By Eric Bradner, Patrick Svitek, Kevin Liptak, CNN
(CNN) — The Democratic wave is here — and now, as votes are counted in key states, the question is how many Republicans it will wipe out.
Across the political map, the blue shift has been enormous, with CNN projecting Democrats have retaken control of the House.
In rural Middle America, the enormous margins of victory that Donald Trump posted two years ago have plummeted. In heavily Latino congressional districts, the president’s 2024 gains have evaporated.
And though the White House is already deflecting blame, Trump’s interventions in his party’s attempts to hold its House and Senate majorities seem to have only hurt the GOP’s chances.
Trump’s recruiting efforts and endorsements were backfiring. Candidates he’d backed over other prominent Republicans had lost or were trailing in Senate races in North Carolina, Georgia, Texas and South Carolina. His redistricting gambit also appears to have fallen flat. In Florida, Democrats won several districts that were redrawn to guarantee Republican victories.
In Texas, long the country’s biggest red state, Democrats are in contention to break their decadeslong lockout from statewide office — not just in the high-profile Senate race, but also potentially in the gubernatorial contest and other statewide races.
Millions of votes remain to be counted, and it’s far too early to know the full implications of Tuesday’s elections. What’s clear already, though, is that Americans broadly rejected Trump — and Democrats stand to make huge gains because of it.
Democrats flip two Senate seats — including a shocker
Democrats have already flipped two of the four Republican-held Senate seats the party needs to claim the majority, winning races in North Carolina and South Carolina — and doing so by defeating candidates who were hand-picked by Trump.
In North Carolina, former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper trounced former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley — an outcome that was widely expected by strategists in both parties.
South Carolina, though, was a stunner. Democrat Annie Andrews defeated Darline Graham, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham — claiming a seat that’s been in GOP hands since Strom Thurmond switched parties in 1964. A Democrat hasn’t won a Senate race in the Palmetto State since 1998.
A roster of South Carolina political veterans had been interested in running for the seat after Lindsey Graham’s death in July. But Trump asked Graham’s sister — a political novice — first to occupy the seat temporarily and later pressured her to run for a full term. She struggled in debates and on the campaign trail.
It’s too early to say whether Democrats will win a Senate majority. What is clear, though, is that South Carolina was nowhere near the top of the Democrats’ list of the most winnable GOP-held seats. And a victory there is a good sign for its chances in states that were expected to be more competitive — including Maine, Ohio, Iowa, Texas and Alaska.
Further buoying the Democrats’ hopes of a Senate majority was an early, decisive win by Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff. The race was another example of Trump’s failed midterm maneuvering: His endorsement boosted Rep. Mike Collins to a primary win over a more moderate alternative backed by popular two-term Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. Ossoff’s strengths and Collins’ struggles helped Democrats win the governor’s race in Georgia, as well, with Keisha Lance Bottoms now set to become the nation’s first Black female governor.
Florida House races showcase Dem momentum and offer signs of a big Latino swing
In Florida, the results offered evidence of a potentially enormous swing among Latino voters in Democrats’ favor.
Democrats held onto three seats that Republicans had redrawn in an effort to guarantee victories this fall. CNN has projected that Reps. Kathy Castor and Jared Moskowitz will win in redrawn districts, as will Democrat Pia Dandiya in the 22nd District.
In another heavily Hispanic district in central Florida the GOP had redrawn, Democratic Rep. Darren Soto narrowly leads his Republican challenger in the 9th District.
But the biggest eye-opener might come in South Florida’s 27th District, which is based in the overwhelmingly Latino Miami-Dade County.
Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar released a buzzy ad this year standing in front of the White House, criticizing Trump’s immigration policy. She won by 20 percentage points two years ago. She might hold on this year — but she leads Democratic challenger Eliott Rodriguez by just over a thousand votes. But a swing of that size means the gains Trump made with Latino voters in 2024 have effectively evaporated, at least in Florida.
Trump drags down Republicans, but appears unlikely to accept the blame
Trump watched returns come in from the White House East Room, where the mood was described as tense. Notably, he went silent on Truth Social for three hours Tuesday night as Democrats kept winning races before posting just after 10:30 p.m.: “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Left unsaid was that Trump had spent weeks telling his supporters to pretend he was on the ballot — and that he hand-selected many of the candidates who have been suffering tonight. Candidate weakness in South Carolina, North Carolina and Texas in particular became a major headache for national Republicans, who were forced to spend millions contesting races they never expected to be close.
Officials have stressed that Trump “left it on the field” — doing what he could to retain congressional majorities but also seeding the ground to pin any Republican losses on the candidates themselves.
Trump has been aware that he was likely to catch blame if Republicans lose. That was part of his rationale for carrying out a frenetic campaign blitz over the last month, which by his own admission was exhausting. He says he tried to cut it short, but was convinced to hold final events in Iowa and Kansas. “We gave this a very strong shot,” Trump said Monday at his Reflecting Pool speech, acknowledging history was not on his side.
Good signs for Dems who may run in 2028
The results were full of encouraging signs for Democrats who may want to run for president in 2028.
At least two potential White House contenders, Govs. JB Pritzker of Illinois and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, cruised to victory in their reelection bids. Pritzker nodded to speculation about his political future in his victory speech, saying he’s been asked, “What’s next?”
“The answer is simple: I’m going to ask you to continue to hope, to wrap yourself in hope, in courage,” Pritzker said. “We climbed one mountain tonight, but we are sitting at the base of another.”
Another possible White House contender, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, was not on the ballot Tuesday but scored a big win when his former aide, Zach Dembo, flipped a GOP-friendly House district in central Kentucky.
And in Georgia, Ossoff’s decisive victory is likely to increase 2028 buzz surrounding him, even if he has denied interest in running. Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms winning the governor’s race means a fellow Democrat could pick his replacement in the Senate if he were to vacate his seat for a presidential run.
The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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