from Kansas since 1932, Al Jazeera and Agence France-Presse report. Agence France-Presse counts Kansas and Iowa as the fifth and sixth Republican-held seats to fall, with Josh Turek beating Ashley Hinson in Iowa, USA Today reports.

Democrats also defended the seats they could not afford to lose. Jon Ossoff won re-election in Georgia, Al Jazeera reports, and Chris Pappas won the open seat in New Hampshire, USA Today reports — a win that makes Pappas the first openly gay man elected to the Senate. In Minnesota, Peggy Flanagan is set to become the first Native American woman elected to the Senate, USA Today reports.

The United States Capitol building in Washington, DC
The United States Capitol in Washington, DC, photographed in August 2007, a file photo. Photo: Gryffindor / Wikimedia Commons (public domain). Source file · Licence

What control of both chambers means

The result ends the Republican trifecta achieved in the 2024 election, Al Jazeera reports, when the party won the Senate, the House and the presidency together. Agence France-Presse reports that control of both chambers gives Democrats the power to block President Donald Trump's agenda and to investigate alleged corruption during the last two years of his presidency. In a victory speech after the Senate was called, Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said the party had beaten the odds by listening to voters on the issues that mattered most to them, USA Today reports. President Trump responded on social media that Republicans would have won had he been on the ballot, USA Today reports, while Al Jazeera's live blog reports that he also said in part that Iran was a reason for the heavy Republican losses.

The key figures

Key figures
MeasureFigureSource
Senate balance before the election53–47, RepublicanAl Jazeera
Net Senate gains Democrats neededFourAl Jazeera
Senate seats projected for DemocratsAt least 51Associated Press, via Al Jazeera
Republican-held seats flippedSix: North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Ohio, Iowa, KansasAl Jazeera; Agence France-Presse; USA Today
Senate races contested35Al Jazeera
New senators take their seatsJanuary 2027People

What happens next

What happens next is, first, counting. Votes are still being counted across the country, Al Jazeera's live blog reports, and the Associated Press tally carried by APA puts Democrats at 51 seats and Republicans at 39, with the remaining races still to be called. Only after state counts are certified will the exact size of the Democratic majority be known for certain. As People notes, the party must now elect a majority leader to succeed John Thune, and the new senators' terms will run through January 2033.

The United States Capitol building nearly complete in 1863
The Capitol building in Washington, DC, nearly complete in a photograph taken just days after the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, a historic file photo. Photo: Wikimedia Commons (public domain). Source file · Licence

For the president, the election was the first nationwide verdict on the first two years of his second term. A Democratic Congress does not end his presidency — he can still veto legislation, as this site's House coverage noted — but it ends the period in which his party controlled both chambers, and it opens two years in which every spending bill, every investigation and every confirmation fight will be negotiated across a divide.

Updates & corrections

Published 4 November 2026.

Senate control is a media projection (Associated Press) at the time of publication, not a certified result; counting continues and the exact size of the majority is not yet known. The House projection is covered separately. No corrections have been made.

Sources

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