Democrats Sweep Both Chambers of Congress

The numbers so far

Decision Desk HQ projected Democrats would win the U.S. House at 9:09 p.m. ET on Nov. 3 and the U.S. Senate at 11:19 p.m. ET, according to Ballotpedia's live results tracker. As of Ballotpedia's Wednesday afternoon tally, Democrats had won 20 of the 35 Senate seats on the ballot to Republicans' 13, with two races uncalled, a net Democratic gain of seven. In the House, Democrats had won 233 seats to Republicans' 138, with 64 races still uncalled, for a net gain of 30 so far.

NPR reported Democrats are on track for at least 54 Senate seats and at least 222 House seats. The Senate flips came in Iowa, Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas, per Ballotpedia. NPR's Mara Liasson noted Kansas had not elected a Democratic senator since 1932.

What the leaders said

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is poised to become the first Black speaker, said: "From sea to shining sea, the American people have spoken and made clear they've had enough of the extremism, enough of the corruption," NPR reported. On X he summed it up in one word: "Tsunami."

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer vowed that "whenever Trump defies the will of the American people or the law, we will launch investigations, take him to court, and entangle him in legislative razor wire," according to CBS News. He posted Wednesday morning: "54 seats and counting."

Still counting

Two Senate contests have not been called. In Alaska, Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan faces Democrat Mary Peltola, and ranked-choice tabulation is set for Nov. 18, according to Votebeat. In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom narrowly led Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith with 96% counted, per AP figures cited by the Mississippi Independent. Plank News will not call either race until a reliable source does.

Why it matters

With both chambers, Democrats gain subpoena power, control of committees and the ability to block the president's legislative agenda when the new Congress is sworn in in January. The vote was a referendum on the economy: NBC News' exit poll found 65% of voters said Trump's policies had made the economy worse, according to NBC News.