Democrats have seized control of both houses of Congress in a historic midterm landslide, prompting a 16-word statement from Donald Trump after the Republicans suffered devastating losses.
In a remarkable sweep, the Democrats claimed Senate seats in the previously firm Republican territories of Texas, Kansas, South Carolina, Ohio, Maine and Iowa. The Democrats also reclaimed the House of Representatives, which they last held in 2023, having overturned numerous seats across states including Kentucky, New Jersey, Indiana and North Carolina.
Trump's response to the losses
Faced with the devastating losses, Mr Trump took to his Truth Social platform to post: "I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!".
The Democrats required a net gain of four seats in the 100-member Senate to secure a majority, while in the 435-member House, they needed three.
Speaking to Fox News, Mr Trump conceded the results had caught him off guard. He said: "I thought they'd do better, we had tremendous rallies." He also extended his congratulations to the Democrats, adding: "They did a good job. They worked very hard."
Yet while extending an olive branch to his opponents, he simultaneously posted an image of a red baseball cap bearing the word "Veto", hinting he intended to obstruct any legislation they attempted to push through Congress.
Democratic victories and historic firsts
In Kansas, church pastor Adam Hamilton made history by becoming the first Democrat to claim a Senate seat in nearly a century. He said: "I think the people in Kansas, Republicans, independents and Democrats are saying what's happening in Washington is not OK." He added: "I got elected because Kansans were saying, 'We're tired of the bullies. We're tired of the chaos.'"
James Talarico became the first Democrat to secure a US Senate seat for Texas in nearly four decades, defeating Republican Ken Paxton, who had received Mr Trump's backing. In Ohio, Democrat Sherrod Brown claimed a Senate seat that vice president JD Vance had occupied just two years earlier.
Democrat Annie Andrews defeated Mr Trump's personally selected candidate Darline Graham to win the South Carolina Senate seat. Ms Graham was the sister of the late US senator Lindsey Graham, who had occupied the seat for more than 20 years, and was appointed by the president to fill his position and contest it in the election.
Democrat Troy Jackson won election to the US Senate representing Maine, overcoming Republican incumbent Susan Collins, who had held the seat for almost three decades. The Democrats also captured the Senate seat in North Carolina from Republicans when governor Roy Cooper defeated Michael Whatley, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, who received Mr Trump's support. Mr Cooper said: "I'm not going to Washington to be something, I'm going to Washington to do something."
Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has made history as the nation's first Muslim senator after defeating Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan, in a fiercely contested campaign that was marked by a last-minute defection.
Democrats Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia, Amy Acton in Ohio, Rod Sand in Iowa, and Gina Hinojosa in Texas claimed gubernatorial victories, unseating Republican incumbents from office. In California, long-shot Republican candidate Steve Hilton, a former top aide to David Cameron, fell short against former state attorney general Xavier Becerra.
Impact and reactions
Democrat US senator Jon Ossoff, who secured re-election in Georgia - a state that had been a prime Republican target - told supporters: "In sweeping and decisive victories the American people have rebuked the depravity, corruption, and incompetence of the failed lame duck president Donald J Trump. And if, at times these last two years, amidst the ceaseless onslaught of brutality and indecency, you doubted whether our republic would survive, let tonight's results give you courage that the first light of dawn is on the horizon."
The magnitude of the Democrat triumph reflects widespread voter frustration over the cost of living, tariffs and soaring energy prices driven by the Iran war, which Mr Trump launched alongside Israel earlier this year.
With the Democrats holding sway on Capitol Hill, Mr Trump faces the prospect of his domestic agenda being obstructed, alongside the threat of investigations into his administration's conduct. Nevertheless, the president retains executive authority in crucial areas, including foreign policy.
The election result will also shape the debate and party strategies in the build-up to the 2028 presidential race, though disagreements over which messages to adopt seem inevitable.
Despite the heavy electoral defeat, ministers were adamant that the UK Government would maintain an "excellent relationship" with Mr Trump's administration. Health minister James Frith said: "It looks like an enormous night for American democracy and for the Democrats. We will see where the final numbers end up, but it looks like a seismic shift in domestic politics for the Americans."
He told Times Radio: "The change of emphasis of power in the States is frequent. But the mainstay of the relationship with the UK Government, as its closest ally, is unwavering and unchanging. So I don't expect it to change the nature of the relationship at all, it remains very strong."
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: "For anyone who believes in decency, respect and the rule of law, it feels good to see the American people so comprehensively reject Donald Trump's politics of hate, division and economic harm."
