US Midterm Early Election Results 2026: Senate battle gets intense, Democrats flip key North Carolina seat, retain Georgia

Amid a tightening battle for the Senate, the tide is seemingly beginning to shift in Washington, with Democrats scoring crucial wins in the US midterm elections and putting Republican control of Congress under pressure.

Former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper defeated Republican Michael Whatley to flip a Senate seat, delivering a significant boost to Democrats seeking to break the Republican Party's hold over both chambers of Congress.

Democrats need a net gain of four seats to secure a Senate majority.

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Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff retained his Georgia seat, defeating Republican Representative Mike Collins and thwarting what Republicans had considered a major opportunity to make gains.

In New Hampshire, Representative Chris Pappas defeated former Senator John Sununu to secure another Democratic victory.

The results offer Democrats fresh hope of regaining control of Congress, although their path to a Senate majority still runs through several traditionally Republican states.

Several Democratic incumbents also secured re-election. Senators Mark Warner in Virginia, Chris Coons in Delaware, Jack Reed in Rhode Island, Cory Booker in New Jersey and Ed Markey in Massachusetts retained their seats.

In Illinois, Democrat Juliana Stratton won the election to replace Senator Dick Durbin.

Voter anger at play?

The elections are emerging as a referendum on President Donald Trump's second term, with economic anxieties, rising living costs and dissatisfaction over government functioning shaping voter sentiment.

According to The Associated Press Voter Poll, around three-quarters of voters were dissatisfied or angry about the country's direction.

A similar proportion rated the economy as either not very good or poor, while roughly eight in 10 said inflation had caused moderate or severe financial hardship for their households.

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The cost of living and government corruption emerged as crucial poll issues for roughly half the electorate when deciding their congressional votes. Both issues ranked ahead of immigration enforcement, the war in Iran and AI data centres.

The economic discontent represents a setback for Trump, whose handling of the economy had been among the strongest factors behind his re-election.

Consumer prices increased 3.6% in September from a year earlier, according to Commerce Department data reported last week. Trump nevertheless declared in a Fox News Channel interview on Tuesday that inflation had been solved.

More than 59 million Americans had already voted before election day, exceeding early-voting participation recorded in 2022, according to an AP analysis.

Control hangs in the balance

Meanwhile, the fight for Congress remains tight. Democrats need a net gain of four Senate seats and three House seats to take control of the respective chambers.

Republicans entered the elections hoping to preserve their Senate majority and defend their narrow advantage in the House. They poured tens of millions of dollars into competitive races, including districts in states Trump had comfortably won two years earlier.

However, some Republican electoral strategies appeared to be producing unintended consequences.

In Florida, an aggressive redistricting exercise intended to deliver as many as four additional Republican seats faced setbacks. Democratic Representatives Jared Moskowitz and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, whom Republicans had placed in the same district, contested separate constituencies and won. Democrat Kathy Castor also retained her seat in the Tampa metropolitan area.

Trump's intervention in candidate selection could also weigh on Republican prospects. In Texas, his efforts to replace incumbent Senator John Cornyn with Attorney General Ken Paxton set up an expensive contest against Democrat James Talarico.

In North Carolina, Senator Thom Tillis's decision to retire following disagreements with Trump left Whatley, the president's preferred candidate, struggling against Cooper.

Other closely watched Senate contests include Ohio, where former Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown is challenging Republican Jon Husted, and Alaska, where Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan faces a competitive contest.

Republicans are also defending seats in Iowa, Kansas and Maine while seeking gains in Michigan.

Road ahead for Trump now

The outcome will have significant consequences for the remainder of Trump's presidency. A Republican-controlled Congress has largely supported the administration's legislative agenda.

Democratic control of either chamber, however, would provide the opposition with greater powers to investigate the administration, scrutinise its decisions and potentially pursue impeachment proceedings.

Potential subjects of congressional scrutiny include Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Elon Musk, the technology entrepreneur and former senior Trump adviser.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has outlined a 100-day agenda centred on reducing living costs and intensifying oversight of the Trump administration. If Democrats win control of the House, Jeffries could become the first Black speaker in US history.

A Republican Senate majority would continue to provide Trump with support for his legislative priorities and nominations. A Democratic takeover, on the other hand, could give the party significant leverage over presidential appointments and the White House agenda.

Governors' races add to Democratic hopes

Beyond Washington, 36 states are electing governors. Democrats Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania, JB Pritzker in Illinois, Wes Moore in Maryland and Maura Healey in Massachusetts have secured re-election in early results.

Democrats are also seeking to regain control of a majority of state legislatures for the first time in two decades.

A strong performance across the elections could strengthen the Democratic Party's position ahead of the next presidential race, while also hurting the prospects of Vice President JD Vance and other Republicans as they to build their position ahead of the national polls that is two years away.