Here’s what to know
Democrats won the House and Senate, including by flipping key Senate seats in Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas.
Nevada's Attorney General Aaron Ford defeated Republican incumbent Joe Lombardo to become the state's first Black governor.
Democrat lawmakers have hinted at the legal challenges they plan to launch against Trump and his Administration as they prepare to take control of both chambers.
- Amid a deepening rift between Europe and the Trump Administration, some European leaders have hailed the midterm results as a rebuke of Trump's policies.
House Speaker Mike Johnson won’t run for minority leader after GOP losses
Nov 4, 10:22 AMSpeaker Mike Johnson has told his staff he will not stay on as Republican leader in the new Congress, his office confirmed to TIME Wednesday morning.
The announcement comes a day after Democrats won control of both the House and Senate.
Johnson, who secured his own re-election in Louisiana's 4th district, had earlier voiced his disappointment over the GOP's losses, but vowed to have a "firewall of House Republicans" standing in the way of Democrats if the next two years become about "retribution."
Johnson has served two terms as House Speaker since he replaced ousted Rep. Kevin McCarthy in 2023.
Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, the current House Minority Leader, is widely expected to take over the gavel when Democrats assume control in January.
In the meantime, Johnson has vowed to “continue pressing forward with our agenda of common sense, and our vision to make America great again” in hopes of the GOP regaining control in 2028. —Olivia-Anne Cleary and Callum Sutherland
How AI Backlash Shaped the 2026 Midterms
Nov 4, 9:41 AMFor the past year, a faction of the AI industry bent on unfettered development looked poised to use its wealth to tip the 2026 midterms in its favor. But on Nov. 3, that accelerationist wing could hardly have had a worse night.
An NBC exit poll found that 56% of voters said that AI and data centers were a “crucial or major factor” in their vote for Congress. Democrats spent more than $100 million on broadcast ads casting their Republican opponents as being overly cozy with Big Tech and data centers—and decisively won in many of those races, including Ohio, Kansas, and Iowa.
Data center bans or moratoriums passed in counties across the country, from Edgewater, Fla., to Bloomington, Ill., while the mayors of Piqua, Ohio and Yukon, Oklahoma were recalled for their previous support of data center projects.
Data center and accelerationist super PACs failed to make a major dent in influencing elections through spending. One of the key candidates they spent money on, Darline Graham, lost to Annie Andrews, who nicknamed Graham “Data Center Darline” and called for a two-year moratorium on new projects. The accelerationists' ineffectiveness opened a pathway for “pro-safety” PACs to outspend them in key races. Several candidates backed by those groups, including Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed and Colorado’s Manny Rutinel, won.
The election served as the stunning capstone in a year of mounting anti-AI populism.
Read the full story here. —Harry Booth
James Talarico says his Texas win sends a message to "corrupt political system"
Nov 4, 9:04 AMJames Talarico's stunning victory in the Texas Senate race was one of the biggest midterm accomplishments for Democrats, marking a significant shift in a state that has not elected a Democratic Senator since 1988.
Speaking on the TODAY show Wednesday morning, Talarico said his win was a clear “message to this corrupt political system” that Texans “are ready for change.”
He went on to frame his victory in the Lone Star State as a call for voters to come together across party lines.
“The real fight in this country is not left versus right; it's top versus bottom, because all of us are getting screwed,” he said. “Last night, the people of Texas sent a crystal clear message that they want change and they expect change.”
Looking ahead, Talarico, who defeated Trump-backed Republican Ken Paxton, also vowed to hold the executive branch to task.
“We have to establish checks and balances. We have to hold the executive branch accountable,” he said.
Opening the door for collaboration, Talarico emphasized his willingness to “work with President [Donald] Trump to deliver for working people across Texas and across this country.” —Tiago Ventura
Republican leaders issue defiant response and say they 'will not stand idly by'
Nov 4, 8:01 AMAfter the expected blue wave turned into more of a tsunami, Republican leaders are reflecting on the results, and making vows for the future, as they prepare for the reality of losing control over both chambers of Congress.
Senate Majority Leader Thune touted what he views to be successful hallmarks of President Donald Trump’s first two years, citing border security and tax hike prevention’s.
Looking ahead to the next two years, Thune insisted that Republicans “will not stand idly by as the far-left, socialist wing of the Democrat Party attempts to unwind everything we’ve done” Hailing Trump’s presence in the White House, he said the party will work with the President “to stop the worst impulses of Democrat extremism,” arguing that “we cannot let their fringe positions become the mainstream.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson was equally defiant in his response to the Democrats’ overwhelming gains. He admitted he was “disappointed” by the results, but vowed to battle on against what he called an “insurgent socialist movement.”
