Election November 2026 Analysis

On the national level, Democrats took control of the House and Senate in a stunning rebuke of President Trump. Meanwhile, Democrats have flipped 12 state legislative chambers. In Arizona, Democrats are set to control the state Legislature for the first time in 60 years. In Pennsylvania, Democrats flipped the state Senate for the first time since 1994. And for the first time in 16 years, Democrats will hold a majority of governorships, including in Texas, where Gina Hinojosa is the first Democrat elected governor since Ann Richards in 1990.

Florida’s outgoing Republican Governor Ron DeSantis spoke Wednesday about Republican losses across the country.

GOV. RON DESANTIS: This is close to an extinction-level event for Republicans in many parts of the country as we have seen probably in the last hundred years. In January, when everyone in office leaves who are either term-limited or got voted out, of the 10 largest states in this union, only one state will have Republican control of their state: the state of Florida.

If you look at our chief rival, in a healthy sense, the state of Texas, and I would say over the last — over my lifetime, Texas has been the crown jewel of Republican politics. I think we’ve been the leader for Republicans and conservatives since I’ve been governor, but if you go over the whole generation, no one holds a candle on the Republican side to the Lone Star State. And yet, not only did they lose a very highly publicized U.S. Senate race, they lost everything — the governor, attorney general, all the other statewide. They lost four Republican Supreme Court justices on the Texas Supreme Court. They may even lose the Texas Legislature, or one house or even both. Let’s just be clear that that is going to hurt not just for the next two years. That’s something that can reverberate for the next decade or more. And if the Republican Party doesn’t have Texas as an anchor, then we are not going to be viable nationally going forward.

AMY GOODMAN: That was Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.

Many political commentators have credited New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani with helping make affordability a central issue for Democrats. On Wednesday, Mayor Mamdani posted a video reacting to the midterm results.

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI: Last night’s election proved working people expect more from their government, and they’re tired of waiting. JD Vance asked for a couple more years to finally fulfill the promises he’d made to our country. Working people can’t afford another two years to make rent that’s due this month, childcare for their kids or groceries for their family. People are tired of being told that there isn’t enough to go around, while Elon Musk becomes the world’s first trillionaire. They are tired of being told to sacrifice their land and water for data centers. They’re tired of being told their needs are unrealistic by politicians who have been bought by the wealthiest people on the planet. They’re tired of being told to ask for a little and expect even less.

And last night, the people stood up. They stood up to politicians that spend their taxpayer dollars on war crimes and genocide instead of on building schools and paving roads. They spoke louder than the hundreds of millions of dollars that tried and failed to buy this election. They demanded an end to the affordability crisis that has become one of the few things that unites us all. It is not enough to simply win power; we must use it. And the American people will know the difference between hollow words and hard work. For years we’ve had the debate. Now it’s time for us in the Democratic Party to deliver. My friends, it’s morning again in America.