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# Blue wave: Democrats win the House and flip Senate seats in Texas and the Carolinas
- URL: https://www.workersrights.news/democrats-win-house-working-people-check-on-trump/
- Published: 2026-11-04T03:54:17.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T03:54:17.000Z
- Description: Georgia elects the nation's first Black woman governor. Hakeem Jeffries is in line to become the first Black speaker.
- Author: WorkersRights.News Team
- Tags: Politics

Working people just won big. Democrats have taken control of the U.S. House of Representatives, NBC News, CNN, CNBC and Decision Desk HQ projected Tuesday night. NBC projects a majority of at least 244 seats, which could be the party's largest in nearly two decades.

The wave didn't stop at the House. Democrats flipped Republican Senate seats in Texas, South Carolina and North Carolina, and Georgia elected the first Black woman governor in American history.

After two years of Republican control of the White House and both chambers of Congress, Trump finally has a check. A Democratic House can stop his legislative agenda, pass bills with a simple majority and investigate his administration with subpoena power, [NBC News reported](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/democrats-house-control-midterm-election-wins-trump-check-rcna603397?ref=workersrights.news).

### A historic night in the Senate

**Texas:** State Rep. James Talarico, a former public school teacher, defeated Republican Ken Paxton, [Decision Desk HQ projected](https://www.kron4.com/news/national/talarico-flips-texas-senate-seat-beating-paxton-in-blow-to-trump/?ref=workersrights.news). It would be the first Democratic Senate win in Texas since 1988, in a state Republicans have dominated for decades.

**South Carolina:** Pediatrician Annie Andrews beat Sen. Darline Graham, the sister Trump hand-picked to fill the late Lindsey Graham's seat, CBS News, NBC News and Decision Desk HQ projected. Andrews is the first woman South Carolina has elected to the Senate and the first Democrat to win a Senate race there since 1998, in a state Trump carried by 18 points, [Fortune reported](https://fortune.com/2026/11/03/midterm-elections-south-carolina-trump-graham-andrews/?ref=workersrights.news).

**North Carolina:** Former Gov. Roy Cooper flipped the state's open seat, defeating former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley, the AP projected.

**Georgia and New Hampshire:** Sen. Jon Ossoff won reelection over Republican Rep. Mike Collins, and Rep. Chris Pappas kept New Hampshire's open seat blue.

Democrats need a net gain of four seats to take the Senate. With three flips projected so far, the majority is within reach as votes are counted in Ohio, Maine, Iowa and Alaska.

### Governors' mansions

Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms defeated billionaire Republican Rick Jackson in Georgia, flipping the office for Democrats, [NBC News projected](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/keisha-lance-bottoms-georgia-governor-win-democrats-flip-jackson-rcna603348?ref=workersrights.news). She is the first Black woman elected governor in U.S. history, in a state that hadn't elected a Democratic governor since 1998.

Democratic governors also won reelection in New York (Kathy Hochul), Pennsylvania (Josh Shapiro), Illinois (JB Pritzker), Maryland (Wes Moore), Massachusetts (Maura Healey) and Connecticut (Ned Lamont).

### Jeffries in line to make history

The House win puts Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of Brooklyn in line to become the first Black speaker of the House. He must still win a floor vote when the new Congress convenes on Jan. 3.

"Our promise to the country in the new Congress is that, beginning on Day 1, we're going to hold the crooks accountable," Jeffries said heading into the election. House Judiciary Democrats under Rep. Jamie Raskin and Oversight Committee Democrats will lead investigations of Trump, his family and his officials, [amNY reported](https://www.amny.com/politics/brooklyns-hakeem-jeffries-house-speaker/?ref=workersrights.news).

### Why voters showed up

NBC said the results were widely seen as a referendum on Trump's unpopular policies, including his immigration crackdown, the eight-month Iran war and tariffs. Republicans had pressed GOP-led states to redraw House maps in their favor, and it wasn't enough to save their majority, [The Hill reported](https://www.wkbn.com/hill-politics/democrats-seize-house-control-from-republicans/?ref=workersrights.news). In Florida, two Democrats won districts redrawn to favor Republicans.

In an October AP-NORC poll, voters ranked the economy and the cost of living as their top two priorities, and about 8 in 10 disapproved of how Trump is handling the cost of living. "Everybody's down," Diana Walker, a 65-year-old Democrat from Decatur, Georgia, told the AP. "I don't care if you're a Democrat or Republican, we're all catching hell."

