Democrats’ blue wave and a bad night for Trump: key US midterms takeaways

1. The blue wave 

Democrats saw their hoped-for “blue wave” become reality by flipping seven Senate seats, more than two dozen House seats and expanding the number of Democratic governors.

Shortly after polls closed, Democrats saw winning streaks in closely watched Senate races. Before midnight, the Associated Press had declared Democrats would hold the majority in Congress’s upper chamber. Less than two hours later, they secured the House.

With control over both chambers, Democrats gain the authority to push back on Trump’s agenda.

Tuesday’s evening results were sweeping, with states and districts that voted for Trump two years ago abandoning the president’s allies in the midterms. Even Republican incumbents running in comfortably red areas, such as Florida, were locked in close races with Democrats. 

2. Republicans suffer historic losses 

Democrats’ win was underscored by Republicans’ historic losses across the country.

For the first time in 94 years, Kansas saw a Democrat win a Senate seat, with Adam Hamilton defeating Roger Marshall.

Republicans lost a South Carolina Senate seat for the first time in nearly 30 years when Dr. Annie Andrews defeated Darline Graham – the sister of the late senator Lindsey Graham and a close ally of Trump.

James Talarico, a progressive Democratic newcomer, defeated Ken Paxton, the state’s conservative attorney general, in Texas’s Senate race, ending Republicans’ 38-year streak.

Iowa and North Carolina also hadn’t elected a Democratic senator since 2008.

3. Trump walks back claims to be on the ballot

After suffering major losses, Trump asserted he “wasn’t on the Ballot” but “would have won IN A LANDSLIDE” if he was – a reversal from his request that voters act as though he was.

For weeks, Trump had encouraged supporters to vote as though he was a candidate on the ballot, in the hopes of generating support for Republicans. But on Tuesday night, he dismissed concerns that the midterm results were a reflection of that.

“I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Trump said.

He reiterated his claim to the New York Times, saying: “I wasn’t on the ticket, and because I wasn’t on the ticket, we couldn’t get enough people out to vote.

The US president, who has a long history of making false election fraud claims, also told the newspaper he was “absolutely willing” to accept the results of the midterms.

4. Democrats outperform polls

In the lead-up to the election, polls indicated Democrats were poised to win the House and possibly the Senate, with Democratic candidates holding narrow leads over Republicans in competitive Senate races.

But pre-election polls were more reserved about Democrats’ win, in part due to the failed predictions over the 2024 presidential election.

In the Kansas Senate race, pre-election polls indicated Democrat Adam Hamilton had a small lead over Republican Roger Marshall. But pollsters from the Washington Post warned that the prediction could be misleading because Democratic voters were more likely to respond than Republicans.

5. Trump’s handpicked candidates lose 

In another example of voters’ rebuke of Trump, the US president’s handpicked candidates in key races lost their bids to Democrats.

Historically, candidates endorsed by Trump perform well in primaries and general elections. But this time around, those candidates could not convince voters to cast their ballot for them.

In the Texas Senate race, Ken Paxton lost – even after securing Trump’s support in a contentious primary.

In the South Carolina Senate race, Darline Graham failed to defeat Dr. Annie Andrews, even after Trump elevated Graham to take over her late brother’s seat and campaigned for her heavily.

Trump chose Michael Whatley to fend off Democrat Roy Cooper in North Carolina’s Senate race, yet Cooper defeated Whatley.