Democrats Win House and Senate as Talarico, Jackson, and Governors Win

WASHINGTON — Democrats won control of both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate in Tuesday’s 2026 midterm elections on November 3, putting Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on track to become the first Black Speaker of the House in January as Democratic challengers Troy Jackson in Maine and James Talarico in Texas flipped marquee Senate seats and voters elected a historic slate of governors across the nation.

Democrats Capture House and Senate as Troy Jackson and James Talarico Flip Key Seats

As projected by ABC7 News and detailed by ABC7 News, Democrats overturned Republican majorities in a Congress that entered Election Day with 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats, and 2 independents in the Senate and 218 Republicans, 214 Democrats, 1 independent, and 2 vacancies in the House. Incoming Speaker Hakeem Jeffries pledged a "Day One" legislative agenda to reinstate expired Affordable Care Act premium subsidies, reverse nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts from the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, and curb global tariffs, while presumptive House committee chairs Robert Garcia (Oversight), Jamie Raskin (Judiciary, probing a $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization fund" and clemency practices defended in June by Attorney General Todd Blanche), and Adam Smith (Armed Services, top Democrat since 2010, reviewing the Feb. 28 Iran war and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth) prepared oversight subpoenas.

Two Senate upsets anchored the Democratic surge:

• Maine U.S. Senate: As reported by The Press (Brentwood), 5-term (30-year) Republican Sen. Susan Collins called Democratic challenger Troy Jackson around midnight Tuesday to concede and pledge a smooth transition, with preliminary returns showing Jackson ahead 52% to 47%.
• Texas U.S. Senate: As reported by ABC7 News, Democratic former teacher and seminarian James Talarico defeated Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton (whom President Donald Trump had endorsed over incumbent John Cornyn in the GOP primary). Appearing Wednesday on Good Morning America, Talarico noted he worked with both parties in the Texas House to pass 60 bipartisan bills and called for repealing tariffs, suspending federal gas and diesel taxes, and passing bipartisan immigration reform.

Trump Promises "Mr. Veto" Strategy as $5,000 ($1.2 Trillion) Dividend Condition Goes Unmet

After hosting an East Room watch party at the White House on Tuesday night following a Nov. 2 speech at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, President Donald Trump told Fox News and Politico (ABC7 News and The Press (Brentwood)) that he was "a little bit surprised" by the losses, faulted his absence from the ballot and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (calling him a "RINO" in the last 6 months after Abbott lost his bid for a 4th term, alongside the loss of Darline Graham in South Carolina), and pledged to act as "Mr. Veto" if Democrats send him "50 different great bills."

Meanwhile, The Press (Brentwood) reported that the Democratic sweep left unmet the condition Trump set on September 9, 2026 (Sept. 9) in Dallas—and backed on Sept. 10 and Oct. 7 by Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) and spokeswoman Reagan McCarthy—to pay a $5,000 dividend to every adult U.S. citizen if Republicans held both chambers of Congress. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated a single round of $5,000 checks would cost $1.2 trillion, whereas Treasury Department statements showed net customs duties totaled $173.2 billion in fiscal 2026 (down from $194.9 billion the prior year). The $5,000 proposal was the 3rd unissued direct payment floated since February 2025 (following a February 2025 DOGE rebate and a $2,000 tariff dividend), whereas previously delivered payments drew on existing congressional funds: a $1,776 "Warrior Dividend" to 1.45 million service members ($2.6 billion from a $2.9 billion housing appropriation), $500 Obamacare fee-surplus refunds to nearly 1 million people, and a $90 Medicare rebate to 20.8 million beneficiaries from the 2008 Medicare Improvement Fund. Congress returns November 9 (Nov. 9) ahead of a December 11 (Dec. 11) funding deadline.

Historic Gubernatorial and Senate Firsts Across the Nation’s 250th Year

As chronicled by ABC7 News and NBC Bay Area (with State Voices CEO Alexis Anderson-Reed and Rutgers University’s Center for American Women and Politics noting 19 Democratic and 7 Republican women running for governor alongside nearly 300 women running for Congress), Tuesday’s midterms delivered landmark firsts in the nation’s 250th year:

• Georgia Governor Keisha Lance Bottoms: Former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms defeated billionaire Rick Jackson (who spent more than $200 million of his fortune) to become the first Black female governor in 250 years of U.S. history, Georgia’s first governor of color after 83 white male governors, and the state’s first Democratic governor since 1998 (succeeding term-limited Gov. Brian Kemp, who beat Stacey Abrams by 1.4 points in 2018 and again in 2022).
• New Mexico Governor Deb Haaland: Former Interior Secretary and Laguna Pueblo citizen Deb Haaland (elected to Congress in 2018 after 230 years without a Native American woman in Congress, following Kaw Nation Vice President Charles Curtis and Oklahoma Govs. Johnston Murray in the 1950s and Kevin Stitt) defeated former Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull to become the 33rd Governor of New Mexico and the first Native American female governor in U.S. history.
• Texas Governor Gina Hinojosa, Florida Governor Byron Donalds, Ohio Governor Amy Acton & Maryland Governor Wes Moore: Democratic Rep. Gina Hinojosa defeated Greg Abbott to become Texas’s first Hispanic female governor; Republican Rep. Byron Donalds (who removed 8 website references to Trump in September before reaffirming his endorsement) won in Florida to become its first Black governor alongside re-elected Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (the 3rd elected Black governor in U.S. history, with up to 7 more contenders nationwide); Dr. Amy Acton defeated Vivek Ramaswamy to become Ohio’s first female and first Jewish governor; Sen. Amy Klobuchar defeated Lisa Demuth in Minnesota; Marsha Blackburn and Jerri Green vied to become Tennessee’s first female governor; and Amanda Janoo ran in Vermont while Cyndi Munson lost in Oklahoma (following Nikki Haley as the first Asian American female governor).
• U.S. Senate Firsts: Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (White Earth Band of Ojibwe) defeated Michele Tafoya to become the first Native American female U.S. senator (as Mary Peltola, elected to the House in 2022, awaited counts against Sen. Dan Sullivan in Alaska); Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas defeated former Sen. John E. Sununu in New Hampshire to become the first openly gay male U.S. senator; Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton defeated Don Tracy to succeed retiring Sen. Dick Durbin alongside Sen. Tammy Duckworth, making Illinois the first state represented by 2 female senators of color and bringing the Senate to 3 Black women; and Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed remained in a tight race with Mike Rogers to become the first Muslim U.S. senator.