Democrats Win Both Chambers of Congress, Ending Two Years of Republican Control

Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in Tuesday's midterm elections, with CBS News and NBC News projecting a Senate majority shortly after calling the House, ending two years of unified Republican control in Washington.

The Senate victory followed a string of flips in states that had looked out of reach for Democrats a year earlier. CBS News projected Democratic wins in Republican-held seats in Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Kansas and Iowa, while the party held on in Georgia and New Hampshire. Democrats needed four flips to win the majority; Republicans entered the night with 53 seats to the Democrats' 47.

NPR, analyzing race calls by The Associated Press, reported that Democrats clinched the chamber when Josh Turek defeated Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson in Iowa.

In the House, NBC News projected Democrats would win approximately 255 seats, an estimate that could still tick up or down by a few seats but sits well past the 218 needed for a majority and could be their largest in nearly two decades. Democrats needed a net gain of just three seats, and NBC reported the wave washed over far more Republican-held districts than that.

"America is back," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said in Washington. "Today begins the great American comeback." Jeffries is in line to become the first Black speaker of the House when the new Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3.

That outcome is not automatic. House Democrats are expected to hold leadership elections the week of Nov. 16, when Jeffries would become his party's nominee for speaker; he would then need 218 votes on the floor to take the gavel.

Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, who led Democrats through two years in the minority, is expected to return to the majority leader's job.

NBC News reported that corruption, affordability, immigration and the war in Iran were all key issues for voters, while CBS News cited economic discontent over the cost of living. In the NBC News exit poll, 43 percent said opposing Trump was one reason they voted as they did, and 71 percent, including 41 percent of Republicans, said Congress had not done enough to oversee his administration.

Trump, who had told voters to pretend he was on the ballot, blamed the results on his absence from it. "I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!" he wrote on social media.

He has also signaled he would block Democratic legislation. "I'll become Mr. Veto," Trump said in an interview on the Pod Force One podcast published Monday, adding that "at some point we'll probably make deals."

The majorities give Democrats subpoena power and control of House and Senate committees. Reps. Robert Garcia of California and Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrats on the Oversight and Judiciary committees, are expected to lead investigations into the administration, Trump's family business dealings and the immigration crackdown.

On legislation, Jeffries has said Democrats will focus on reversing cuts to Medicaid, extending Affordable Care Act premium tax credits that expired last year, restoring Congress's authority over tariffs and ending the war with Iran. With Trump in the White House, NPR reported, Democrats are unlikely to see many of their priorities signed into law.

The result ends the speakership of Mike Johnson of Louisiana, who has run the House for the past three years; whether he stays on as minority leader is unclear. NPR reported that Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota is largely expected to stay on as the top Senate Republican, though NBC News called his future unknown.