Josh Shapiro and JB Pritzker win re-election as Democrats hold key governor races By Luís Henrique Costa
4 min read
 |
Early projections give the Democratic Party its first major wins in the 2026 midterm elections for Congress and state governments. Voting on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, renews all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 35 of the 100 Senate seats and 36 governorships. Projections indicate the party kept key Senate seats and secured the leadership of four industrial and coastal states. The result also works as a direct test for the administration of Republican President Donald Trump.
The opposition’s early advance came amid high turnout and public discontent. Seven in every ten voters said they were unhappy with how the economy is run, especially the steady rise in fuel and food prices. Democrats need four more Senate seats and a four-vote advantage in the House to take control of both chambers in Washington. If the projections hold in western states and in regions that count later, the federal government could face budget blocks, investigative committees and explicit threats of impeachment proceedings.
Projected winners of Senate seats and governorships
Quick counts 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.
- Georgia Senate: Jon Ossoff (Democrat), re-elected
- Massachusetts Senate: Edward Markey (Democrat), re-elected
- Rhode Island Senate: Jack Reed (Democrat), re-elected
- New Jersey Senate: Cory Booker (Democrat), re-elected
- Delaware Senate: Chris Coons (Democrat), re-elected
- Virginia Senate: Mark Warner (Democrat), re-elected, defeating Republican Bert Mizusawa
- Illinois Senate: Juliana Stratton (Democrat), elected to fill the seat left by Dick Durbin’s retirement
- Florida 20th district, House: Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Democrat), re-elected to her 12th term, defeating Republican Brent Andersen
- Pennsylvania governor: Josh Shapiro (Democrat), re-elected, against Republican treasurer Stacy Garrity
- Illinois governor: JB Pritzker (Democrat), re-elected
- Massachusetts governor: Maura Healey (Democrat), re-elected
- Maryland governor: Wes Moore (Democrat), re-elected
Georgia seat stays with Democrats as Ossoff beats Collins
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 a direct endorsement from Trump during regional rallies. The Associated Press, CBS News and NBC News also projected the race for Ossoff. 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.
Follow: Donald Trump says Lula asked for neutrality in Brazil’s election, G20 talks pending
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. Republicans had first viewed Georgia as a possible pickup, a state that Trump won in the 2024 presidential election. The result reinforces the opposition’s presence there.
Emergency donation appeal follows Trump’s reaction to early numbers
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 aimed its 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.
Hours each state group closes its polls, in Brasília time
Counting followed the time zones, from the East Coast to the West. The times below are given in Brasília time and show when each group of states closed its polling stations.
Read also: Donald Trump cancels Pentagon livestream of Nidal Malik Hasan execution
- 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
How House and Senate seats and terms are set in Congress
The US electoral system renews the chambers of Congress every two years, in the middle of the president’s four-year term. The House and the Senate follow 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. Votes in western states and in regions that count later were still being tallied when the first projections came out.