Organized labor answered. The AFL-CIO ran its largest midterm mobilization ever, aiming to turn out 16 million voters, [Roll Call reported](https://rollcall.com/2026/09/03/at-the-races-labor-day-reds-and-blues/?ref=workersrights.news).

### Who wins, who loses

**Winners:** Workers who told pollsters they can barely afford the basics, the unions that knocked doors for them, and voters in Texas, South Carolina and Georgia who broke decades of one-party rule.

**Losers:** Speaker Mike Johnson, who loses the gavel, and Trump, whose agenda now runs through a Democratic House and whose hand-picked senator in South Carolina just lost.

"For two long, miserable years, we have endured a complete trifecta from the GOP," said workers' rights attorney Ryan Stygar, the founder of WorkersRights.News. "In that time, they have stripped and undercut worker protections. They have throttled the agencies designed to stand up for workers and handed them over to billionaires. This is the first major shift in the tide in the fight for workers' rights."

### What's next

Senate control hasn't been called. The final size of the House majority may take days as ballots are counted. The new Congress is sworn in Jan. 3.

### Sources

- [Democrats win control of the House of Representatives, with a vow to combat Trump](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/democrats-house-control-midterm-election-wins-trump-check-rcna603397?ref=workersrights.news) (NBC News)
- [Live updates: Democrats win control of the House, eye Senate next](https://www.nbcwashington.com/elections/election-day-2026-midterms-congress-results-live-updates/4175504/?ref=workersrights.news) (NBC Washington)
- [Democrats will capture the House of Representatives, CNN projects](https://edition.cnn.com/2026/11/03/politics/live-news/midterm-election-congress?ref=workersrights.news) (CNN)
- [Midterm elections 2026 live updates](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/11/03/midterm-elections-2026-live-updates.html?ref=workersrights.news) (CNBC)
- [BREAKING: Decision Desk HQ Calls House for Democrats](https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/breaking-decision-desk-hq-calls-house-for-democrats/?ref=workersrights.news) (Mediaite)
- [Talarico flips Texas Senate seat, beating Paxton in blow to Trump](https://www.kron4.com/news/national/talarico-flips-texas-senate-seat-beating-paxton-in-blow-to-trump/?ref=workersrights.news) (The Hill, via KRON4)
- [Democrat Talarico Wins Texas Senate Race, DDHQ Projects](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-11-04/democrat-talarico-wins-texas-senate-race-ddhq-projects?ref=workersrights.news) (Bloomberg)
- [In Democrats' second Senate flip of the night, South Carolina rejects the senator Trump hand-picked](https://fortune.com/2026/11/03/midterm-elections-south-carolina-trump-graham-andrews/?ref=workersrights.news) (Fortune)
- [Live 2026 Senate election results](https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/senate-election-results-2026/?ref=workersrights.news) (CBS News)
- [Keisha Lance Bottoms wins the Georgia governor's race, flipping the office for Democrats](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/keisha-lance-bottoms-georgia-governor-win-democrats-flip-jackson-rcna603348?ref=workersrights.news) (NBC News)
- [Midterms 2026 election results and live updates](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/live/midterms-2026-live-updates-election-day-voters-head-to-the-polls-as-democrats-look-to-flip-gop-control-of-the-house-and-senate-110000715.html?ref=workersrights.news) (Yahoo News)
- [Democrats seize House control from Republicans](https://www.wkbn.com/hill-politics/democrats-seize-house-control-from-republicans/?ref=workersrights.news) (The Hill, via WKBN)
- [Brooklyn's Hakeem Jeffries poised to become first Black House speaker](https://www.amny.com/politics/brooklyns-hakeem-jeffries-house-speaker/?ref=workersrights.news) (amNY)
- [Voters on both sides of the aisle want change, new poll on eve of 2026 midterm finds](https://www.fox13news.com/news/voters-both-sides-aisle-want-change-new-poll-eve-2026-midterm-finds?ref=workersrights.news) (AP-NORC poll, via FOX 13)
- [At the Races: Labor Day reds and blues](https://rollcall.com/2026/09/03/at-the-races-labor-day-reds-and-blues/?ref=workersrights.news) (Roll Call)
- [Live Updates: Democrat Roy Cooper flips key Senate seat in North Carolina](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/live-updates-midterm-voters-go-to-the-polls-on-election-day?ref=workersrights.news) (PBS NewsHour)