Democrats won control of the U.S. Senate in the 2026 elections after projected victories in several Republican-held seats. They were projected to flip seats in Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Kansas and Iowa, while holding Democratic seats in Georgia and New Hampshire.
Many of the Republican-held seats were in states President Trump had won by comfortable margins two years earlier. In the final months of the campaign, the war with Iran and high gas and diesel prices helped make more races competitive. Republicans spent hundreds of millions of dollars defending seats in states including Texas, Alaska, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Ohio, but Democrats won enough races to flip the chamber.
Democrats last held a Senate majority after the 2022 elections, before Republicans won control in 2024. The change will shape the final two years of President Trump’s term. A Senate majority controls what bills receive floor votes and can block the President’s nominees.
