Democrats make broad gains against Republicans in 2026 US midterm elections

The United States held its midterm elections on 3 November 2026, voting midway through President Donald Trump's second term. All seats in the House of Representatives, a share of the Senate and many state governorships and legislatures were contested.

Democrats made broad gains, defeating Republicans in many races. Opinion polls and forecasters before election day had pointed to a Democratic advantage, and the party had also done well in earlier local and state elections, including the 2025 off-year contests.

The result mattered because midterms are often read as a verdict on the sitting president and decide who controls Congress, which can approve or block the White House's legislative agenda and launch investigations. The outcome also set off a debate among Republicans about what had gone wrong, including in allied parties abroad. Nigel Farage, leader of Britain's Reform UK, later linked the defeat to the president's Iran war, a claim that forms part of the story that followed.