The Fox News Decision Desk can project that Democrat Abdul El-Sayed will become the next Senator for Michigan, defeating Republican Mike Rogers.
This is a triumph for the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, and a loss for the party establishment, which had backed Representative Haley Stevens in the primary.
Democrats will hold at least 54 seats in the Senate.
El-Sayed outran alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, concerns about his rhetoric over Israel and Jewish voters in Michigan, and criticism from fellow Democrats for his ties to controversial political streamer Hasan Piker to best Rogers, who lost for the second time in as many elections.
Conversely, Rogers failed to outrun the political headwinds that have buffeted Republicans this cycle, including affordability issues, President Donald Trump’s trade war with Canada launched in the thick of the midterms, and the Iran war, despite his attempts to distance himself and the administration from the latter issues.
Democrat James Talarico celebrated his victory in Texas’ U.S. Senate race Tuesday night, declaring that voters had overcome powerful political interests while promising to represent Texans across party lines.
Talarico made history by defeating Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a close ally of President Donald Trump, marking the first time a Democrat has won a U.S. Senate race in the Lone Star State in nearly four decades.
“We just took back Texas,” Talarico told supporters during his election night victory speech.
He said the result showed that grassroots political support could overcome wealthy donors and the political establishment.
“We just proved that all the money in the world is no match for the people of Texas,” he said.
Talarico compared his campaign to the biblical story of David and Goliath, describing his victory as an underdog triumph against some of the country’s most powerful political interests.
“In this race, we went up against our own Goliaths. The richest man in the world, the most powerful man in the world. And the entire Washington, D.C., establishment,” he said.
“You were my slingshot. The people of Texas were my slingshot. And tonight, we defeated Goliath.”
Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn will leave Washington, D.C., to spend more time in her home state as Tennessee’s next governor.
The sitting senator sailed to victory over her Democratic Party opponent in the deep red state in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Blackburn, who has served in the U.S. Senate since winning her seat in 2018, will replace Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who was term-limited and could not seek reelection.
Blackburn previously represented Tennessee’s 7th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Before that, she was a state legislator.
She ran against Democrat Memphis City Councilwoman Jerri Green.
The Fox News Decision Desk can project that Republican Julia Letlow will defeat Democrat Jamie Davis in an unexpectedly close race for Louisiana’s Senate seat.
With her victory, Letlow will succeed Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, who was ousted by her earlier this year in the GOP primary.
Letlow was backed by President Donald Trump even before she launched a Senate campaign to challenge Cassidy, who five years ago voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial. Letlow came in first in the the May primary and six weeks later captured the Senate nomination after topping state Treasurer John Fleming in a runoff election.
Letlow, who was also backed by Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a top Trump ally, won her congressional seat in 2021, after her husband, Luke Letlow, died five days before being sworn into the U.S. House after his 2020 election victory.
During this year’s Senate bid, Letlow made Trump’s support a centerpiece of her campaign.
Davis was trying to make history as the first Black person elected to the U.S. Senate in Louisiana since Reconstruction, and the first Democrat to win a Senate election in the Gulf Coast state in nearly two decades.
Former President Barack Obama lauded the Democratic Party’s sweeping midterm victories in a Wednesday statement posted to X.
“Tonight, the American people sent a clear message — they want a politics that brings people together rather than divides them, and leaders who offer concrete solutions to the challenges they face,” Obama said. “These results were only possible because outstanding candidates stepped forward in every region of the country — including in areas once considered long shots.”
“They came from different backgrounds and represented a range of political perspectives, but were united by shared values, a belief in public service, and a commitment to putting the people of their districts and states first,” he continued.
The former president also urged Democrats to prioritize preventing “further damage” and “lay the groundwork for the future.”
“We also owe a debt of gratitude to the thousands of election officials and volunteers from both parties who helped ensure a smooth election and carried out one of the most essential functions of our democracy,” Obama said. “While this administration has another two years in office, our job now is to roll up our sleeves, make changes wherever we have the power to do so, prevent further damage, and lay the groundwork for the future.”
Democratic Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet has won re-election in Michigan’s 8th Congressional District, defeating Republican Army veteran Thomas Smith and holding a seat President Donald Trump carried in 2024, Fox News projects.
McDonald Rivet’s victory keeps the Flint and Saginaw-area district in Democratic hands despite its slight Republican lean, preserving an important seat in the battle for House control.
Smith entered the general election after one of the year’s most unusual Republican primaries. The retired General Motors engineer suspended his campaign in July and endorsed another candidate, only to win the nomination weeks later over Trump-endorsed Amir Hassan.
Smith secured the nomination despite raising just $1,850 through June.
McDonald Rivet, a former Michigan state senator, first won election to Congress in 2024 after longtime Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee retired.
