American voters delivered a sharp rebuke to President Donald Trump and the Republican Party in Tuesday's midterm elections, handing Democrats control of the U.S. Senate, the House, and the Iowa governor's office.
Democrat Rob Sand defeated Republican Zach Lahn in Iowa's race for governor, ending Republican control of the state's top office and capping a night of losses that reached deep into traditionally red territory, according to News18.
Senate Flips as Democrats Win Across Red States
Democrats needed a net gain of four seats to take the Senate majority, a difficult task on a map that favored Republicans this cycle. They got far more than that, TIME reported, with wins in Texas, Ohio, North Carolina, Iowa and Maine.
By 1:30 a.m. Eastern time Wednesday, Democrats had claimed 53 seats to the Republicans' 41, with six races still uncalled in the outgoing chamber, where Republicans had held a 53-47 majority, according to News18's report.
North Carolina delivered the first Senate flip of the night when Democrat Roy Cooper defeated Republican Michael Whatley. In Texas, Democrat James Talarico beat Attorney General Ken Paxton, making him the first Democrat Texas will send to the Senate in nearly 40 years. In Kansas, pastor and politician Adam Hamilton won a Senate seat for Democrats for the first time in roughly a century.
In Ohio, Republican Jon Husted, appointed to the seat after JD Vance became vice president, lost to Democrat Sherrod Brown. South Carolina Republican Darline Graham, appointed to finish the term of her late brother Lindsey Graham, also went down to defeat.
Georgia Democrat Jon Ossoff won re-election and is already being discussed as a possible presidential candidate in 2028.
What the Iowa Results Mean
The governor's race was the marquee contest for Iowa voters. Sand, the state's longtime auditor and the only Democrat holding statewide office before Tuesday, defeated Lahn, a businessman and former Trump campaign operative, to claim Terrace Hill.
Iowa also flipped in the Senate column, one of several states where Trump had campaigned with a simple message: urging supporters to vote as if he himself were on the ballot. It did not work, per News18. The Associated Press, cited by WTTW Chicago, reported that Democrats won both chambers of Congress in a decisive rejection of Republican governance in Washington.
The loss ends years of unified Republican control in Des Moines and Washington at the same time, a shift that will test the state party's bench and its message heading into 2028.
Gubernatorial Losses in Texas, Georgia and Ohio
Iowa was not alone. Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated incumbent Texas Governor Greg Abbott, becoming the first Latino elected to a governor's office in Texas. In Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms beat Republican Rick Jackson to become the state's first Black governor.
In Ohio, Trump ally Vivek Ramaswamy lost the governor's race to Democrat Amy Acton after a bitter campaign that left the Republican Party itself divided, News18 reported.
Why Voters Turned Against the President's Party
Exit polling pointed clearly at the top of the ticket. An Associated Press poll found roughly 6 in 10 voters disapprove of Trump's job performance, and about the same share said he places a higher priority on his personal interests than the country's. Roughly 70 percent of voters said they want Congress to provide more checks and balances on the presidency.
Voters interviewed at polling booths repeatedly cited the president's conduct, and the cost of living, as reasons they turned away from Republican candidates, according to News18.
Trump told CBS News he was ready to work with the new majority.