Democrats win Georgia Senate seat and key governor races in US midterm elections 2026 By Luís Henrique Costa
4 min read
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Early projections give the Democratic Party its first strategic wins in the US midterm elections for Congress and state governments. The vote took place on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, and renews all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 35 of the 100 Senate seats and 36 governorships. Projections indicate the party kept important Senate seats and secured the leadership of four industrial and coastal states. The vote also works as a direct test for the administration of Republican President Donald Trump.
The opposition’s early advance came with high turnout and public discontent. Seven in every ten voters said they were unhappy with how the economy is being run, especially the persistent rise in fuel and food prices. To take control of the Capitol and win the majority in both chambers in Washington, Democrats need four more Senate seats and a four-vote advantage in the House. If the projection holds in western states and in regions that count votes later, the federal government could face budget blocks, investigative committees and explicit threats of impeachment proceedings.
Who is projected to win Senate, House and governor races
Quick counts of ballots in districts across the East and South secured re-election for veteran senators. The same counts also confirmed the handover of seats left open by retirements in the Senate.
- Jon Ossoff (Democrat): re-elected senator for Georgia
- Edward Markey (Democrat): re-elected senator for Massachusetts
- Jack Reed (Democrat): re-elected senator for Rhode Island
- Cory Booker (Democrat): re-elected senator for New Jersey
- Chris Coons (Democrat): re-elected senator for Delaware
- Mark Warner (Democrat): re-elected senator for Virginia, defeating Republican Bert Mizusawa
- Juliana Stratton (Democrat): elected senator for Illinois, filling the seat left by the retirement of Dick Durbin
- Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Democrat): re-elected to the House for Florida’s 20th district, her 12th term, defeating Republican Brent Andersen
- Josh Shapiro (Democrat): re-elected governor of Pennsylvania, against Republican treasurer Stacy Garrity
- JB Pritzker (Democrat): re-elected governor of Illinois
- Maura Healey (Democrat): re-elected governor of Massachusetts
- Wes Moore (Democrat): re-elected governor of Maryland
Ossoff’s Georgia victory holds a Southern seat for Democrats
Democrat Jon Ossoff won a second consecutive term in Georgia by defeating Republican Representative Mike Collins. The race was called at 7:55 p.m. Eastern time, after Collins had received direct endorsement from Trump during regional rallies. Ossoff, 39, first took his Senate seat in 2021, while Collins, 59, owns a trucking business and has represented Georgia in the House since 2023.
The mobilization of young Black and Hispanic voters in urban centers such as Atlanta sustained Ossoff’s lead. Early voting in Georgia rose 13% compared with previous elections. The result reinforces the opposition’s presence in a state that Trump won in the 2024 presidential election.
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Trump asks for donations as the White House questions early counts
The executive branch responded to the preliminary numbers through speeches and posts on social media. Trump made an emergency request for financial donations to the Republican base and warned of the risk of institutional paralysis. In recent statements, he said he could grant preemptive pardons to members of his cabinet if the opposition confirms control of both houses of Congress.
The White House also directed criticism at major news organizations and polling companies. It argued that the first reports reflect the concentration of votes cast by mail, a format that has historically favored Democrats.
Closing times for polls, by time zone in Brasília
The counting of votes followed the time zones across the country, from the east coast to the west. The times below are given in Brasília time, and they show when each group of states closed its polling stations.
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- 21h00: polls close in Florida, Georgia, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Vermont and Virginia
- 21h30: polls close in North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia
- 22h00: voting ends in 19 states and the District of Columbia, including Pennsylvania, Texas, Illinois, Michigan and Massachusetts
- 23h00 onward: counting continues in the West Coast states, Alaska and Hawaii
Rules that decide control of the House and Senate
The US electoral system renews the chambers of Congress every two years, in the middle of the four-year term of the president. The House and the Senate have different rules, and each one defines the balance of power in its own way.
- House of Representatives: 435 districts with two-year terms; a simple majority of 218 members decides the leadership of the chamber, the agenda of fiscal votes and the opening of impeachment articles
- Senate: 100 members with six-year terms, with about one-third of the seats renewed every two years; the leadership approves nominations for federal judges, ministers and ambassadors
The newly elected members take office in Washington on January 3, 2027.