Her victory extends Democratic control of a district that backed Trump in the previous presidential election, while voters in the Great Lakes State will also decide Tuesday who replaces retiring Sen. Gary Peters and term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., plans to seek the top Republican leadership position in the next Congress after his party lost control of the upper chamber in Tuesday’s midterm elections, Fox News Digital has learned.
A source close to Thune confirmed to Fox News Digital that the South Dakota Republican intends to run for Senate minority leader following the GOP’s election defeat.
Senate Republicans lost at least five seats, including contests in traditionally Republican strongholds such as South Carolina and Texas.The losses came amid declining approval ratings for President Donald Trump, whose administration faced criticism over the war in Iran, immigration enforcement operations and high gas prices in the months leading up to the election.
Following the defeat, Thune defended Senate Republicans’ legislative record over the past two years.The GOP conference has “put up a strong record of accomplishment that’s created safer streets, more money in Americans’ pockets, and new opportunities for families and businesses to get ahead,” Thune wrote on social media.
The majority leader also highlighted Republicans’ efforts to advance Trump’s legislative and judicial priorities despite Democratic opposition.”
After fighting Democrat obstruction at every turn, we prevented the largest tax hike in American history, secured our border in an unprecedented way, confirmed the president’s Cabinet at the fastest pace in two decades, and put strong conservative judges on benches across the country faster than we have since the Reagan administration,” Thune wrote.
The Fox News Decision Desk projects that Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville has defeated former Democratic Sen. Doug Jones to win election as Alabama’s next governor.
Tuberville, a strong supporter of President Donald Trump, will now succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Kay Ivey in the solidly red southeastern state.
The ballot box showdown was a rematch of the 2020 U.S. Senate election, where Tuberville defeated the incumbent Jones.
Jones was aiming to become the first Democrat in Alabama to win an election for governor in nearly three decades.
As he ran for governor, Tuberville highlighted his support for Alabama’s CHOOSE Act and school choice. He argued that competition would encourage public schools to improve.
But Jones said if elected he would work to phase out the state’s CHOOSE Act and keep more money in private education, arguing the program has pushed taxpayer money into private schools.
On the hot topic of data centers, Tuberville said that local leaders should have a role in deciding whether projects come to their communities.
Jones called for a temporary moratorium until Alabama develops electricity, water, noise, and transparency protections. And he pledged to eliminate existing tax incentives for data centers.
Before entering politics, Tuberville was a longtime college football coach who spent a decade as head coach of Alabama’s Auburn University.
Jones is a former federal prosecutor who won a 2017 Senate special election to succeed longtime GOP Sen. Jeff Sessions, who stepped down to serve as Trump’s first attorney general.
The Fox News Decision Desk projects that Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, the Democratic nominee for governor, has defeated her Republican rival Rep. John James.
With her victory, Benson will succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in steering the Great Lakes battleground state.
Benson also broke recent Michigan political tradition – Since gubernatorial term limits were implemented nearly 35 years ago, voters every eight years have elected a governor from the opposite party.
A law school dean and civil rights advocate, Benson has served the past eight years as Michigan’s secretary of state.
James, a West Point graduate and Army combat veteran who flew helicopters in the Iraq war, is a two-term congressman. Before being elected to the U.S. House, he won the 2018 and 2020 GOP Senate nominations before falling short each time in the general election.
During the gubernatorial campaign, Democrats repeatedly tied James to President Donald Trump, whose approval ratings are well underwater in Michigan.
Republicans, meanwhile, regularly linked Benson to far-left Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed.
Republican Brandon Herrera, a firearms manufacturer and YouTube personality known as “The AK Guy,” is projected to lose Texas’ 23rd Congressional District, depriving Republicans of a seat they were favored to win.
Democrat Katy Padilla Stout saw an opportunity to flip the traditionally Republican seat given Herrera’s history of controversial remarks and associations. As a YouTuber, Herrera occasionally made off-color remarks about sexuality and suicide.
Stout argued these jokes reflected poorly on Herrera’s character while the YouTuber defended his comments as comedic in nature.
Independent candidate Ben Mendoza was also on the ballot.
Also complicating things for Republicans was the fact that Herrera secured the GOP nomination in Texas’ 23rd Congressional District after Rep. Tony Gonzales resigned amid a sex scandal.
On the offensive, Herrera attacked Stout for allegedly wasting donor money, taking too permissive of a stance on illegal immigration and supporting drag shows for children.
Hosts of the “Ruthless Podcast” shared their takeaways from Tuesday night, arguing that the Democratic Party gains Tuesday night are more firmly linked to a referendum on Donald Trump rather than support for the party’s policies.
“This is an absolute backlash from the voters. They aren’t concerned with what policy these Democrats have. They aren’t concerned with any vision from the future that Democrats are offering,” said Shashank Tripathi, who goes by the pseudonym Comfortably Smug. “They are angry.”
