The most important developments at a glance:
US Vice President JD Vance has attributed the Republican defeats in the midterm elections to the Iran war. “The reason we lost is the war,” he wrote in a lengthy online post. "If you want to argue [...] that losing the Senate for the next six years was worth it, then do it," he wrote. "Argue that it was worth the cost. Agree or disagree, that's at least honest."
After the clear defeat of his Republicans in the congressional elections, US President Donald Trump declared that the Democrats had “done a good job”. At the same time, he blamed Republican candidates for their defeats, as can be seen from an interview with Fox News. “I don’t see this as a strike against me,” Trump said.
The outcome of two exciting races for the US Senate remains open. In the southern state of Mississippi, Scott Colom of the Democrats and the Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith were in a neck-and-neck race. With 96 percent of the votes counted, Colom was ahead of Hyde-Smith by fewer than 50 votes, CNN and NBC reported.
In Alaska, after 74 percent of the votes were counted, Democrat Mary Peltola was slightly ahead of Republican Dan Sullivan, who had 47.9 percent, with 48.2 percent. The race gained attention after The New York Times reported that Peltola's entourage had persuaded another man, Dan Sullivan, to run in order to steal votes from the Republican incumbent.
After the Democrats' success in the US congressional elections, the share prices of the companies Tesla and SpaceX led by tech billionaire Elon Musk have fallen significantly. After trading began in New York, Tesla shares were down 3.82 percent on Wednesday; SpaceX shares fell by 2.65 percent.
Musk donated almost half a billion US dollars to US President Donald Trump's Republican campaign, including significant sums in Texas. In the state where Musk's company is based, the US Democrats were able to achieve historic victories in the elections.
Republican House of Representatives Chairman Mike Johnson does not want to run for parliamentary group leader again after his party's poor performance in the US midterm elections. This is reported unanimously by several US media outlets.
The foreign trade association BGA is dampening hopes that US President Donald Trump will change his tariff policy after the Republicans' defeat in the midterms. “The results of the US congressional elections will not change anything for foreign trade,” said BGA President Dirk Jandura to the Rheinische Post. Foreign trade policy remains largely shaped by the US President. Trump has extensive powers. And: "He can continue to act much more freely here than in future national politics."
After the midterms in the USA, the EU is relying on pro-Ukrainian signals from the Capitol. She hopes that the "new Congress" will "continue to support Ukraine and also put more pressure on Russia," said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. Europe and the USA are “much stronger together” when it comes to pushing Moscow to end the war, she emphasized. "Let's wait and see what happens now, but elections have consequences."
CSU leader Markus Söder wrote on X that the election result offered “the chance for a new beginning” in relations. “Instead of confrontation, we want more cooperation,” he wrote.
Even after the clear victory of the Democrats in the elections for the US Congress and Senate, the course of the USA will probably remain unpredictable for Europeans, analyzes ARD correspondent Christian Feld. Politicians in Brussels have seen too often that Donald Trump greatly expands his powers as US President - for example in the trade conflict with the EU.
Chris Pappas used the stage of his victory in the race for the Senate seat in New Hampshire to hug his husband Vann Bentley. "I want to thank the man next to me, my wonderful husband Vann," said the Democratic politician, whose success in the congressional elections made him the first openly gay man to enter the US Senate. The future senator said his husband was always by his side.
According to the Kremlin, Russia is counting on further mediation by US President Trump in the Ukraine conflict following the outcome of the US congressional elections. "President Trump remains in office," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to a Russian media report. "We sincerely hope that he also continues his peace efforts." New talks between Moscow and Kiev under US mediation are planned in Abu Dhabi next week. Trump had recently moved closer to Russia's position in the Ukraine war. The Democrats, on the other hand, stand for greater support for Ukraine and more pressure on Russia
After the Democrats' victory in the US general election, new possibilities are opening up in the investigation of the network of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Robert Garcia, who will chair the House Oversight Committee, announced that he would investigate the "cover-up surrounding the Epstein files." The Democratic politician had already announced before the midterms that he would schedule more public surveys if he won the election.
Last week, some Democrats also called for the appointment of an independent special investigator to investigate US President Trump's connections to Epstein.
Federal Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul is confident that the outcome of the congressional elections in the USA can create a new dynamic in support for Ukraine. “As far as Ukraine is concerned, I am somewhat confident that there will now be more discussions in Congress between both parties about what we can do together to support Ukraine,” said Wadephul in Berlin. The Democrats stand for greater support for Ukraine and more pressure on Russia. ARD Capital Studio correspondent Demian von Osten summarizes the reactions from Germany here.
Before the elections, the Republicans in particular, for example in Florida and Texas, tried to give their candidates an advantage in the election to the House of Representatives by redrawing electoral districts. However, according to an analysis by the US broadcaster CNN, this strategy backfired.
Accordingly, the Democrats retain control of at least eight of the 15 constituencies in which the Republicans would have hoped to win through the redistricting. They would also have taken at least four seats from the Republicans. One of the most impressive examples was the 34th Congressional District in South Texas. Republican state lawmakers had redistricted - but Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez won by a double-digit margin.
German politicians have welcomed the Republicans' defeat in the US midterms, but are dampening expectations of a different foreign policy from President Trump. An SPD politician warns of an “angry duck” in the White House.
