According to forecasts, the Democrats in the state of Iowa have taken a Senate seat from the Republicans. Democrat Josh Turek, supported by former US President Barack Obama, defeated Ashley Hinson, the AP news agency reports based on voter surveys and vote counts.
The Democrats took one of their seats in the Senate in Washington from the Republicans. The success was crucial for the fight for the majority in the 100-seat chamber of parliament. Iowa was long considered a politically contested state, but in recent elections it had increasingly developed into a Republican stronghold.
Turek, a wheelchair basketball player and two-time Paralympic gold medalist, wants to represent the interests of the middle class and workers as a senator. He is also interested in strengthening public education and reforming the health system in the state.
Republican Senator Joni Ernst, who has been in office since 2015, did not want to run again and spoke out in favor of her 43-year-old party colleague Ashley Hinson. President Donald Trump also supported Hinson. The rural Midwestern state of Iowa has around 3.3 million residents. The capital is Des Moines.
First Senate seat in Kansas since 1932
Democrats were also able to win Senate seats from Republicans in the states of Ohio and Kansas. In Ohio, former Senator Sherrod Brown prevailed against the previous Republican elected official Jon Husted, according to CNN and CBS.
In the Republican stronghold of Kansas, the Democrats captured a Senate seat for the first time since 1932. Democratic priest Adam Hamilton prevailed against Republican incumbent Roger Marshall in the Midwestern state, according to CNN and NBC forecasts.
Democrat becomes governor of Texas
According to projections, the Democrats also won the gubernatorial election in Texas for the first time in more than 30 years. According to AP and CNN, candidate Gina Hinojosa probably prevailed against Republican incumbent Greg Abbott.
The 52-year-old will be the first Latina to lead the state. She replaces Abbott after three terms in office. The success in the Republican stronghold is also seen as a setback for US President Trump. Since 1995, Republicans have always held the office of governor.
James Talarico, a Democrat, also prevailed in the race for a seat in the US Senate in Texas.
Hinojosa triumphed over Abbott, even though he was supported by an oil mogul such as tech billionaire Elon Musk. Musk has located several of his company headquarters and the Starbase spaceport in Texas and is planning a semiconductor factory in the state, which is increasingly becoming a center of the technology industry.
But the rapid expansion of data centers in the state is increasingly causing resistance, which Hinojosa took advantage of. She accused Abbott of making politics for the super-rich and of making local life much more expensive. Trump won the 2024 presidential election in Texas with 56 percent of the vote. Many Latinos also voted for Trump at the time. People with roots in Latin America make up almost 41 percent of the population in Texas.
Successes in other states
In total, the Democrats were able to capture Senate seats in at least six states, including other traditional Republican strongholds such as South Carolina. In addition to the House of Representatives, they now also gained a majority in the Senate.
