With the midterm election polls closing, the Democratic Party has taken control of the House and Senate. According to AP, as of Nov. 5, 2026, Democrats hold 54 out of 100 seats in the Senate, and 251 out of 435 seats in the House of Representatives, though these numbers may be subject to change. NBC news estimates that Democrats will have 259 seats in the House by the time all the ballots are counted.

Democrats won over key Republican stronghold states, including Texas and Kansas — who haven’t elected a Democratic senator in nearly a century. Additionally, several government candidates made history in this election: Democratic candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms (the governor-elect of Georgia) became the first Black woman ever to be elected governor. Democratic candidate Deb Haaland (the governor-elect of New Mexico) became the first Native American woman to be elected governor. Florida also elected their first ever Black governor, Republican candidate Byron Donalds.

Vice President JD Vance blamed the war in Iran for the massive voter shift. He wrote, “The reason we lost is the war…”

However, the voting also reflects voter unhappiness with the United States’ current trajectory. According to the AP Voter Poll, about three-quarters of voters said that they are “angry” or “dissatisfied” with the country’s current path. Voters were also very displeased with the condition of the economy.

In a related interview with Fox News, President Donald Trump said, “Congratulations to the Democrats … I think the Democrats did a good job. I really do. I think they did a good job. They fought hard. They were, you know, they’ve been fighting for a long time. They’ve been fighting me for a long time. This fight’s been going on for ages…”

Despite that, Trump then promptly threatened that he plans to use his veto powers often. “They’ll send over things that are insane and I’ll veto them. And after a couple months of vetoes, they’ll call and they’ll say ‘how do we get this stuff done?’”

While Congress can override a veto, it requires a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate. As of right now, the Democratic party says that they plan to use their “big win” to challenge Trump’s agenda.