2026 US midterm elections Democratic gains and Trump’s political setback, Digi Mart USA News: Even before millions of Americans cast their ballots on Tuesday, President Donald Trump appeared to anticipate a heavy electoral defeat that would strip his Republican Party of its majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Speaking to reporters during a final campaign appearance in front of the Lincoln Reflecting Pool on Monday afternoon, Trump said, “For some reason, the sitting President doesn’t win the midterms, but we gave this a very strong shot.” The remark was widely read as a possible preview of a concession rooted in the scale of a Democratic victory.
As results came in on Tuesday night, Republican lawmakers across the country lost seats in what the publisher described as something close to a political tidal wave. Exit polls showed that many voters cited the soaring cost of living as the central issue driving them to the polls, and 65 per cent told pollsters they held Trump personally responsible for worsening economic conditions.
Voters also began paying record prices for petrol and diesel in the United States on Tuesday itself, undercutting Trump’s claim that the affordability crisis was a Democratic-inspired political concoction. Trump had also faced sharply falling approval ratings in the months before the vote.
In North Carolina, former governor Roy Cooper defeated Michael Whatley, a former head of the Republican National Committee, to give Democrats the first Senate seat to flip. In Texas, James Talarico defeated Attorney General Ken Paxton and became the first Democrat elected to the Senate from the state since 1988, while Gina Hinojosa defeated Governor Greg Abbott, who was denied a fourth term.
South Carolina followed, where Dr. Annie Andrews, a Democrat whom Trump had derided with the moniker “Trannie Annie,” defeated Senator Darline Graham, sister of the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who died unexpectedly in July.
Graham lost a seat Republicans had held for nearly three decades.
In Kansas, Adam Hamilton defeated Senator Roger Marshall, handing Democrats control of the Senate. Hamilton will become the first Democrat from Kansas to take a Senate seat since 1932 when he takes office in January.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said he had spoken to Trump, who reportedly said he was “feeling great.” Shortly before Democrats secured control of the Senate, Trump posted on Truth Social: “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!”
Trump’s former communications director Bryan Lanza called the outcome “devastating” in comments to LBC. “The voters are tired of this war and they’re tired of inflation,” Lanza said, adding, “I never thought we would lose South Carolina.”
Earlier in the night, Trump had acknowledged on Fox News that the Iran war had hurt Republicans, saying people “didn’t like it” when they had to pay more for fuel, and he hinted at possible further strikes.
With both chambers moving into Democratic hands, Democrats face difficult choices. An impeachment attempt appears unlikely given the absence of a two-thirds Senate majority needed to convict, and a bipartisan deal with Trump appears similarly improbable.
Investigations of senior aides, including “Secretary of War” Pete Hegseth and former Attorney General Pam Bondi, appear more likely.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who leaves office in January, signaled his interest in seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 2028. Speaking to Sirius XM radio, he said, “Gas is higher.
It hurts people.”
On Fox News, host Jesse Watters said, “It’s not a red wave,” and added, “I don’t think we’re going to get our $5,000 checks.”
