Democrats have won control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the November 3, 2026 midterm elections, according to projections from NBC News, CBS News, and the Associated Press, ending the Republican majority held since 2023. As current election results continue to come in across all 435 districts, the NBC News Decision Desk estimates that Democrats will win at least 255 seats to Republicans’ 180 seats, resulting in a 75-seat majority.
A party needs 218 seats to hold a majority in the House. Going into Tuesday’s vote, Republicans held a narrow 218-214 edge, alongside one independent who caucuses with Republicans and two vacant seats. Alongside the House, television networks and the Associated Press projected that Democrats also flipped at least six Republican-held Senate seats, including races in Texas, Kansas, Ohio, and South Carolina, to take control of both chambers of Congress.
The NBC News Decision Desk model, which relies on past and current vote counts without using polling or exit polls, showed Democrats overperforming their 2024 presidential margins and winning districts that President Donald Trump carried by 10 points or more in 2024.
Winning the House majority breaks the Republican federal trifecta and hands the Speaker’s gavel and committee chairs to Democrats. The shift gives Democratic lawmakers investigative and subpoena authority over the Trump administration and requires President Trump to negotiate with a Democratic-led Congress to pass federal spending bills, raise the U.S. debt limit, or enact legislation during the final two years of his term.
Key District Flips in the Election Day 2026 Results So Far
Projections from CBS News and Decision Desk HQ via Ballotpedia showed Democrats flipping Republican-held seats across the Midwest and East Coast. In Pennsylvania, Democrats swept three battleground seats as Bob Brooks defeated Republican Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in the 7th District, Paige Cognetti defeated Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan Jr. in the 8th District, and Janelle Stelson unseated Republican Rep. Scott Perry in the 10th District.
Other projected Democratic pickups include Christina Bohannan defeating Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks in Iowa’s 1st District, Don Leonard defeating Republican Rep. Mike Carey in Ohio’s 15th District, and Rebecca Bennett unseating Republican Rep. Thomas Kean Jr. in New Jersey’s 7th District. In Virginia’s 2nd District, former Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria defeated Republican Rep. Jennifer Kiggans. Democrats also flipped seats in Indiana’s 5th District, where J.D. Ford defeated Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz, Nebraska’s 2nd District, won by Denise Powell, and Kentucky’s open 6th District, where Zach Dembo defeated Republican Ralph Alvarado.
In Colorado’s 1st District, Democrat Melat Kiros won election to become the first Gen Z woman elected to Congress. Meanwhile, Democrats defended several incumbents and open seats in states where Republicans had redrawn congressional maps mid-decade, including Rep. Vicente Gonzalez in Texas’s 34th District and Reps. Kathy Castor in Florida’s 14th District, Jared Moskowitz in Florida’s 25th District, and candidate Pia Dandiya in Florida’s 22nd District.
Leadership Reactions and Redistricting Background
House Speaker Mike Johnson responded to the loss of the Republican majority by pledging that his party would press ahead with its platform and work to win back the chamber in 2028. “Republicans will not be deterred by the outcome of one election,” Johnson said, as reported by the Washington Examiner. President Trump wrote on social media that Republicans fell short in the midterm elections because his name was not on the ballot, CTV News reported.
The 2026 cycle took place across a reshaped electoral map. According to Ballotpedia, 10 states used different congressional district maps in 2026 than in 2024, including six states—California, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas—that voluntarily redrew their lines mid-decade, while 60 incumbents did not seek re-election across 50 identified battleground districts. CBS News and the Washington Examiner reported that House Republicans faced voter concerns over affordability and everyday living costs driven up by the war in Iran and Trump’s tariffs, alongside low presidential approval ratings.
What Happens Next in the 120th Congress
Ballot counting continues in uncalled individual House districts to establish the final seat margin before the newly elected 120th Congress convenes. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York is poised to be elected Speaker of the House and lead legislative negotiations on federal spending, the debt limit, Social Security, and Medicaid, Arab News reported.
Democratic strategists and political scientists noted that Jeffries will face competing priorities within his caucus. Kate deGruyter, a spokeswoman at the moderate Democratic consultancy Third Way, told Arab News, “I don’t think having a huge impeachment fight over the president is going to be helpful,” as the party prepares for the new session. David Miller, a professor of government at American University, told Arab News that newly elected progressives are “likely to come to Washington expecting to be able to change the universe starting on day one,” adding that Jeffries will have to manage those expectations “given that Democrats don’t control the White House.”