Midterm elections 2026: Democrats lead Senate and House races while Trump has no public events By Luís Henrique Costa
3 min read
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The White House released President Donald Trump’s schedule for Wednesday (4 November) with no public events and no scheduled appearance before reporters. It lists only four internal meetings on public policy in Washington, all closed to news coverage. The schedule came out on the same night that midterm projections showed Democrats gaining ground in the Senate, the House of Representatives and state governments.
Trump’s absence from public view reflects discontent captured in exit polls, fueled by a higher cost of living, more expensive fuel and foreign geopolitical tensions. In earlier speeches broadcast on social media, he warned that his administration could face investigations and even impeachment proceedings if the opposition took control of Congress. With polls closed in the East and Midwest, AP, NBC News and CNN had already named winners in races that will shape the balance of power. He plans to follow the returns from the White House, where an election night viewing reception in the East Room starts at 7 p.m. ET.
Democrats take most Senate seats decided so far
Projections had already named several Senate winners by the end of the night. Democrats took most of the seats decided so far, and Republicans kept one. The names below are the Senate races called up to this point.
- Jon Ossoff (Democrat, Georgia), re-elected after defeating Republican Representative Mike Collins
- Edward Markey (Democrat, Massachusetts), re-elected to the Senate
- Jack Reed (Democrat, Rhode Island), re-elected to the Senate
- Cory Booker (Democrat, New Jersey), re-elected to the Senate
- Chris Coons (Democrat, Delaware), re-elected to the Senate
- Mark Warner (Democrat, Virginia), re-elected after defeating Republican Bert Mizusawa
- Juliana Stratton (Democrat, Illinois), elected to the seat left by the retirement of Dick Durbin, joining Lisa Blunt Rochester and Angela Alsobrooks as Black women in the chamber
- Chris Pappas (Democrat, New Hampshire), elected to Jeanne Shaheen’s seat after defeating former Republican senator John Sununu
- Roy Cooper (Democrat, North Carolina), elected after defeating Republican Michael Whatley
- Ashley Moody (Republican, Florida), kept her seat after defeating Democratic representative Angie Nixon
House control leans Democratic, with Florida incumbent returning
All 435 House seats were on the ballot. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat from Florida, won re-election in the 20th district over Republican Brent Andersen, which the original reporting described as her 12th consecutive term. CNBC’s Election Desk projected that Democrats would win at least 205 seats and Republicans at least 160.
See also: Democrat Annie Andrews, pediatrician, leads Republican Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina
Four Democratic governors re-elected, and Georgia changes hands
Democrats kept four state governorships in the projections. NBC News also projected that Keisha Lance Bottoms wins the Georgia governor race, a flip for the party.
- Josh Shapiro (Democrat, Pennsylvania), re-elected after defeating Republican Stacy Garrity
- JB Pritzker (Democrat, Illinois), re-elected to a third term
- Maura Healey (Democrat, Massachusetts), re-elected to a second term
- Wes Moore (Democrat, Maryland), re-elected to a second term
South Carolina Senate race too early to call
In South Carolina, Democrat Annie Andrews led Republican Darline Graham 52.5% to 45.6% in the NBC News tracker updated at 9:12 p.m. ET, and the race was still too early to call. Vote counts in industrial House districts in Indiana, Florida and Virginia also moved toward the opposition. CNBC said the Texas Senate seat leans Democratic, while NBC News listed Michigan and Texas as too early to call.
Check out: Midterms 2026: Congress control vote on November 3 could stall Trump agenda
Counting, certification and swearing-in before the new Congress
The US electoral calendar sets three fixed steps before the new legislature begins. Each step has its own timetable.
- Counting and audit: county election offices keep tabulating mail ballots postmarked by the legal deadlines.
- Certification: state secretaries certify the final results in the weeks after the vote.
- Swearing-in: senators and representatives take the oath in the Capitol in Washington on 3 January 2027, when the new Congress officially begins.
