US midterms: Democrats seize Congress in thundering midterm rebuke of Trump

Follow our live coverage here.WASHINGTON – Riding an overwhelming tide of voter angst, Democrats swept into power in Congress, with outrage over the cost of living and the war in Iran leading to a thundering rebuke of President Donald Trump and his party just two years after his dominant White House comeback.In a seismic political shift that seemed unlikely even a few months ago, Democrats’ strength suggested a breakdown of the coalition that delivered Trump a second term even after he beseeched the electorate to vote as if he were on the ballot.Trump told The New York Times in an interview that he was “absolutely willing to accept those results” and was prepared to work with Democrats.“We’ll, you know, look forward to working with them,” he said. “We’ll probably work something out.”The Democrats’ rout puts cracks in an electoral map that had calcified under profound polarisation.They flipped Senate seats in Republican bastions, including South Carolina, Texas and Kansas – places some strategists had dismissed as out of reach for the party for at least a generation.They racked up wins in competitive House races in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and New Jersey. The wave even crashed across governors’ mansions and state legislatures.It was the kind of midterm electoral romp neither party has enjoyed in two decades, snapping the full Republican rule in Washington.The results leave Trump far more hemmed in than he was in the first two years of his second term, when Republican control of Congress left few checks on his power.Some of the night’s most stunning losses for the Republican Party were notched by candidates Trump personally anointed.In the Texas Senate race, Democrat James Talarico beat Republican Attorney-General Ken Paxton to score the party’s first statewide win in more than 30 years.And in South Carolina, Senator Darline Graham, who was appointed to a US Senate seat after her brother Lindsey Graham’s death, came up short in her quest for a full six-year term against Democrat Annie Andrews.“This is a disaster almost entirely of Trump’s making,” said Democratic strategist David Axelrod. “Voters are angry about costs and angry about the choices he made that helped drive them up. And beyond that, several of his weak, hand-picked candidates apparently have lost tonight.”In other cases, Republican incumbents in deep red states seemed ill-prepared to fend off challengers.Kansas Senator Roger Marshall lost to Democrat Adam Hamilton, a pastor and moderate with strong name recognition in the state.And in Ohio, Senator Jon Husted was defeated by former senator Sherrod Brown after struggling to overcome voter anger over data centres and a drag from a negative campaign ad aired by the state’s Republican gubernatorial candidate.In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed became the first Muslim elected to the US Senate in the face of repeated attacks from Trump, who labeled him a “jihadist”.Even Republican Senator Susan Collins in Maine, who previously held her seat in a blue state, was unable to hang on and conceded to Democrat Troy Jackson.Newfound powerJubilant Democrats were quick to declare a turning point in Washington.“There is now a generational remake of the Senate map that is going to change America,” said Chuck Schumer, the party’s Senate minority leader. “Americans voted for change, and now Democrats must deliver.”Still, they must grapple with how to wield their newfound power, navigating a divide in the party over whether to prioritize oversight of Trump and his allies or to focus more on policymaking, especially on affordability issues.There are also deep divisions between progressives and establishment figures that could make it difficult for Democratic leaders to keep their caucus united.House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries took a victory lap at an election night party.He previewed a focus on affordability and investigations for House Democrats, saying they would “fight to reverse these painful Medicaid cuts” and “bring accountability to those who have visited unprecedented corruption”.From the White House, Trump immediately sought to deflect blame, declaring “we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE” if he’d been on the ballot.He spent the weeks leading up to Election Day at rallies in Republican strongholds, imploring his supporters to turn out but also frustrating many in his party with rhetorical detours about Husted’s physique and plans for a White House ballroom.A key question now is how Trump will respond to his party’s defeat.The president said he would accept the results, but has spent years falsely arguing that he won the 2020 presidential race and used his levers of power to try to challenge the outcome of certain races before polls were even closed.Republicans will also face tough choices about how to approach the next two years, with their numbers diminished at the Capitol and Trump’s power dwindling.The outcome is a setback for many in the party who have backed Trump in his trade agenda, his war with Iran and his efforts to remake Washington and the White House, despite deep disapproval from