2026 midterm elections live updates: Democrats regain control of the Senate with Iowa flip

The midterm elections aren’t over yet, but you can already see 2028 fault lines emerging.

Vice President JD Vance has been out on the campaign trail as much as President Donald Trump and is the Republican National Committee’s finance chairman, a major fundraising position. That’s obvious.

But Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has been out imploring Republicans to vote, especially in Texas, warning that the early voting numbers would swamp not just Ken Paxton but virtually the whole statewide GOP ticket. Getting Paxton elected to the Senate has been a major Cruz priority. Either way, he will become the state’s senior senator and clearly has 2028 ambitions. He was runner-up to Trump a decade ago.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) distanced himself from the Iran war ahead of the midterm elections. While he offered the war and the resulting spike in gasoline prices, he’s also creating a lane for himself in the 2028 primaries. He was the hero of the 2022 midterm elections when the red wave otherwise sputtered, but wasn’t able to capitalize against Trump in 2024.

On the Democratic side, how the socialist and socialist-adjacent candidates perform in competitive Senate races — mainly Michigan, Maine, and Minnesota, with Florida always being more of a long shot — will be important to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) if she decides to run for president. Democrats who have positioned themselves as centrists, whether they really are or not, are faring better as Senate candidates despite running in redder states. In that vein, Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) are topping the 2028 Democratic field in a super-early Atlas Intel poll.

With Democrat Abdul el Sayed’s victory in Michigan’s Senate race, Democrats have picked up at least 54 seats in the Senate in the midterm elections.

There are four Senate races yet to be called, as of 2:40 a.m.: Montana, Nebraska, Mississippi, and Alaska.

The Washington Examiner will conclude its live coverage of the 2026 midterm elections and will continue coverage Wednesday morning.

The Associated Press called Michigan’s Senate race for Abdul el Sayed at 2:27 a.m. on Wednesday morning, making history as the first Muslim elected to the upper chamber.

El Sayed, who garnered 52% with 85% of the vote counted, defeated Republican Mike Rogers, who received 46% of the vote at the time of the race call.

El Sayed declared victory earlier in the night, telling a crowd of his supporters, “We did it.”

“This movement is for money out of politics, money in your pocket, and Medicare for all. I just want to thank you, everybody who knocked a door, made a call, sent a dollar, posted a story, and most important, gave us your stake in democracy,” el Sayed said.

Democratic former smokejumper Sam Forstag defeated Republican Aaron Flint in Montana’s 1st Congressional District, flipping the seat blue.

Forstag garnered 53.99% of the vote compared to Flint, who won 43.33% of the vote, according to Decision Desk, which called the race at 2:04 a.m. on Wednesday. Local ABC FOX affiliate reported that Forstag said Flint called his campaign to concede the race Wednesday.

The race to replace retiring Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) was forecast as a toss-up by the Cook Political Report. The district had voted for Trump by an over 11-percentage-point margin in 2024.

The Associated Press has called Michigan’s governor race for Democrat Jocelyn Benson over Republican John James, while the outlet has not called the state’s Senate race.

Benson garnered 53.61% of the vote compared to James, who garnered 44.66% of the vote, with 80.5% of the vote counted, according to the Associated Press, which called the race at 1:45 a.m. on Wednesday.

At around 2 a.m., the outlet had not called Michigan’s Senate race with 80.7% of the vote counted, while Democrat Abdul el Sayed had 51.72% of the vote, compared to Republican Mike Rogers’ 46.28%.

El Sayed declared victory Wednesday morning, while the outlet had not called the race, nor had Rogers conceded the race.

Former President Barack Obama released a statement on Wednesday morning celebrating Democrats’ “clear message” sent on election night.

“Tonight, the American people sent a clear message — they want a politics that brings people together rather than divides them, and leaders who offer concrete solutions to the challenges they face,” Obama wrote.

The former president, who stumped for Democrats across the country this midterm season, said it was Democrats’ candidate quality that pushed them to victory.

“These results were only possible because outstanding candidates stepped forward in every region of the country — including in areas once considered long shots,” Obama said. “They came from different backgrounds and represented a range of political perspectives, but were united by shared values, a belief in public service, and a commitment to putting the people of their districts and states first.”

Michigan’s Democratic Senate candidate Abdul el Sayed declared victory in the Wolverine State on Wednesday morning at around 1:30 a.m.. The Associated Press has not yet called the race, and Republican Mike Rogers has not conceded.

“We did it!” El Sayed declared at his campaign’s celebration party.

Just after 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday, el Sayed had 51.83% of the vote, according to the outlet, with 78.2% of the vote counted. Rogers had 46.19% of the vote.

“I am so proud and honored to stand here as your senator-elect in the great state of Michigan,” el Sayed declared.

Just before el Sayed declared victory, both his watch party and Rogers’s watch party were thinning out, as pundits expected the race to not be called overnight.

House Democratic leadership declared victory before midnight Tuesday as it secured a majority in the lower chamber, celebrating what shaped up to be a historic night for Democrats as the party crossed the 218-seat threshold.