In view of the defeat for US President Donald Trump's Republicans, Iran is being combative. “Attacking Iran does not bring victory,” Foreign Office spokesman Ismail Baghai wrote in English on the X platform. Iran cannot be intimidated by threats, it said.
A speech attributed to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Modshtaba Khamenei was also released earlier. It said that Washington's goal was the unconditional surrender of the Iranian people - even a "change of party" would not change that. Anyone who hopes "that the behavior of the hegemonic system could change through partisan or factional shifts" or who believes "that concessions to the United States will dissuade it from hostilities against the Iranian nation is deeply mistaken," Khamenei said, according to his website.
Iranian media consistently conveyed the text of the speech, which was published on the occasion of the celebrations.
David McAllister, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the EU Parliament, expresses the hope that the new Congress will help Europe and the USA work more closely together and advance the peace process for Ukraine. But Europe must continue to do more for its own defense and security, adds the CDU politician.
FDP MEP Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann warns that no one in Europe should sit back now. The continent must be able to defend itself and confidently represent its interests. The election result is a good sign, the liberal politician explains that he is not doing his European homework.
The chairman of the left-wing faction in the EU Parliament, Martin Schirdewan, sees the democratic majority in Congress as no guarantee that the US President will actually be “politically slowed down”.
The first black female governor, an indigenous senator and Democratic victories in Republican strongholds like Kansas and Texas: the Democrats achieved historic things in many places in the midterms - a selection.
In San Antonio, Texas, honking car parades rolled through the city center on Wednesday night. Flags of Texas, the USA and Mexico hang from the windows, according to local news portal San Antonio Report. People cheer and hold up signs with the names of election winners James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa.
The victories of the Democratic candidates in Texas and across the country give her hope, one woman told the news portal. "We were afraid that if things had turned out differently, it would have been over, so to speak - not just for the American people, but for the American system." It's a historic shift in Texas politics, another woman was quoted as saying, celebrating with friends on the streets of San Antonio.
One man told the San Antonio Report portal it's time for change. "It feels like a cloudy day with the sun just coming out."
There is also a celebration in the state of Michigan in the north of the USA. As the New Yorker reports, news about the election successes flashed across two screens at the Democratic election party in Detroit. Even before the first television stations announced the election victory of the left-wing candidate Abdul El-Sayed, there was an exuberant celebration.
Democratic supporters are also reportedly celebrating the results of the midterm elections in other states such as Kansas, North Carolina, Iowa, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
The key decisions have been made: the Senate and House of Representatives will go to the Democrats, and for the first time in years most of the governors will come from them. Nevertheless, there are still many open races: the decisions for two Senate seats, 68 seats in the House of Representatives and two governorships are open. The overview:
Rachel Thousandfreund from the German Society for Foreign Policy sees the Democrats now in a strong position against Trump. Even if he can sometimes rule with decrees bypassing Congress, they still have sovereignty over the budget, for example, she emphasized in an interview with tagesschau24. In addition, Trump's power over his own party will weaken because of his clear defeat.
ARD correspondent Tina Hassel reports from Brussels on the first congratulations from European Parliament members to the Democrats. "But there is no one here who says: Everything will be better now. What they are saying here is that we should have no illusions about what this election result would mean for the next two years." The tenor in Brussels is that Trump has already bypassed Congress in the past - that could now get much worse.
As far as customs policy is concerned, she referred to Bernd Lange, chairman of the EU Trade Committee, who fears it will become more stringent. The SPD politician had stated that there was a risk that a politically weakened President Trump would act even more erratically in trade and customs policy.
Various German economists have reacted to the election results in the USA - and, among other things, dampened expectations of major changes. The tenor is that Trump can continue to govern a lot with decrees, especially in foreign and trade policy. Nevertheless, the Democrats' success is good news, said Marcel Fratzscher, head of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW).
"The Democrats' victory in the US midterms is a positive message for the global economy, even if it could slow down the US economy in the short term. The most important positive message is that the separation of powers in the US is working better again," said Fratzscher.
For example, Congress could use its budget authority to place greater limits on Trump's war with Iran. This could reduce energy prices, from which Europe could also benefit. The aggressive behavior of US tech companies could also be curbed to some extent, as the Democrats are committed to regulating AI and are likely to be much more critical of the massive boom in the construction of data centers, said Fratzscher.
Andreas Bley, chief economist at the Association of German Volksbanks and Raiffeisenbanks, said that the expected change in majority in both chambers of the US Congress raises the hope that American trade policy will in the future rely more heavily on dialogue and international cooperation. “However, expectations should remain realistic,” said Bley. There are also pronounced protectionist tendencies within the Democratic Party. Clemens Fuest, President of the ifo Institute for Economic Research, made similar statements.
CDU foreign policy expert Norbert Röttgen sees an opportunity for more openness from President Trump. “Something has really started to slip, which in my opinion he cannot and will not completely ignore,” said the CDU parliamentary group vice-president in the Bundestag on Deutschlandfunk about the results of the midterm elections.
The coalition that brought him into office lost Trump - not only with Hispanics and black voters, but above all with white voters without academic degrees, said Röttgen. This group of voters has migrated to the Democrats. That's why "a little more openness than possibility" has come into the system.
But according to Röttgen, this is not the end of Trumpism. It continues to be strongly represented as a mood and attitude and has “deep roots” in US society.
