Democrats win both chambers of Congress in US midterms

Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the US midterm elections on Tuesday, flipping seven Senate seats and more than two dozen House seats and ending Republican control in Washington.

The Associated Press declared a Democratic Senate majority before midnight. Democrats secured the House less than two hours later, and they also expanded the number of Democratic governors.

In Kansas, Adam Hamilton unseated Republican incumbent Roger Marshall. He became the first Democrat to win a Senate race in the largely rural, conservative state since 1932.

Hamilton is the pastor of a Methodist megachurch and was registered as a Republican until recently. Pre-election polls had given him only a small lead.

James Talarico, a progressive newcomer, beat Texas attorney general Ken Paxton for a Senate seat. The result ended a Republican winning streak in the state that dated to 1988.

Talarico raised a record $145 million against the $22 million raised by Paxton, who leaned on outside groups to fund his campaign. Paxton lost despite securing Trump's support in a contentious primary.

Dr Annie Andrews defeated Senator Darline Graham in South Carolina, where no Democrat had won a Senate seat since 1998. Graham had been appointed this year to the seat of her late brother, Lindsey Graham, and Trump had campaigned hard for her.

In North Carolina, the Democrat Roy Cooper beat Michael Whatley, the candidate Trump had chosen for the race. Democrats also won in Iowa, and neither state had elected a Democratic senator since 2008.

Abdul El-Sayed won in Michigan and has been described as America's first Muslim senator. Even Republican incumbents in solidly red areas such as Florida were pulled into close races.

Trump responded by distancing himself from the outcome. "I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE! Thank you for your attention to this matter," he said.

He repeated the claim to the New York Times. "I wasn't on the ticket, and because I wasn't on the ticket, we couldn't get enough people out to vote," the president said.

That marked a reversal. For weeks Trump had urged supporters to vote as though he were a candidate, in the hope of lifting Republicans.

Opinion polls had pointed to Democratic gains but failed to capture their scale. Surveys showed the party poised to take the House and possibly the Senate, with narrow leads in competitive Senate races.

Pollsters were cautious in part because of the failed predictions over the 2024 presidential election. Washington Post pollsters had also warned that Democratic voters were more likely than Republicans to respond to surveys.

Voters voiced disapproval of Trump's performance as president, especially over the cost of living. Latino voters backed Democratic candidates by 62 per cent to 35 per cent, according to NBC News exit polls.

Pew Research found Hispanic voters had split 51 per cent to 48 per cent in favour of Democrat Kamala Harris in 2024. Exit polls also showed voters aged 18 to 29 choosing Democrats by 72 per cent to 25 per cent, having been divided between Trump and Harris two years earlier.

Money poured into the contests on a record scale. Total spending reached $11.9 billion, against $8.9 billion in 2022, according to OpenSecrets, a non-partisan authority on US political spending.

House and Senate candidates spent an unprecedented $3.7 billion from their own campaign funds, and Democrats outspent Republicans by $800 million. Outside spending led by Elon Musk favoured Republicans by some $360 million.

Control of both chambers gives Democrats the authority to push back on Trump's agenda. The president said he was "absolutely willing" to accept the results of the midterms.