US midterm election results live: Democrats surge as Donald Trump faces major blow in Congress

Thanks for joining us for our US mid-term elections coverage today.

We’re finishing up our live blog but you can keep up to date with everything on The Nightly’s website.

Governor Tina Kotek, one of the few endangered Democratic incumbents in a difficult year for Republicans, prevailed in her reelection bid, The Associated Press said Wednesday, as she was powered in the end by a pro-Democratic environment in her blue state.

Kotek, who had been the longest-serving state House speaker in Oregon history before winning the governorship four years ago, defeated state Senator Christine Drazan, the same Republican she beat in her first run for governor.

Recent polls have shown Kotek’s dissatisfaction ratings rivaling those of President Donald Trump.

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President Donald Trump said Tuesday night, local time, that he was “absolutely willing” to accept the results of the midterm elections and was prepared to work with Democrats.

“We’ll, you know, look forward to working with them,” he said in a phone interview with The New York Times. “We’ll probably work something out.”

Trump blamed Republican losses on the fact that he was not on the ballot, and called his decision to go to war with Iran a “very wise decision.”

He said he had no regrets about endorsing candidates such as Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., and Ken Paxton, the Republican attorney general of Texas, who both lost their Senate bids.

Trump spoke to the Times shortly before 10.30pm Tuesday, local time, while he was watching election results at the White House. Democrats were on track to take control of the House and the Senate.

“I’m just looking at these results as I’m talking,” he said. “I see that Darline lost. Wow, that’s amazing. How do you think Lindsey would have done if he ran?” he added, referring to Senator Lindsey Graham, who died in July.

Trump added that he believed that Graham most likely would have prevailed in his race.

In the short conversation with the Times, the President sounded subdued as he absorbed decisive Democratic wins across the country.

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Democrat Aaron Ford won election Wednesday as governor of Nevada, defeating Republican incumbent Joe Lombardo.

Ford, the attorney-general, defeated the incumbent Lombardo in what was considered one of the country’s most competitive governor’s races.

Ford ran with the backing of the Democratic congressional delegation, California Governor Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris.

He focused his winning campaign on affordability issues and blamed President Donald Trump and Lombardo for Nevadans’ economic woes. He easily dispatched a more progressive challenger in the primary, insisting the party’s left wing doesn’t represent all Democrats. Ford will be the state’s first Black governor.

It comes just hours after fellow Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms became the first Black woman to be elected governor in the US after winning in Georgia.

The American voter dealt President Donald Trump a resounding rebuke in Tuesday’s midterms as Republican support cratered and Democrats won in places they hadn’t carried in decades.

Democrats won control of the Senate and were on track to take back control of the House. They won both the Senate and governor’s elections in Texas - their first statewide victories there since 1994 - as well as Senate elections in both North and South Carolina and Ohio, the Georgia governorship for the first time since 1998 and the Ohio governorship for the first time since 2010.

Among their early House victories were a Kentucky district that voted for Trump by 15 points and two Florida seats that Republicans redrew to shift right.

The head of the House GOP’s campaign arm trailed in his own race with 95 per cent of the vote counted.

The leftward swing extended across demographics and geographies. Compared with 2024, the exit poll conducted for the Associated Press and the major television networks showed double-digit swings toward the Democrats among Latinos, Catholic voters and voters younger than 30.

Republicans also suffered from a collapse in turnout as fewer of their supporters showed up on Election Day than four years ago, according to preliminary data.

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Annie Andrews has won a stunning victory in South Carolina, shattering decades of Republican dominance to become the first Democrat elected to the US Senate from the deeply conservative state in a generation.

On Tuesday, Andrews defeated US senator Darline Graham, who has been serving as interim senator since her brother, Lindsey Graham, died earlier in 2026.

The victory also made Andrews, a pediatrician, the first woman elected to represent South Carolina in the US Senate.

“You have shown the nation what is possible,” she told supporters.

“You have shown the nation that in this era of partisan divides, of vitriol and name-calling, in a politics dominated by billionaires and special interest groups and insiders in Washington, DC, that we will not bow down.”

Graham told the crowd they should remain as proud of her brother as she is.