Democrats are celebrating their victories in competitive races, as well as races not on the radar, and not a single incumbent has lost reelection as of midnight. They’ll have control of both chambers of Congress for the last two years of President Donald Trump’s term.

“The American people have spoken and made clear they’ve had enough of the extremism, enough of the corruption,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said at a press conference Tuesday night. “They want a Congress that’s going to deliver for the American people, and that is exactly what House Democrats will do as soon as we get into office in January. We understand, as House Democrats, that life is way too expensive in this great country of ours.”

Jeffries was introduced as “Speaker Jeffries,” and those at his election night watch party roared when he took the stage, hours after the drinks flowed from the open bar amid an energetic crowd of activists and staff.

“Hakeem Jeffries is the right person in this moment, and he is the right leader and we are going to be so very proud in just a few weeks, when we get to say ‘Hakeem Jeffries is the Speaker of the House,’” said House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA).

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Iowa’s three competitive House districts have fallen to Democrats as Democrat Sen.-elect Josh Turek and Gov.-elect Rob Sand flipped the state blue at the top of the statewide ticket.

Iowa’s toss-up open 2nd Congressional District went for Democrat Lindsay James over Republican Joe Mitchell, while both Democrats Christina Bohannan and Sarah Trone Garriott won in the state’s leans Democrat 1st and 3rd districts, respectively.

Republican Chris McGowan held onto Iowa’s open, solid Republican seat in the 4th District.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) has conceded the Maine Senate race to Democrat Troy Jackson, reflecting on her 30 years in the upper chamber as an “honor.”

“It has been the honor of my life to serve the people of Maine in the United States Senate. I’m proud of all I have been able to accomplish for our state and for our country in the past 30 years,” Collins said, per Punchbowl News.

The Associated Press has not yet called the race, though as of just before 1 a.m., Jackson led with 53% of the vote, while Collins had 46.93%, with 72.3% of the vote counted.

“I called Troy Jackson tonight to congratulate him and to assure him that my staff and I will work to ensure a smooth transition,” Collins said.

Alaska’s polling locations closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday local time, or 1 a.m. Eastern on Wednesday, closing out Election Day voting.

The closure marks the end of in-person voting in the 2026 midterm elections, although ballot counting and reporting will continue nationwide.

Alaska’s Senate contest is among the most consequential remaining races, with Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) facing a challenge from former Rep. Mary Peltola. The governor’s race and the state’s lone House seat are also being closely watched.

The race has attracted national headlines as a civil and criminal investigation unfolds over the presence of a different Dan Sullivan on the ballot, who was allegedly recruited by Peltola and Democratic leadership to syphon votes away from the Republican incumbent of the same name.

The investigation into “Decoy Dan” could delay the Senate election results. 

Democratic Bucks County commissioner Bob Harvie has unseated Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) in Pennsylvania’s 1st congressional district, flipping the seat blue.

Harvie won the race with 52.7% of the vote, according to the Associated Press, which called the race at 12:37 a.m., with 95% of the vote counted. Fitzpatrick garnered 47.3% of the vote.

Fitzpatrick, who was one of the few House Republicans running without a Trump endorsement, has long attempted to distance himself from Trump in the district. Fitzpatrick had retained his seat since 2019, despite his district voting for former Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Joe Biden, but lost his seat on Wednesday.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) released a statement shortly after midnight on Wednesday to outline the path forward for the Republican caucus following Tuesday’s blue wave for Democrats.

“As we head into 2027, Senate Republicans will not stand idly by as the far-left, socialist wing of the Democrat Party attempts to unwind everything we’ve done. Thankfully, we still have President Trump in the White House, and we’ll work with him to stop the worst impulses of Democrat extremism,” Thune said.

Republicans lost their majority in the Senate with Democrat Josh Turek flipping Iowa’s Senate seat blue. According to the Associated Press as of about 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Democrats hold 52 seats in the Senate, while Republicans have 41.

“We cannot let their fringe positions become the mainstream,” Thune said.

Texas’s Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton congratulated Senator-elect James Talarico on Tuesday evening in his concession speech.

“Let me start off by congratulating James Talarico,” Trump-endorsed Paxton said. “I will commit that I will be praying for him that he will do good for Texas and the nation.”

“We’ve had a difficult night tonight across the country, but it’s not over,” Paxton continued.

Shortly after midnight, Talarico led Paxton by over 11 percentage points. Talarico is the first Democrat the Lone Star state has elected since 1988.

Minnesota Lt. Gov. Penny Flanagan beat former sports broadcaster Michelle Tafoya on Tuesday in the race to succeed Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).

The Associated Press called the race for Flanagan just after midnight, with Flanagan earning 54% support against Tafoya’s 43.3%. About 75% of the votes were counted.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), won the state in the 2024 general election by more than four points against President Donald Trump.

Flanagan led Tafoya in every poll up until Election Day but never by more than five points. That lead had shrunk to just three in surveys published in mid-October when the Cook Political Report moved the race in the Republican Party’s favor. Prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket both still gave Flanagan a nearly 90% chance of winning at the end of October.

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