Democrats Projected to Win Control of U.S. House in Midterm Elections
CNN and Decision Desk HQ projected Tuesday night that Democrats will retake the House of Representatives, while control of the Senate remained undecided as votes continued to be counted in western states.
Democrats will win control of the U.S. House of Representatives, CNN and Decision Desk HQ projected Tuesday night, returning the chamber to Democratic hands for the final two years of President Donald Trump’s term.
The size of the Democratic majority was still unclear late Tuesday, with many races in western states uncalled and votes still being counted.
Democrats picked up seats across the map. In New Jersey, Democrat Rebecca Bennett, a former U.S. Navy helicopter pilot, defeated Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr. in the 7th Congressional District, according to projections from multiple outlets. In Kentucky, former federal prosecutor Zach Dembo defeated Republican Ralph Alvarado in a central Kentucky district that had been in Republican hands since 2012 and that Trump won by 15 percentage points in 2024, according to CNN and Decision Desk HQ.
Senate control still undecided
The Senate remained undecided late Tuesday. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to erase the Republican 53-47 advantage. Democrats won Senate races in Georgia, North Carolina and New Hampshire, USA Today reported, and Democratic challenger Annie Andrews defeated Republican Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina, a seat Democrats had not won since 1998, according to Decision Desk HQ and NBC News. Races in Kansas, Texas, Ohio and Michigan were still tight.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, who won reelection Tuesday, told USA Today that if Democrats take the chamber, Congress will act as a check on the Trump administration and pursue an agenda on affordability, Medicaid cuts and ending the war in Iran. If elected speaker, Jeffries would be the first Black speaker in American history, USA Today reported.
What comes next
Democrats campaigned on serving as a check on the Trump administration, while Trump allies said they feared Democrats would spend two years holding hearings on the actions of the president’s Cabinet, USA Today reported. Polls closed at 10 p.m. ET in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Utah, and counting continued in California and other western states.
Reporting based on coverage by USA Today and Decision Desk HQ.
