Democrats gain majority in US Senate after midterms

The US Democratic Party has shifted the balance of power in the upper house of Congress, gaining control of the Senate following the midterm elections held on 3 November. According to Associated Press, Democrats managed to take six seats from the Republicans, including in Texas, Kansas and South Carolina, where they had not won for decades.

Shift in the balance of power in the Senate

Before the vote, Republicans held a majority in the Senate, occupying 53 of the 100 seats compared to 47 for Democrats. To gain a majority, their opponents needed to take at least four seats, but they managed to secure six victories:

• Kansas: Pastor Adam Hamilton defeated incumbent Senator Roger Marshall. This victory marked the first for a Democrat in this state since 1932.
• Texas: James Talarico won against state Attorney General Ken Paxton. A Democrat from Texas had not been elected to the Senate since 1988. It is noted that Elon Musk spent over $212 million supporting Paxton's candidacy.
• South Carolina: Annie Andrews defeated Darline Graham, the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, who had temporarily held his seat. Democrats had not won Senate elections here since 1998. Andrews will become the first woman elected to the upper house of Congress from this state.
• North Carolina: Former Governor Roy Cooper defeated Trump-backed Michael Watley. The last Democratic victory in such elections in this state was in 2008.
• Ohio: Former Senator Sherrod Brown defeated Republican John Husted, returning to Washington two years after his previous defeat.
• Iowa: Democrat Josh Turek defeated Republican Ashley Hinson. According to a count of 94% of the votes, his support stood at 50.7% compared to 46.2% for his opponent.

In addition, Democrats managed to hold their ground in several states. Specifically, in Georgia, John Ossoff was re-elected, becoming the first Democratic senator from this state to be elected to a second full term since 1990. Democrats also retained their seat in New Hampshire.

"Five words for the American people: help is on the way," said Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate, adding that voters had voted for change.

Gubernatorial and House of Representatives election results

Apart from the Senate, Democrats won gubernatorial elections in several states, taking these posts from the Republicans:

• Georgia: Keisha Lance Bottoms will become the first Black woman governor in US history and the first Democrat to hold the office in the state since 1998.
• Texas: Gina Inocosa defeated Greg Abbott. She will become the first governor of Latin American descent in a state where Republicans had held power for over 30 years.
• Iowa: Rob Sand became the state's first Democratic governor in nearly 16 years.
• Ohio: Democrat Amy Acton will take the post of governor.

According to AP, Democrats are also close to victory in the House of Representatives, having taken more than half a dozen districts from their opponents.