“I’m not going to exaggerate when I tell you that there’s not a single American, not a single American family anywhere, that’s going to be made better off if Democrats turn Congress into a circus,” Johnson said in the early hours. “If they make the next two years about retribution and lawfare and partisan games, every American will suffer by that. And I tell you what we will do. We will put a firewall of House Republicans standing in their way to ensure that doesn’t happen,” he said.
Despite the significant setback, Johnson expressed hope for the future of Republicans in the House.
“We will continue pressing forward with our agenda of common sense and our vision to make America great again. And come 2028, we will take back the House, and we will finish this job,” he vowed.
Johnson will likely be handing over his gavel to Hakeem Jeffries, the current House Minority Leader, who heralded the election gains for his party as “not a blue moment,” but rather “a red, white, and blue moment.”
With control of the House secured, Democrats warn Trump Administration to 'lawyer up'
Nov 4, 7:05 AMWith their newly-acquired majority, Democrats are prepping to take control of the House committees. This will give them a new subpoena power and the ability to conduct oversight investigations of Trump’s Administration, family and business ventures, immigration enforcement, and more.
California Rep. Robert Garcia, who is set to become the next chair of the Oversight Committee of the House of Representatives, shared a two-word warning for Republicans as the results came in Tuesday night. “Lawyer up,” he said.
The Oversight Committee’s primary function is to hold the federal government to account. It will serve as the core body for lawmakers to mount legal challenges against the Trump Administration.
Garcia previously said that, if Democrats were to win, he would lead investigations into the Trump family’s business dealings, the conduct of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. He also vowed to look into Elon Musk’s former role in the “Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).”
Elsewhere, the X account belonging to Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee told Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin to “clear” his calendar.
Homeland Security operations under the Trump Administration have come under fierce condemnation by Democrats, who have raised the alarm over fatal shootings carried out by federal agents in Trump’s second term.
The Trump Administration is also set to face challenges within the Senate now that Democrats have retaken the chamber. Sen. Rob Wyden of Oregon, a ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, hinted at future investigations when he shared a one-word statement overnight, simply saying: “Subpoenas." —Callum Sutherland
Europe hails Democrats’ midterms victory as a rebuke of Trump's policies
Nov 4, 6:23 AMThe Democrats’ sweeping victories in the midterm elections are being viewed by some European leaders as a rebuke of President Donald Trump and his Administration’s policies.
“American society voted against the policies that only impoverish. Against hate. Against machismo. Against climate denialism and against the privileges of the elites,” said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has previously clashed with Trump.
Others viewed the Democrats’ reclaiming of both chambers of Congress as an opportunity to improve U.S.-Europe relations, which have faltered significantly since Trump returned to office, with divides over the Iran war, NATO spending, and tariffs proving especially damaging.
Christel Schaldemose, vice president of the European Parliament, said she was “cautiously optimistic on Europe's behalf, not because everything now changes for the better, but because it could benefit the support for Ukraine, the green transition, and relations with the rest of the world.”
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre viewed the results as “a powerful political signal about a change of course among American voters.” In a statement to Reuters, he said that “voices are now emerging in American politics that are closer to us than the President and the Administration have stood for,” citing environmental matters and foreign policy as two such examples.
Outside of Europe, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf argued that the results were a reflection of Americans’ rebuke of war. “Conscience or the cost of living, Americans said NO TO WAR, and we endorse this message,” he said.
The Iran war, which started on Feb. 28 when the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iranian targets, is currently in its ninth month and remains deeply unpopular with Americans, who have had to shoulder soaring diesel prices and other financial ramifications as a direct result of the conflict. —Tiago Ventura
The results in Texas could reshape the road to the White House in 2028
Nov 4, 5:39 AMOn an Election Day when national Democrats had monumental momentum, the results in Texas were a breed apart and could redefine the path to the White House in 2028.
Both James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa broke the Republican Party’s hold in deep-red Texas. But the losses didn’t stop there. When all the ballots are counted, Texas Republicans may be on the receiving end of something approaching a wipeout. It’s a stunning turn that proves in one fell swoop that years of Democrats’ optimism in someday flipping Texas were not foolhardy. Even Texas Republicans gifted last-minute gerrymandered districts in U.S. House races were not immune to the national mood.
For Democrats, it was a dividend long invested. Year after year, Democrats kept insisting that this would be the cycle that would break the Republican fever in the state. And year after year, they woke up the day after Election Day feeling like Charlie Brown trying to kick Lucy’s football.
Still, Democrats have long insisted that Texas is not a state of Republican voters. It’s a state of non-voters. Tuesday’s results finally proved that thesis.