Democrats have won control of the US House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections, according to projections from multiple news outlets, ending Republican control of the chamber and giving the party a majority in both houses of Congress.
Decision Desk HQ projected the Democratic majority after results were called in 342 of the 435 House seats, with Democrats on 218 seats, the exact number needed for a majority, and Republicans on 124. USA Today reported Democrats were projected to win at least 224 seats, with leads in about a dozen more.
The win came alongside a Democratic Senate majority, a sweep Reuters described as reaching deep into Republican strongholds. Democrats flipped seats in states including Kentucky, New Jersey and North Carolina, and held on to Florida districts that had been redrawn to favour Republicans.
In North Carolina’s 9th District, voters ousted Republican Representative Richard Hudson, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee. Exit polls conducted by SSRS for a consortium of US media outlets found half of voters nationwide saw the election as a chance to rebuke President Donald Trump.
Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is expected to become the next Speaker when the new Congress is seated in January. Control of the House gives Democrats committee chairs and subpoena power, and with it far greater oversight of the Trump administration in the president’s final two years in office.
Republicans had held the House since 2023. Their bid to keep a narrow majority included redrawing several congressional maps to make districts more favourable, a strategy Reuters reported largely failed.
Source: Reuters