“The argument the Republicans made was, ‘Democrats are going to make this worse. The reason you know why is because they had power before and they made all of this bad. They did the inflation under Joe Biden,'” co-host Michael Duncan added. “Ultimately, at the end of the day, the present condition of the voters is what they vote on, not the scary thing you project into the future.”
Meanwhile, John Ashbrook questioned where Republicans go from here.
“If Republicans want to win again, they need to get back to the basics,” he said, adding that the GOP needs to “figure out” how to begin strategizing immediately for 2028.
Democrat J.D. Ford is projected to defeat Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., in a key victory for Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and his quest to win the House majority.
Ford, a member of the Indiana State Senate, flipped a Republican-leaning state legislature district to win his current seat in 2018. He’s on track to do the same thing on the federal level tonight.
Fox News Power Rankings predicted Indiana’s 5th Congressional District would be a “likely Republican” victory, but the prediction ultimately mattered little in an election cycle that was long expected to be brutal for the GOP.
Spartz’s 2026 campaign came after she had threatened to retire repeatedly during the current congressional term, often complaining about the dysfunction on Capitol Hill and the lack of urgency to address the national debt.
She’s also frequently allied herself with outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and the pair were often spotted walking together in the U.S. Capitol. Unlike Massie, however, Spartz has run closely behind President Donald Trump.
Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, issued a statement on Tuesday urging Democrats to make artificial intelligence (AI) a top priority next year.
Casar said that the “House Democratic majority must make it a top priority to protect Americans’ jobs, freedom, and lives from AI billionaires.” His comments come as Democrats are expected to gain control of the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives in the 2026 midterms.
“AI company CEOs should be called to testify under oath,” Casar stated. “Congress should investigate how these companies are putting the jobs, freedom, and lives of Americans at risk. And we should pass bills to protect people.”
“The revolt against data centers was one of the top issues of the 2026 election, and in a few years we will look back on it as just the early tremor of a much bigger AI earthquake upending American politics,” he continued. “Voters rejected Republicans in part because they were bought and paid for by AI billionaires. Democrats must hold them accountable instead of cashing their checks.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., reacted to Democrats’ widespread election victories Tuesday night, including their projected takeover of the U.S. Senate, pledging to push back against what he described as a “far-left” agenda.
“Over the last two years, Senate Republicans have put up a strong record of accomplishment that’s created safer streets, more money in Americans’ pockets, and new opportunities for families and businesses to get ahead,” Thune wrote on X.
“After fighting Democrat obstruction at every turn, we prevented the largest tax hike in American history, secured our border in an unprecedented way, confirmed the president’s Cabinet at the fastest pace in two decades, and put strong conservative judges on benches across the country faster than we have since the Reagan administration.”
Thune’s comments came after Democrats scored major Senate victories in states including Texas, Maine, Iowa and South Carolina.
“I’m proud of our team and everything we’ve done for the American people, and I’m looking forward to the important work we have in front of us over the next few months,” he continued.
“As we head into 2027, Senate Republicans will not stand idly by as the far-left, socialist wing of the Democrat Party attempts to unwind everything we’ve done,” Thune wrote. “Thankfully, we still have President Trump in the White House, and we’ll work with him to stop the worst impulses of Democrat extremism.”
He added, “We cannot let their fringe positions become the mainstream.”
It’s 1 a.m. in New York, and polls are now closed across the country.
The Fox News Decision Desk says it’s too early to call the Senate race between Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan and former Democratic congresswoman Mary Peltola.
That race also features Dan J. Sullivan, an “undeclared” candidate.
It’s also too early to call the gubernatorial race, where Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins has three Republican opponents.
James Kingston, an insurance businessman and the Republican candidate in Georgia’s 1st Congressional District, won his race against Democratic challenger Amanda Hollowell on Tuesday evening.
Hollowell’s defeat marks one of the few disappointing moments for progressive Democrats in what was largely a momentous midterm cycle for the Democratic Party’s far left, especially in Georgia.
Even so, Hollowell came closer than Democratic candidates have in years past to flipping the seat, putting herself within three points of Kingston by the time the race was called in his favor.
The race was significantly tighter than the 24% margin of victory enjoyed by Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., in 2024.
During her race, Hollowell promised to prioritize expanding healthcare, increasing federal investment in local construction, and supporting the LGBTQ+ community.
Notably, her platform drew endorsement from prominent Democrats like Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Carter, the seat’s current incumbent, gave up his seat to run for U.S. Senate, but lost in the primary.
Democrat Mitchell Berman is projected to defeat Republican Rep. Bryan Steil in Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District, flipping a southeastern Wisconsin seat Republicans have held for more than three decades.
Berman’s victory ended the GOP’s long-running hold on a district once represented for 20 years by former House Speaker Paul Ryan. Steil, a former Ryan aide, had represented the district since 2019.