“This is a tough cycle, and all of us need to be involved as we chart a path forward. It is clear that we as conservatives have work to do, and that work starts tonight,” Graham said.

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Democrat Abdul El-Sayed is set to become the first Muslim senator in US history after claiming victory in Michigan’s closely contested Senate race.

CNN has projected the 42-year-old former public health official will defeat Republican Mike Rogers, keeping the seat of retiring Democratic senator Gary Peters in the party’s hands.

Rogers is yet to concede the race.

Speaking to supporters in Detroit, El-Sayed celebrated the historic result.

“I am so proud and honoured to stand here as your senator-elect from the great state of Michigan,” he said.

“You might have noticed I always say, Insha’Allah, or God willing, whenever the outcome of this race was mentioned, but tonight, we can turn that inshallah into an alhamdulillah.”

He explained that “alhamdulillah” means “praise be to God”.

The victory follows a bitter Democratic primary in August, when El-Sayed narrowly defeated moderate congresswoman Haley Stevens by less than one percentage point.

In a dramatic twist, Stevens endorsed Rogers just days before the election, appearing alongside the Republican at a Detroit church.

The move sparked anger among Democrats but failed to derail El-Sayed’s campaign.

During his victory speech, El-Sayed thanked Michigan voters for their support throughout the race.

“I cannot wait to serve you with the same big-heartedness, open-mindedness, grit and earnestness that you’ve shown me,” he said.

“You welcomed me to your homes, your churches, your synagogues. You shared moments of frustration and sadness and vulnerability with me.”

Former US president Barack Obama has celebrated the Democrats’ sweeping midterm election victory, declaring American voters have delivered a clear message about the country’s political direction.

With Democrats taking control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, Obama welcomed the result in a statement shared on social media.

“Tonight, the American people sent a clear message – they want a politics that brings people together rather than divides them, and leaders who offer concrete solutions to the challenges they face,” he wrote.

The former president also praised the “outstanding candidates” who contested the election, including those who secured victories in traditionally Republican areas.

But Obama warned that Democrats still had significant work ahead of them, with President Donald Trump remaining in the White House for another two years.

“While this administration has another two years in office, our job now is to roll up our sleeves, make changes wherever we have the power to do so, prevent further damage, and lay the groundwork for the future,” he said.

His comments come after Democrats flipped a string of Republican-held seats in a major shift in the balance of power in Washington.

Democrats have secured control of both chambers of the US Congress in a sweeping midterm election victory, delivering a major setback to President Donald Trump and the Republican Party.

The result will dramatically change the balance of power in Washington for the remaining two years of Mr Trump’s presidency.

Democrats needed to flip just three seats to reclaim the House of Representatives but were projected to gain more than 20 as voters turned against the Republicans.

While the party had been widely expected to take the House, its success in the Senate proved particularly significant.

Democrats secured major victories in traditionally Republican states, including Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina, highlighting the scale of the electoral shift.

The results come amid growing voter frustration over the cost of living, including rising petrol and grocery prices, as well as the ongoing US war with Iran.

With Democrats now controlling both chambers, Mr Trump faces a Congress capable of blocking much of his legislative agenda, setting the stage for political battles during the final two years of his second term.

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Mr Trump shared an image of a red MAGA-style cap bearing the single word “Veto” on his Truth Social platform.

“FoxNews bears responsibility for these losses by constantly and consistently putting on the Dumocrat opposition, and worse,” Mr Trump posted on TruthSocial.

Speaking to Fox News earlier, the US President indicated he was prepared to use his veto power to force Democrats to negotiate with him.

“I’ll veto them and after a couple months of vetoes they’ll say, ‘How do we get this stuff done?’ and we’ll work together,” he said.

Mr Trump also claimed Democrats had already reached out to him following the election.

“I have a lot of friends, believe it or not,” he said, adding that he had spoken to several Democratic lawmakers.

“But I have the power of veto.”

The President also acknowledged the war in Iran may have contributed to the election result, although he defended his administration’s military campaign.

“A part of it was Iran, but at the same time people have understood the importance of what I’ve done with Iran,” he said.

“I think, historically, that’s going to be more important than what’s been done this evening.”

Mr Trump insisted the US had inflicted significant damage on Iran, while leaving open the possibility of further military action.