The 2026 midterm elections in the USA ultimately resulted as predicted by the polls. The Democratic Party won critical races across the country, in some places by overwhelming margins. Thus, control of both houses of Congress will be in the hands of Democrats for the next two years.
The strange movements of US President Donald Trump during the election campaign, when looked back today, resemble the struggles of someone about to drown. Trump's recent rallies were like vaudeville shows. While he increased the dose of racist provocations and Islamophobic discourses, he also exhibited strange attitudes and made strange comments on the appearance of his party's male candidates. A situation remotely similar to this has never been seen before in US political history.
On the Democrats' side, despite Trump's efforts to highlight corruption, high cost of living and income inequality, the main issue that left its mark on the election campaign was Israel. This tension reached its peak with the words of former House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi in the podcast she participated in, just a week before the elections. Pelosi has made clear that Democratic members of Congress who criticize Israel will be "shunned" by their counterparts in the party.
A few days later, on the eve of the elections, the Senate race in Michigan suddenly became complicated. Democratic Party primaries Dr. Haley Stevens, who lost to Abdul el-Sayed, went and supported her Republican opponent simply because of al-Sayed's stance on Israel. As a result, the Democratic Party is now divided from top to bottom over what was once considered a minor foreign policy issue.
historical victories
Quite remarkable results emerged from Tuesday's elections. The election of Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia as the first black female governor in US history and the election of Gina Hinojosa in Texas as the state's first elected Hispanic governor were among the most notable victories. Native Americans also broke new ground in the elections. Former US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, who was the first Native American to hold a ministerial seat in the cabinet, won in New Mexico and became the first Native American governor in the country's history. Peggy Flanagan, who won the race in Minnesota, became the first Native American Senator in US history to enter the Senate.
First Muslim senator
The real development that left its mark on the election night when the historical results were obtained was Dr. Abdul el-Sayed won the Senate race in Michigan. This success of Sayed, who was elected the first Muslim senator in US history, is a historical turning point in terms of the representation of Muslims in national politics. On the other hand, this result also carries an important message for the Democratic Party leadership: Sayed's victory clearly shows how the party staff has ignored the changing perspective of the American voters towards Israel for years.
Democrats' intra-party wars
If the Democratic Party leadership refrains from truly embracing Sayed's candidacy, this could quickly break the spell of this overwhelming election victory. All eyes will immediately turn to the internal squabbles that have been a constant source of tension within the party for the past eight years, if not escalating into open hostility. Although Sayed's victory means the presence of a name that will loudly criticize the US's Israel policy in the Senate, the fact that his former opponent in the primary election went and supported the Republican candidate at the last minute will be remembered as a symbol of how poorly the Democratic staff failed to read the social dynamics in the US.
This shameful attitude of the party management by not standing behind Sayed was actually a repetition of the moral collapse they experienced against the US's Israeli policy in 2023-2024, which in a way cost them the presidency. So, will they learn nothing from this painful experience and try to silence Sayed? If they resort to this path, they will squander their electoral success and further destroy the already fragile structure of the party.
Democratic Party staff must now see the impending danger and withdraw their support for the Israeli state's policies of destruction in Gaza, the West Bank and Southern Lebanon. They must understand that the United States can no longer arm, finance, or tacitly condone such policies. If this route change is not made, the 2026 midterm elections will remain nothing more than a Pyrrhic victory, and the "old wolves" of the party will be dragged down the shameful path opened for them by Haley Stevens and towards the Republican Party.
The first item on the Congress agenda in January: Impeachment process
When the Democrats, who have gained the majority in Congress, take their seats in January, the first thing on the agenda will be the dismissal of Trump and his associates. Trump is the only president in US history who has been impeached twice, but no president has ever been unseated as a result of this process. If the Democrats can prepare a solid impeachment file and act as one, which is not easy considering the current ideological divisions and generational conflicts in the party, Trump could go down in history as the first president to be impeached.
In the US system, the power to impeach the president belongs to the House of Representatives, but the final decision on trial and dismissal is made by the Senate. Since Democrats held the majority in the House of Representatives during the 2019-2021 period, they managed to pass the impeachment resolutions against Trump in December 2019 and January 2021. However, Trump was acquitted in both attempts by the Republican-dominated Senate. While a simple majority is sufficient to initiate the impeachment process in the House of Representatives, the Senate must reach a two-thirds majority to remove the president from office.
Starting in January, Democrats will have an overwhelming majority in the House of Representatives, but their Senate seat count will remain at 54 (perhaps 55 or 56). This means they need to convince more than ten Republican senators to remove Trump from office. Although this may seem unlikely at first glance, the Republican Party is also divided within itself as the debates around Trump's policies and the Israel issue have led to ruptures in the party base. Moreover, considering that the name that will replace Trump will be Vice President JD Vance, convincing ten senators to unseat Donald Trump, who has now become a "lame duck", may not be that far-fetched. As a matter of fact, Vance, who maintains his presidential ambitions, got into a 2028 mood as soon as the election results became clear and differentiated himself from Trump's policies by blaming his election defeat on President Trump's war against Iran.
Whether Trump is impeached or not, the next two years will be spent with Congress attempting to hold him to legal account and anyone who has participated in and benefited from his actions since January 2025. Trump has already vowed to veto any bills brought by the Democrats. These harsh mutual stances will bring the legislative and judicial branches into direct conflict with President Trump and his administration. In other words, far from decreasing, political tensions in the United States will likely escalate further as we head towards the 2028 Presidential elections.
