Democrats made major gains in the midterm elections, taking control of both the House and Senate in a stronger-than-expected wave of support.
As vote counting continued into Wednesday, several prominent races were still undecided. One remaining question was whether Democrats would expand their congressional majorities further.
In the Senate, Democrats flipped Republican-held seats in Maine, Ohio, Kansas, Iowa, Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina. They also held open seats in Michigan and New Hampshire.
Several Republican-held Senate races remained too close to call. In Mississippi, Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democratic challenger Scott Colom were running neck and neck. In Alaska, former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola led Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan as ballots were still being counted.
Democrats also crossed the 218-seat threshold needed to regain control of the House. With many races yet to be decided, their final margin remained unclear.
Several gubernatorial contests were also unresolved. Nevada’s closely fought race had not been called, while votes were still being tallied in Alaska and Kansas.
The results delivered a sharp rebuke to President Donald Trump and Republicans. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, told reporters that voters had “reduced the red brick wall to a pile of bricks.” Looking ahead to the new Congress in January, he added, “We have five words for the American people. Relief is on the way.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said his party would resist Democratic efforts to reverse its policies. Republicans, he said, would work with Trump “to stop the worst impulses of Democrat extremism. We cannot let their fringe positions become the mainstream.”
For weeks, Trump had urged supporters to act as if he were on the ballot. As results came in Tuesday night, though, he posted that he had not been on the ballot and claimed that, if he had been, Republicans would have won “IN A LANDSLIDE!”
Not long afterward, Trump praised Democrats during a television interview, saying, “I think the Democrats did a good job.” He also said he could work with the incoming Democratic majorities “on many things.”
