Democrats seize both chambers as record number of women win governorships
Voters rejected the Iran conflict and high gas prices, handing Democrats their largest House majority in two decades and a record 17 female governors.
By Anthony Shevchenko ·
Democrats captured full control of the U.S. Congress on Tuesday, winning both the Senate and the House of Representatives in a sweeping midterm election. The party flipped four key Senate seats and expanded its House majority to its largest size in nearly 20 years.
Republicans entered the vote with a 53 to 47 Senate advantage and a 219 to 214 House lead. All 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats were contested. Early results showed Democrats overtaking the GOP in battleground states, including Texas, Ohio, South Carolina, and North Carolina.
The shift in power was driven by a wave of female candidates. Voters in 17 states elected women to the governorship, setting a national record. This total includes 10 projected Democratic women and three Republican women. Keisha Lance Bottoms of Georgia becomes the first Black female governor in U.S. history, while Gina Hinojosa takes the top office in Texas.
President Donald Trump acknowledged the impact of the ongoing Iran conflict on the election results in an interview with Fox News. He stated that the war led to a not that pleasant evening, noting that voters were unwilling to accept higher gasoline prices in the short term. Trump argued that history would judge his actions on Iran positively despite the immediate political cost.
Abdul El-Sayed won the Senate seat in Michigan, becoming the first Muslim elected to the chamber. The 42-year-old epidemiologist defeated former Representative Mike Rogers. El-Sayed overcame a final endorsement by former primary rival Haley Stevens for Rogers. A Republican has not held a Senate seat in Michigan since 1994.
In the House, Democrats will start the next congressional session with a majority that NBC News projects is the largest in nearly two decades. This gain follows a night where stock futures dropped, a move attributed by observers to the Democratic threat to the AI and data center boom.
Several races remained unclosed close to 2 a.m. Eastern Time, including a contest in Oregon. The previous record for female governors serving simultaneously was 14, a number briefly reached last year after the 2025 election cycle.
