Democrats seized control of both houses of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections, defeating President Donald Trump's Republicans in a rout that Vice President JD Vance and other Republicans blamed on the war with Iran.
The victory gave Democrats 247 seats in the House to 147 for Republicans. Democrats also held 54 Senate seats to 44 for Republicans. They flipped seats in Texas, Ohio and Kansas.
Vice President JD Vance wrote on X that "The reason we lost is the war," referring to Iran. Senator Ted Cruz said tariffs had made everything too expensive and the Iran war had dragged on too long. Former Florida governor Ron DeSantis called the results "close to an extinction-level event" for the party.
President Trump acknowledged the war had hurt Republicans, telling the Wall Street Journal he would make the same decision again. He also called the election results "crooked" and "so rigged" in social media posts.
Exit polling showed 39 percent of voters considered the economy the most important issue. Nearly one-third cited the state of democracy. A Chicago Council on Global Affairs poll found 86 percent of Americans believed the Iran war had increased their cost of living. Seventy-two percent said the war hurt US international relations.
The new Democratic majority will control budgets, nominations and investigations. Representative Hakeem Jeffries is expected to become the first Black Speaker of the House. He said the American people chose Democrats because they want "a drastic change of direction." Representative Robert Garcia, who will chair the Oversight Committee, wrote "Lawyer up" in a statement promising to combat "the Trump crime family."
Trump said he was considering preemptive pardons for top aides and Elon Musk. He demanded that votes for an alternative Republican Senate candidate in Alaska be given to the incumbent Dan Sullivan. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson announced his resignation. Top Justice Department official Harmeet Dhillon will also leave her post.
The Democratic caucus includes roughly 140 members of the centrist New Democrat Coalition. More than 20 belong to the Blue Dog Coalition and over 100 to the Progressive Caucus. Democrats lack the two-thirds majority needed to override Trump's veto. They could use the War Powers Resolution to force votes on the Iran war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Democrats "speak very clearly about supporting Ukraine." Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the Democratic approach toward Russia was "extremely negative." Political scientist Ian Bremmer described the result as the biggest loss for a governing party in 50 years.
