Democrats Win Control of the Senate, NBC and Decision Desk HQ Project

Updated 10:36 UTC, November 4

President Donald Trump congratulated Democrats after they took both chambers of Congress. In a call with CBS News late on Tuesday, Trump said: "Congratulations to the Democrats, and I look forward to working with you for the good of our country," according to Fox News. He said he has total veto power and expects Democrats to work with him. "Otherwise, I'd just veto everything, and they're not gonna want that," he said. Trump later posted an image of a red cap with the word VETO on Truth Social.

On Fox News, Trump said he did not view the results as a hit on him and said Republican candidates did not inspire voters to turn out, according to CNN. He said Democrats did a good job and fought hard. On Truth Social he wrote that Republicans would have won in a landslide if he had been on the ballot.

One race named below has since been called. In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed won the Senate race and keeps the seat in Democratic hands, according to projections reported by USA Today from Fox News and Decision Desk HQ. Counting continues in the uncalled Senate races in Mississippi and Alaska, which the Associated Press listed as too early to call on Wednesday morning.

Democrats will take control of the United States Senate, Decision Desk HQ and NBC projected on Tuesday night, November 3, 2026. USA Today reported that Democrats have captured both chambers of Congress, after they had already been projected earlier in the evening to win a majority in the House of Representatives.

The Worcester Telegram and Gazette live election blog reported the same Senate projection from NBC and Decision Desk HQ. The call came late in the night, after a run of Democratic flips in seats that Republicans had held.

Six flips did the work

Democrats flipped Senate seats in South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas, Ohio, Kansas and Iowa, according to USA Today and Reuters reporting carried in the projection coverage. Republicans entered the night holding a 53 to 47 Senate majority. Democrats needed to pick up four seats to take control of the chamber, and the six flips reported on Tuesday night put them past that line.

Two of the flips ended long droughts. Adam Hamilton is projected to be the first Democrat to win a Kansas Senate seat since 1932. James Talarico is the first Democrat to win a Texas Senate seat since 1988, according to USA Today.

One closely watched race was still open when the projection was made. In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed was looking to keep the seat in Democratic hands, and that race remained uncalled at the time, USA Today reported. It has since been called for El-Sayed.

What Senate control changes

Retaking the Senate gives Democrats leverage over Cabinet and judicial nominations, including any Supreme Court vacancy. USA Today reported that Democrats are likely to pursue reversing Medicaid and food stamp cuts and reasserting the role of Congress on foreign trade policy.

The Senate result completes a night in which Democrats were also projected to take the House. House control had been projected earlier in the evening, in a separate call, and the Senate projection followed the late calls in Ohio and Kansas.

Trump and Johnson react

President Donald Trump told the New York Times shortly before 10:30 p.m. ET that he will accept the results of the midterm elections, according to USA Today live coverage. "I am absolutely willing to accept those results," Trump said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, speaking after Democrats won enough seats to take control of the House, pointed to the history his party had to beat. "From the first day of this election, we knew that to keep the House and sustain our majority, we would have to defy more than a century of midterm history. It looks like history will be kept," Johnson said, according to USA Today live coverage at 11:27 p.m. ET.

Counting continues in the races that remain uncalled, including Mississippi and Alaska. The projections rest on the calls made by Decision Desk HQ and NBC on Tuesday night, and the flipped seats reported by USA Today and Reuters.