Democrats make broad gains in the 2026 US midterm elections

The United States held its midterm elections on 3 November 2026, halfway through President Donald Trump's second term. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and a third of the Senate were contested, along with many state offices.

Democrats won broadly across battleground districts and states. US networks projected that the party had taken the House majority, and early tallies pointed to major Democratic gains in the Senate as well. Some close races, including a tight Senate contest in Mississippi, were still being counted in the days afterwards, so final totals were not yet settled. Exit coverage suggested that the cost of living weighed heavily on voters, and Trump's approval rating was reported to be around 38%.

The result mattered because losing control of Congress would limit Trump's ability to pass legislation and would give Democrats power to investigate his administration and to challenge its budget and foreign policy choices. Investors and commodity traders watched closely. They saw a more constrained White House as less likely to escalate the conflict with Iran, which had been a key driver of oil price swings.