Democrats made strong gains in the 2026 midterms, but the scale of their victories—and the number of unexpected wins—went beyond what many analysts had predicted. The party broke through in Texas and other states long considered safely Republican.
Democrats took control of both the Senate and the House on Tuesday. Their House majority could be their largest in nearly 20 years.
The results were a sharp rebuke to President Donald Trump. He had campaigned in 2024 on improving the economy and ending wars, then made a final push to rally Republican voters in the closing weeks of this election. It wasn’t enough to turn the tide.
A new generation reshapes Texas politics
Texas delivered two of the night’s biggest surprises. James Talarico defeated Attorney General Ken Paxton, while Gina Hinojosa unseated Gov. Greg Abbott. Both victories defied expectations in a state Trump had carried by double digits just two years earlier.
An October poll had shown Talarico and Paxton nearly even, while Abbott led Hinojosa. In the end, both Democrats won by substantial margins.
The Senate contest had been rated a toss-up, with Republicans holding a slight edge. By early Wednesday, Talarico had 53.9% of the vote to Paxton’s 44.2%, a gap of 9.7 points.
Abbott’s defeat was an even bigger surprise. Hinojosa had drawn relatively little attention, and analysts had rated the race as leaning Republican. Yet by 3 a.m. Wednesday, she was ahead by nearly seven points.
The Texas upsets were part of a broader Democratic wave. Voters across the country expressed frustration with Trump and the economy. One poll put Trump’s approval rating at 36%, while 74% of voters said the economy was in poor shape.
Democrats also scored unexpected Senate victories in Kansas and South Carolina, both of which Trump had carried by double digits in 2024.
In Kansas, Adam Hamilton defeated Sen. Roger Marshall, ending the state’s 94-year Republican winning streak in Senate races. The result means Kansas will send a Democrat to the Senate for the first time in nearly a century. The contest had been rated a toss-up, but the outcome was still a striking break with the state’s political history.
In deep-red South Carolina, Annie Andrews defeated Sen. Darline Graham, who had been appointed to take the seat after her brother, Lindsey Graham, died. The race had been considered likely Republican, but Andrews was ahead by 4.2 points early Wednesday. Her win ends more than two decades of Graham family control of the seat, dating back to Lindsey Graham’s first election in 2002.
Maine, often seen as a politically mixed state, also saw a major upset. Democrat Troy Jackson defeated Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who had served five terms and held the seat for 30 years. Analysts had rated the contest a toss-up, but Jackson’s six-point lead was still a notable result.
All told, the Democratic gains reached far beyond the usual battlegrounds, into states and Senate seats Republicans had long expected to keep.
