Democrats have decisively recaptured majorities in the House and Senate in the midterm elections, riding a "blue wave" that surpassed expectations. As of Wednesday morning, a handful of high-profile races were still too close to call, leaving the final size of the Democratic congressional majorities uncertain.
In the battle for the Senate, Democrats flipped multiple Republican-held seats, including those in Maine, Ohio, Kansas, Iowa, Texas, North Carolina, and South Carolina, while defending open seats in Michigan and New Hampshire. Three Senate races remained uncalled: Mississippi, Alaska, and another GOP-held seat.
The Democratic gains in the House also cleared the 218-seat threshold required to recapture the chamber. However, the exact margin of their majority remained to be determined as votes were still being counted in numerous outstanding races.
The results represented a significant rebuke of former President Donald Trump and the Republican party. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., stated, "The American people reduced the red brick wall to a pile of bricks," and added, "Relief is on the way." Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., vowed that Senate Republicans would work with Trump to oppose "the worst impulses of Democrat extremism."
Former President Trump reacted to the outcomes on social media, initially claiming that Republicans would have won "in a landslide" if he had been on the ballot. He later commented in an interview with Fox News that "the Democrats did a good job" and expressed optimism about working with the incoming Democratic majorities on various issues.