Here’s what to know
Democrats won the House and Senate, flipping key Senate seats in Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas.
Vice President J.D. Vance blamed the Republican Party's heavy midterm losses on the Iran war.
- Speaker Mike Johnson won’t seek re-election as House Republican leader, his team confirmed to TIME.
Exclusive: Democrats are sending volunteers and lawyers to Mississippi on Wednesday following a closely watched Senate race with a razor-thin margin.
Democrat lawmakers have hinted at the legal challenges they plan to launch against Trump and his Administration.
Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan launch bids to lead GOP after midterm losses
Nov 4, 2:47 PMHouse Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Rep. Jim Jordan have announced that they will seek the top position in the Republican minority in the next Congress after Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday morning that he will not run for the position.
“The socialists are coming to Washington with a radical agenda that threatens the America we hold dear. They will stop at nothing to undo the progress we’ve made alongside President Trump over the last two years,” Scalise, who has served as the No. 2 or No. 3 Republican in the House for more than a decade, wrote in a letter to colleagues on Wednesday following the GOP’s sweeping losses in the midterms.
“The House Republican Conference must be the first line of defense in this crucial battle, and we must fight like our way of life depends on it—because it does,” he continued, going on to pitch himself as a leader “ready to lead on day one and chart our path back to the majority.”
Jordan, a hard-line conservative who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, also announced a run for minority leader in a letter to colleagues earlier on Wednesday.
“In these next two years, our job cannot be merely to spotlight how radical this new Democrat party is—offense, not defense, wins elections. Republican policies prioritize making Americans’ neighborhoods safer, keeping more money in their pockets, and protecting enduring American values and freedoms. To restore our majority, we must restore voters’ faith in our ability to deliver on these principles,” he wrote.
“That,” he continued, “is why I am running to serve as Republican Leader in the 120th Congress.”
Both Scalise and Jordan previously mounted bids for Speaker in 2023, after Kevin McCarthy’s ouster from the position. Scalise beat out Jordan for the internal Republican nomination to lead the conference, but later withdrew his candidacy after failing to secure the votes needed to win the gavel. Johnson went on to be elected to the role following a long and contentious process. — Annika Neklason
Schumer vows to work “with or without” Trump as Democrats prepare to take control of Congress
Nov 4, 12:45 PMSenate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that Democrats are determined to “get the American people’s cost of living down”—a task he said he's willing to do "with or without the President."
When asked how this could work, considering President Donald Trump’s ability to veto congressional legislation, Schumer told reporters: “Just watch.” He did not respond when asked if he plans to impeach Trump.
Schumer is in the running to become the next Senate Majority Leader, after Democrats won 54 Senate seats in the midterms, with two seats still up for grabs as of early Wednesday afternoon.
Trump had previously suggested he would veto Democrat-led bills, but in the wake of the election losses he expressed a willingness “to work with the Democrats to make sure things go well for our country.” He added: “I don’t just want to be sitting there for two years vetoing everything.” —Callum Sutherland.
Vance blames Iran war for GOP’s midterm losses
Nov 4, 12:01 PMVice President J.D. Vance blamed the Republican Party's heavy midterm losses on the Iran war, citing the months-long conflict as the reason why some former Trump voters had opted not to support a GOP candidate.
“The reason we lost is the war. The President himself said so last night,” Vance said in a lengthy social media post on Wednesday. “If you'd like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that's at least honest."
Vance said a conversation with a pollster about pre-election data showed "how a lot of Trump 2024 voters were angry and planning to vote for Democrats."
In addition to the ongoing war, he listed the cost-of-living crisis, calls for an "America first" approach, and the desire for a change in the U.S.-Israel relationship as other concerns among Republican voters.
Vance’s assessment is a stark criticism of the conflict, which is now in its ninth month with no clear end in sight, as recent indirect negotiations with Tehran have yielded no tangible results.
Trump has, for the most part, stood by the war, insisting it will pay off for Americans in the long-run. He told POLITICO on Tuesday: “I am totally convinced that my decision on Iran for the long term good of our country and the world was an absolutely correct one and it continues to be.”
The Iran war is estimated to have cost American taxpayers around $47.1 billion so far. Furthermore, Americans have had to shoulder soaring energy prices as a direct result of the unrest—a point many Democratic candidates mentioned in their campaigns leading up to the midterms. —Callum Sutherland.
Exclusive: Democrats send volunteers, lawyers to Mississippi following close Senate race
Nov 4, 11:19 AMDemocrats are sending volunteers and lawyers to Mississippi on Wednesday following a closely watched Senate race with a razor-thin margin, according to two sources familiar with the situation.
The Magnolia State has become an unlikely battleground for the Senate race, as Democratic candidate and District Attorney Scott Colom is currently leading incumbent Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith by a razor-thin margin, with more than 96% of the votes counted. News organizations have yet to make a projection on the race.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), along with Democratic attorney Marc Elias’ law firm, will be on the ground leading the effort to ensure all lawful votes are counted, according to a DSCC spokesperson.
At least one Democratic Senator, Maria Cantwell of Washington state, is in Mississippi with her Senate staffer in advance of potential litigation arising from the ballot counting process, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The state of Mississippi does not have an automatic recount following the election or a recount request procedure set up. The only way that a recount can be requested is through the court system, where candidates can sue the state’s top election office and ask for a remedy. —Philip Wang
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. —Andrew R. Chow and 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.”