Republicans Hold Senate Lead as Midterm Results Roll In
The party retains its majority in the upper chamber while Democrats target 218 seats to flip House control.
By Jabari Long ·
Republicans maintained their majority in the US Senate as results from the 2026 midterm elections began to trickle in. The party held the upper chamber lead before the vote and retained it as ballots were counted.
Thirty-three regular Senate seats were up for election this year. Two special elections were also on the ballot. These contests filled the vacancies left by Marco Rubio and JD Vance, who resigned their seats to join the executive branch after the 2024 presidential election.
In the House of Representatives, Republicans defended their current majority. Democrats held 212 seats prior to the election. The party required 218 seats to seize control of the lower chamber from the Republicans.
Governors faced voters in 36 states and three territories. Republicans and Democrats each held 18 of these governorships before the election. Three incumbent governors retired from office, opening their seats to new candidates.
The Associated Press reported the results for the night. The network calls a winner in a state when it determines the trailing candidate has no path to victory. This determination can occur before 100% of the votes in a state are counted.
Elections for the House occur every two years. Members serve two-year terms and face re-election in every even year. The Senate operates on a six-year term cycle. One-third of the 100 Senate seats come up for election in each two-year cycle.
Voting systems vary by state. Most states use a first-past-the-post system where the candidate with the most votes wins. Georgia and Louisiana require a 50% majority to win. If no candidate reaches that threshold, a runoff election is held between the top two candidates.
Maine and Alaska use ranked-choice voting for congressional elections. Voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the least-supported candidate is eliminated. Their ballots transfer to the next-ranked choice until a majority is reached.
Some states use top-two or jungle primary systems. Candidates from all parties compete in the same primary. The two candidates with the most votes advance to the general election. This allows two candidates from the same party to appear on the general ballot.
