By: Emily Nixon
The Democratic Party won control of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in what some are calling a “Bluenami,” flipping at least seven seats in the Senate in less than 24 hours after the polls closed on Nov. 3.
“Democrats built a blue wave that swept across the country — recapturing majorities in both chambers of Congress, flipping governorships from red to blue, securing Democratic trifectas, winning hundreds of state legislative seats, and fracturing Trump and JD Vance’s 2024 coalition,” stated the Democratic Party in a press release.
While races in Alaska and Mississippi have yet to be called, Democratic candidates are projected to win in each state and currently hold a small lead over their Republican opponents for Senate seats, according to NBC projections. In the House race, Democrats flipped 43 seats and are estimated to hold 259 of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives, an 83-seat majority, as reported by NBC.
Across America, voters chose a variety of diverse candidates to fill Senate, House, and local state legislature positions, sparking celebrations across social media. Some found the election’s results to “shatter” the political glass ceilings for minorities and genders, like Barry Hartigan on X.
In New Hampshire, Chris Pappas became the first openly gay man elected to the Senate, according to PBS reporting. Abdul El-Sayed was elected as the first Muslim senator by Michigan voters, the same report added.
Deb Haaland became the first Native American female governor in U.S. history when New Mexico voters elected her, according to PBS. In Minnesota, Peggy Flanagan was elected as the first Native American female Senator, and Alaska’s race could elect Mary Peltola, who is Yup’ik, an Indigenous group that primarily lives in southwestern and western Alaska, as the first Alaska Native U.S. senator.
Keisha Lance Bottoms was elected as the first Black female governor in 250 years of American history. Florida voters elected Republican Byron Donalds, the first Black governor in Florida history, as reported by PBS. The House’s current Minority Leader and New York Representative Hakeem Jeffries is poised to be elected as the first Black Speaker of the House, as reported by NPR. NPR added that he had previously been the first Black politician to lead either party in the House or the Senate.
In Texas, Gina Hinojosa was elected as the first Latina Governor in Texas history, and Xavier Becerra was the first elected Latino governor since 1875, according to PBS. With these historic placements, voters hope this diverse team can rebalance the representation of the American people within the government and bring equitable legislation.
The Democratic politicians have begun announcing plans to push back against the Trump administration’s policies once they are sworn into their roles in January. As seats for the U.S. Congress turned blue, Democratic Representative of California Robert Garcia posted on X, warning the Trump administration to “lawyer up.”
“Garcia will become Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, where he has vowed to take on the Trump Crime Family, corporate corruption, DHS and ICE abuses, and the cover-up of the Epstein files,” stated a press release by the House of Representatives committee on Oversight and Government Reform, of which Garcia is a ranking member.
The Republican Party, also known as the Grand Old Party (GOP), lost more than one billion dollars by losing the Senate race alone, according to reporting by Reuters. One of the top donors to the GOP was Elon Musk, who contributed $445 million to the midterm election, according to Open Secrets, a non-partisan and nonprofit watchdog group for money in politics.
The day after the polls closed and votes came flooding in for Democrats, Vice President J.D. Vance posted on X, stating the reasons Republicans lost the election were people’s discontent with the Iran war, inflation, the U.S.’ relationship with Israel, and policies that didn’t “put America first.”
“The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night,” wrote Vance. “If you’d like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so […] But everyone knows why we lost.”
Some, like Marc Thiessen, a Fox News contributor and columnist at The Washington Post, found this post to be an act of disloyalty to Trump in his appearance on “Special Report” by Fox News.
As Democrats take power, the race to the top could be altered indefinitely through the passing of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. The compact would equalize the importance of Americans’ votes while electing the people who run the country, effectively removing the Electoral College. The agreement can only take effect once enough states representing the Electoral College, or at least 270 electoral votes, pass the bill, and currently has 19 states with a combined 222 votes signed on, according to reporting by The New York Times (NYT). Only four of the newly democratically controlled states would need to sign on to fundamentally change how Americans elect their politicians, the NYT added.
Big changes are on the horizon for America in light of the new regime change, according to a press release by the Democratic Party.
“In red, blue, and purple districts, working people put their trust in Democrats and our agenda to lower costs, expand access to healthcare, and make life more affordable,” stated the release. “With these historic victories, working families are gaining Democratic champions who will lower costs and deliver for them in public office.”