The short version: The 2026 midterms on Tuesday, Nov. 3 flipped five U.S. Senate seats and three governor's offices from Republican to Democratic, based on race calls from the Associated Press and other news decision desks. Texas flipped both its Senate seat and its governor's office. Here's every state that flipped, who won, and who they are.
This was the race felt around the US. Pressure was high on both sides and everyone was waiting with anticipation. With political turmoil, mounting pressure with the iran war on the rise, and increasing opposition against a certain PAC, theres no suprise this race had such a high turnout on the Democratic side. T
Democrats won control of the U.S. Senate with a net gain of four seats, according to Scripps News, which projects at least a 51-49 majority once all votes are counted (the Democratic side includes two independents). NBC News projected Democrats also won the House. Republicans went into Election Day with 53 Senate seats and 26 of the 50 governorships. This list covers races called as of Wednesday morning, Nov. 4. Some votes are still being counted, and we'll update this post as more results come in.
Who she is: A 52-year-old Austin state representative and former Austin school board president who grew up in the Rio Grande Valley. She ran on public schools and household costs.
AP called the race at 11:17 p.m. Eastern. Hinojosa will be the first Latina to serve as governor of Texas and the first Democrat elected governor there since Ann Richards in 1990. Abbott was seeking a fourth term.
Big win for the RAZA!
Who she is: The former mayor of Atlanta (2018 to 2022) and a senior adviser in the Biden White House. Before that she was a judge and served on the Atlanta City Council.
She succeeds Gov. Brian Kemp, who was term-limited. AP calls her the first Black woman elected governor of Georgia, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports she's the first Black woman in U.S. history elected to lead a state. Jackson founded Jackson Healthcare.
Who she is: A 60-year-old public health physician and Ohio's state health director during COVID-19. This is her first elected office.
She succeeds Gov. Mike DeWine, who was term-limited. AP reports she's the first woman ever elected governor of Ohio and the first Democrat to win the seat in 20 years.
Who he is: An Austin state representative and Presbyterian seminarian. He replaces Sen. John Cornyn, who lost the GOP primary to Paxton. AP says Talarico will be the Senate's youngest member.
AP reports he's the first Democrat Texas has sent to the U.S. Senate since Lloyd Bentsen was reelected in 1988.
Who he is: North Carolina's governor from 2017 to 2025 and state attorney general from 2001 to 2017. He takes the seat of Sen. Thom Tillis, who didn't run again.
AP calls Cooper the state's first Democratic senator-elect since 2008.
Who she is: A 45-year-old pediatrician from Charleston and the 2022 Democratic nominee for the state's 1st Congressional District. She ran on health care costs.
The seat belonged to Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died in July. Gov. Henry McMaster appointed his sister Darline to finish the term, and she ran for a full term. AP noted that whoever won would be the first woman elected to represent South Carolina in the Senate.
Who he is: A 73-year-old former senator who served from 2007 to 2025, after years in the Ohio Statehouse, the U.S. House and as Ohio secretary of state. He lost his seat in 2024.
This was a special election for the rest of JD Vance's term. CBS News notes no senator since 1988 had won a comeback after losing reelection.
Who he is: A megachurch pastor who ran as a moderate. He beat Marshall, who was seeking a second term, in a race projected by NBC News and Decision Desk HQ.
Kansas hadn't sent a Democrat to the Senate since George McGill won in 1932.
Who he is: A 42-year-old former public health official who ran the health departments for Wayne County and the city of Detroit. He ran for Michigan governor in 2018.
NPR called it a key Senate race, and plenty of people were watching it. El-Sayed wins the seat of retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, according to a race call by the Associated Press, keeping a seat Democrats have held since 1979. NPR reports he'll be the first Muslim American to serve in the Senate. He beat Rep. Haley Stevens by about a point in the primary, and Stevens endorsed Rogers in the final days of the race.
During the campaign, Bridge Michigan quoted El-Sayed saying: "They don't want to talk about gas and groceries. They want to talk about me and my name and my faith."
About six in 10 Latino voters backed Democrats this year, according to the NBC News Exit Poll as reported by the International Business Times. That's up nine points from the 2024 presidential election and about the same as the 2022 midterms, but still below the 69% Democrats got in 2018.
The biggest move came from Latino men:
Cost of living was the top concern. In a UnidosUS poll cited in the same report, Latino voters ranked grocery and food prices first, then housing, then gas. Exit poll numbers are early and can shift as more votes are counted.
Texas has one of the biggest Mexican American communities in the country, and it flipped twice in one night. Hinojosa, who grew up in the Rio Grande Valley, will be the state's first Latina governor, and Talarico takes a Senate seat Republicans had held since the 1990s. Whatever your politics, the people in these offices will shape schools, the border region and the cost of living for a lot of our families, on both sides of the line.
Results stay unofficial until each state certifies its count, and winners are sworn in after that. For more on our community and the culture, check out the Cult blog.
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