CNN expects the Democrats to win the Senate and control Congress after winning the House of Representatives with the results of the midterm elections

CNN's Election Estimates Unit projects that Democrats will seize control of the House and Senate in the 2026 midterm elections in a historic and resounding victory.

Democrats took advantage of President Donald Trump's record-low popularity to achieve a major victory, giving them significant power to rein in Trump and his administration - which was operating without significant restrictions - during the last two years of his presidential term.

To achieve this majority, Democrats swept entrenched Republican strongholds, winning races that had not been won by Democrats in decades. This included winning a Senate seat in South Carolina - which Trump won by 18 points in 2024 - and another in Texas, which has not voted for a Democratic statewide candidate since 1994. They also made a breakthrough in Kansas, which has not elected a Democratic senator since 1932.

This shift in control of Congress comes as a culmination of 22 months full of rapid events. Trump began his presidential term following a violent, confrontational approach, seizing broad executive powers with the blessing of Congress - which was controlled by Republicans - and many other institutions. This stage concludes with the Republicans suffering a major defeat in the midterm elections. Only twice in the past fifty years has control of both chambers (Representatives and Senate) transferred in the same electoral cycle. The main reasons behind this appear to be inflation, Trump's tariffs, the war with Iran, and voters' concerns about Trump's behavior and his pursuit of personal gain. Opinion polls conducted by CNN indicate that more than 6 out of 10 voters do not support Trump, and a clear majority of them express strong opposition to him. Two-thirds of voters also believed that his policies led to the deterioration of the economy. The Democrats' victory in the House of Representatives was largely expected; They only needed to gain three additional seats to achieve a majority, and the president's party usually loses seats in midterm elections. But the Democrats' ability to seize control of the Senate gives this election an exceptional character. They had to win several seats in states that Trump led by more than 10 percentage points in 2024. They have already won seats in South Carolina, Texas, Ohio, Kansas, and Iowa. The exact size of the Democrats' majority remains undetermined pending the completion of the final results, but it appears that they will have a margin of maneuver in both chambers. However, given Trump's veto power and the requirement of 60 votes to pass most legislation in the Senate, Democrats are unlikely to be able to pass much of their preferred policy agenda. But control of the House and Senate gives Democrats more power to investigate what they see fit, and gives them the power to subpoena witnesses in those investigations. At the same time, control of the Senate means Democrats can block Trump's judicial appointments, including in the event of a vacancy on the Supreme Court.