Berman, an emergency room nurse and former Department of Veterans Affairs nurse, campaigned heavily on affordability, healthcare and cracking down on corruption in Washington.
He called for repealing President Donald Trump’s tariffs, restoring Affordable Care Act subsidies and fully funding Medicaid.
Steil, a Janesville native who worked as an attorney and in the manufacturing industry before entering Congress, campaigned on lowering taxes, expanding American energy production, securing the border and protecting Social Security and Medicare.
Berman’s victory came in a district Steil won with 54% of the vote. President Donald Trump also carried the district by roughly 4.5% in the 2024 presidential election.
South Florida lawmaker Ian Valencillo told Fox News Digital that the Republican Party must take Tuesday night’s outcomes as a “warning call.”
His remarks come after Republicans lost the majority in both the House and the Senate, including historic upsets in places such as Texas, Maine, Iowa and South Carolina.
In Florida, the lawmakers’ home state, Republicans came within less than 2 points in multiple races, including governor, senate, and the state’s attorney general.
I’ll admit, I’m very surprised by how close tonight’s elections turned out to be. I was expecting Byron Donalds and Ashley Moody to win comfortably, by margins of around 10 points. Instead, these races came down to the wire,” Vallecillo said.
“This should serve as a major wake-up call for the Republican Party of Florida. We cannot afford to become complacent or take Florida’s Republican majority for granted. Tonight was a reminder that no election is a guaranteed victory, and we have some serious work to do moving forward,” he added.
The historic loss for the Republican Party comes after the approval rating of President Donald Trump has reached historic lows that has stemmed from the war in Iran, high gas prices and scandals and immigration raids.
MINNETONKA, Minn. — Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michele Tafoya conceded to her Democratic opponent, Minnesota Lt. Gov. Penny Flanagan, marking another loss for the GOP in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Tafoya said she congratulated Flanagan on a “spirited” and “hard-fought” race, after telling her supporters they were “so beautiful.”
She described the “best part” of her campaign experience as meeting Minnesotans across the state, and specifically thanked Minnesota law enforcement entities who endorsed her campaign.
“Look, one thing that we did do in this race folks, is we made it very clear that there should be consequences when you deceive the people of the state, when you rob the people of the state [and[ when you do not serve the people of the state,” she said.
A disappointed Tafoya added that though those consequences weren’t borne out through an election victory, that she would continue to send that message and hold people accountable.
“It’s been a really tough night,” she said, before thanking those who supported and worked on her campaign.
“This is tough, but here’s what’s not gonna be difficult for me,” she said, “and it shouldn’t be difficult for any of you. Hold your head high. Hold your head high. We fought like hell. We did the best we could do under these circumstances, and as has been seen all over the country tonight, the circumstances were tough.”
“We’re all gonna be okay,” she said.
Tafoya described her ten months campaigning as “life changing,” and said she didn’t regret running for office at all.
Democrat Bob Harvie has defeated Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District, flipping a closely watched suburban Philadelphia House seat, Fox News projects.
Harvie’s victory unseats one of the Republican Party’s most electorally resilient incumbents, delivering Democrats a pickup in their battle for control of the House.
Fitzpatrick, a former FBI agent first elected in 2016, built a reputation as a moderate Republican willing to break with his party on select issues.
He repeatedly survived Democratic challenges in Bucks County, a politically competitive Philadelphia suburb that has become a perennial congressional battleground.
Harvie, a Bucks County commissioner and former teacher, campaigned to return the district to Democratic control.
The Cook Political Report rated the race a Toss Up, underscoring the district’s competitiveness despite Fitzpatrick’s history of outperforming his party.
Harvie’s victory ends Fitzpatrick’s decade-long tenure and marks a partisan shift in one of Pennsylvania’s most closely watched congressional districts that has already grown more hostile to GOP figures like President Donald Trump.
Democratic Tejano music star Bobby Pulido defeated Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz in Texas’ 15th Congressional District, flipping a GOP-held seat in a major victory for Democrats seeking to regain ground among South Texas Latino voters.
The Latin Grammy-winning musician, making his first run for public office, overcame a Republican incumbent who helped usher in a political realignment in the historically Democratic Rio Grande Valley.
De La Cruz first won the seat in 2022, becoming the first Republican elected to represent the district. She secured reelection in 2024 as President Donald Trump carried the area by approximately 18 percentage points.
Pulido’s victory marks a reversal for Republicans in a region where the party has made significant inroads among Hispanic voters in recent election cycles.
The Democrat campaigned as a moderate, drawing on his decades-long music career and deep cultural ties to South Texas to appeal to voters across party lines.
The contest unfolded under a congressional map redrawn by Texas Republicans in 2025, which preserved the district’s Republican presidential voting advantage while bringing new communities into its bound