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US midterm elections 2026 live updates: Democrats win Senate control and edge toward House victory

Democrats won control of the Senate in the US midterm elections Tuesday, with initial results showing the party securing shock victories in Texas, Ohio, North and South Carolina, Kansas and Iowa.

✦ Extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting•From 6 sources•1 min read•Updated November 4, 2026, 5:43 AM UTC
Key points
  • Our national political correspondent Shane Goldmacher explains why this wasn’t a surprise, and why it’s one of at least four seats the party needs to win to secure a majority in the Senate.
  • The Democratic Party gained control of Senate, delivering a stinging rebuke to US President Donald Trump and his Republican Party.
  • Former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper celebrated his Senate victory in Raleigh.

Latest results suggest the Democrats are almost certain to win a House majority, having already seized control of the Senate.

Senate and the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections.

Additional details
  • The Democrats flipped their first Senate seat of the night.
  • Democrats celebrate Talarico and Hinojosa's victories, redefining Texas politics after decades of Republican reign.
  • The outcome is widely seen as a rebuke to Trump's Republican Party, which won control of the chamber in 2024.
  • In the first big surprise of election night, Senator Darline Graham, a Republican, lost her seat to a Democratic challenger in South Carolina.

How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →

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Every article behind this summary — 17 articles from 6 outlets

The Guardian WorldNovember 4, 2026, 5:43 AM UTC → The Guardian WorldNovember 4, 2026, 5:28 AM UTC → NYT PoliticsNovember 4, 2026, 5:27 AM UTC → DW NewsNovember 4, 2026, 4:47 AM UTC → France 24November 4, 2026, 4:37 AM UTC → VarietyNovember 4, 2026, 4:37 AM UTC → Al JazeeraNovember 4, 2026, 4:37 AM UTC → Al JazeeraNovember 4, 2026, 4:03 AM UTC → Al JazeeraNovember 4, 2026, 3:56 AM UTC → France 24November 4, 2026, 3:52 AM UTC → Al JazeeraNovember 4, 2026, 3:39 AM UTC → NYT PoliticsNovember 4, 2026, 3:34 AM UTC → Al JazeeraNovember 4, 2026, 3:21 AM UTC → France 24November 4, 2026, 2:46 AM UTC → Al JazeeraNovember 4, 2026, 1:36 AM UTC → France 24November 3, 2026, 7:18 PM UTC → DW NewsNovember 3, 2026, 8:05 AM UTC →

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