Democrats win control of US Senate in midterms as Trump branded ‘lame duck’

Donald Trump has been branded a “failed lame duck president” after the Democrats inflicted a string of historic defeats against the Republicans to take control of US Congress.

In a remarkable sweep, the Democrats won a Senate majority and picked up seats in the former Republican strongholds of Texas, Kansas, South Carolina and Ohio.

Several US major media outlets have reported that Democrats are also projected to regain control of the House of Representatives, which they last held in 2023.

The midterms determine which party controls Congress and were seen as a referendum on the controversial Republican leader, who earlier urged people to pretend he was on the ballot paper.

Democratic Senate candidate Texas state Rep. James Talarico speaks during a campaign event in Austin (Eric Gay/AP)

AP

Democrats needed a net gain of four seats in the 100-member Senate to win a majority, while in the 435-member House, they needed three.

Speaking to Fox News after Republicans lost control of the US Senate, President Donald Trump admitted Democrats said the result surprised him.

“Well, I’m a little bit surprised. I thought they’d do better, we had tremendous rallies,” he said.

“I thought that I could transfer those people into candidates.”

Potential 2028 presidential challenger Democrat US senator Jon Ossoff won re-election in Georgia, which had been a top Republican target.

Mr Ossoff told supporters: “In sweeping and decisive victories, the American people have rebuked the depravity, corruption, and incompetence of the failed lame duck president Donald J Trump.”

The 39-year-old has been a leading critic of the US president and his administration, raising his national profile.

Senate candidate James Talarico became the first Democrat to win a statewide office in Texas since 1994.

The party also flipped a string of seats in the House of Representatives in states like Kentucky, New Jersey and North Carolina.

Elsewhere, Democrat former senator Sherrod Brown won the upper house seat of Ohio, defeating Republican incumbent Jon Husted.

The Democrats had expected to benefit from voter discontent over the cost of living, tariffs and high energy prices fuelled by the Iran war, which Mr Trump launched with Israel earlier this year.

In the face of losses, Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!”

“And if, at times these last two years, amidst the ceaseless onslaught of brutality and indecency, you doubted whether our republic would survive, let tonight’s results give you courage that the first light of dawn is on the horizon.”

The Democrats also retained New Hampshire, with Chris Pappas seeing off Republican John Sununu.

Mr Pappas will replace retiring senator Jeanne Shaheen, a three-term Democrat who ousted Mr Sununu in 2008.

He told supporters: “This has been a long campaign against the backdrop of chaos, corruption and costs coming out of Washington.”

In California, long-shot shot Republican candidate is Steve Hilton, a former top aide to David Cameron lost to former state attorney general Xavier Becerra.