The 2026 midterm elections occurred on Tuesday, November 3, and are beginning to conclude with only a handful of races nationally still undecided. Overall, this election cycle was a massive victory for Democrats, who are poised to win control over both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Despite record spending across the country, the Republican Party suffered catastrophic losses that will inhibit President Donald Trump’s policies for the remainder of his term.

In Ohio, nearly every statewide office was flipped by Democrats. Dr. Amy Acton was elected governor in a race that saw international attention drawn to a controversial campaign ad produced by her Republican opponent, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Acton previously served as the Director of the Ohio Department of Health during the Covid-19 pandemic, and was noticed nationally due to Ohio’s relatively aggressive approach to Covid-19 compared to other Republican-led states. Another major seat flipped by Ohio Democrats was the state’s Class lll Senate seat. Democrat and former senator Sherrod Brown defeated incumbent Jon Husted in a race largely focused on affordability, union rights, and data center construction. Husted was appointed to his seat after then-incumbent Republican JD Vance was elected Vice President of the United States. Democrats also claimed Ohio’s secretary of state, attorney general, and treasurer positions, as well as two Ohio Supreme Court seats. The only Republican to win a statewide race was Frank LaRose, the incumbent Ohio secretary of state who was elected auditor. 

Although Democrats won various high-profile races outside of Ohio, perhaps none of them received as much attention as Texas’s senate contest — the most expensive senate campaign in history. Democrat state legislator James Talarico defeated Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton by a hefty margin, making Talarico the first Democrat to win the state since 1988. Talarico narrowly defeated Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett to become the Democratic nominee in the race, which surprised many analysts given Crockett’s viral social media presence and commanding personality. Paxton’s campaign fought a tough primary against incumbent Republican John Cornyn, but ultimately prevailed after receiving President Donald Trump’s endorsement. However, Paxton’s campaign was vexed by numerous scandals including a past indictment for securities fraud, an impeachment (and subsequent acquittal) for an unrelated bribery incident, physically evading a federal subpoena, an affair alleged by his ex-wife, a vacation in the United Arab Emirates with fugitives wanted on federal healthcare fraud charges, and alleged voter residency fraud. Also in Texas, Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated incumbent Republican governor Greg Abbott in a tighter contest than the state’s senate race.

Outside of these high-profile races, Democrats flipped Senate seats in Maine, North Carolina, South Carolina, Michigan, Kansas, and Iowa. As of writing, Democrats Mary Peltola and Scott Colom maintain razor-thin leads in Alaska and Mississippi, respectively. Alaska is often the last state to finalize election results due to its remote geography encouraging absentee voting, as well as a complex ranked-choice voting system that can take several days to finalize. Peltola is facing incumbent Senator Dan S. Sullivan (not to be confused with fellow candidate Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. or non-candidate and former mayor of Anchorage Dan A. Sullivan, who has issued endorsements in this year’s elections). 

In summary, the 2026 midterms have delivered sweeping victories for Democrats around the country, which will guarantee the party legislative checks against Republican President Donald Trump.

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