the public.Key pickupsIn the House, Democrats’ key pickups included former Navy helicopter pilot Rebecca Bennett, who defeated Republican Tom Kean Jr in a closely contested New Jersey seat after the incumbent spent months largely out of public view.State-level contests also featured striking wins for Democrats.Republican Governor Greg Abbott of Texas lost his re-election bid to Democrat Gina Hinojosa.In Ohio, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton defeated Trump ally Vivek Ramaswamy. And in Georgia, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms became the first Black woman to be elected governor of a US state.Democrats also flipped seats in state legislatures, breaking supermajorities in Indiana and South Carolina and flipping control of the Wisconsin state Senate.Ahead of the election, polling suggested Democrats made gains with key constituencies that backed or moved toward Trump in 2024, including rural voters in states like Iowa and Kansas and Latino voters in states like Arizona and Florida.Throughout 2026, Trump sought to create a more favourable playing field for his party, including pushing Republican-led states to redraw congressional districts in the hope of creating more Republican-leaning seats.But that effort led to a number of Democratic-led states taking similar steps. It was not immediately clear if either side was advantaged.The president has also repeated baseless claims of widespread election fraud and tried to increase federal government control over voting, including an aggressive push to curb mail-in voting and suing states to try to get voter records, which his Justice Department has continued to pursue despite pushback from the courts.To fight their electoral headwinds, Republicans had an enormous financial advantage in what was on pace to be the most expensive election ever. Much of their money came from Trump’s super political action committee and from Elon Musk, who spent heavily in Texas to prop up Paxton.In the closing weeks of the race, Trump hit the road aggressively after months of staying largely on the sidelines.He tried a range of tactics, including arguing to his supporters that they needed to vote like he was on the ballot, as well as promising sweeteners, including US$5,000 (S$6,400) checks to every American if Republicans held both chambers.Economic strainEconomic strain among voters has been a defining theme of the midterms – and that frustration spilled out at the ballot box.“This election was a lesson in political gravity,” said Republican strategist Kevin Madden. “When voters’ top concerns are inflation and affordability, and you answer those concerns with tariffs, a trade war, and a war with Iran that exacerbates those worries, you lose elections.”According to The Voter Poll, a comprehensive survey conducted by the Associated Press and SSRS, about three-quarters of midterm voters said they felt “angry” or “dissatisfied” with the direction of the country under Trump.While US employers have been adding jobs, the unemployment rate is low and overall economic growth accelerated ahead of the election, inflation and borrowing costs have also picked up, frustrating many Americans hoping for relief from rising prices and diminishing affordability.The start of 2026 had offered hope.Petrol was at a multiyear low and price pressures had eased. But the Iran war sent energy costs surging and rekindled inflation.Key gauges now show that consumer prices have been rising faster than pay for six straight months, households are saving less, and mortgage rates are around their highest levels since 2023.That has helped send Trump’s approval rating to record lows, as voters judged his administration to be doing little to rein in the cost of living.Groceries and gas were particular pain points, though voters also expressed deep concern about the expense of healthcare, especially in states with aging populations.A weekly Morning Consult poll of registered voters updated on Nov 1 showed 69% of respondents said making healthcare more affordable should be a top priority for the Trump administration, while 57% said the same of housing costs.The poll also showed respondents trusted Democrats more than Republicans on both issues by margins of at least 15 points.Reordering of WashingtonThe results will quickly set off a reordering in Washington as Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill select their leaders and prepare for the new Congress in January.While Democrats will continue to debate how much focus to put on investigations of Trump, more oversight efforts are undoubtedly coming for the president, members of his team and perhaps their allies outside of government.And Republicans will have to determine if they see any advantage in working across the aisle on shared priorities, like efforts aimed at easing the cost-of-living burden.More immediately, they’ll need to decide how to approach the coming lame-duck session, which offers a last window to push through legislation or confirm judicial appointments under full Republican control.Whatever happens on Capitol Hill, Trump will likely continue to seek ways to flex executive power and barrel ahead on the projects he perceives as burnishing his legacy. BLOOMBERG