The United States 2026 Midterm Elections final votes were due on November 2nd. This election determined which party will have the majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives (Congress).
The Senate has a total of 100 seats, with two representatives from each state, meaning that a party needs at least 51 seats to earn a majority. They serve six year terms, all staggered, so some states did not have a re-election of senators this year, including California and Wisconsin.
The House of Representatives has 435 members, who each represent a district that is determined by population. For a party to have a majority in Congress, they must hold at least 218 seats. A congressional term is only two years, so every seat is up each midterm election.
“I think that the process of the election is fair,” said sophomore Annie Jeong, “But I have a hard time understanding and following the race just looking at the diagrams that I see on the news.”
This year, massive changes occurred in both the House and the Senate, regarding which party won the majority, and the number of states who flipped their winning party.
Before this election, the Republican party held the majority in both the House and the Senate, with 53 senators and 220 representatives. After the results were tallied in the 2026 election, the Democrats won a sweeping majority of both, with 54 senators and 253 representatives counted so far.
Eight states flipped from electing Republican senators to Democratic senators so far this year, including Texas, Kansas, Iowa, Ohio, North and South Carolina, Mississippi and Maine. In addition, many smaller districts flipped the party of their representative around the country, in states like Wisconsin and Iowa.
The 2026 election marked many firsts that occurred in American history as well, and changed some seemingly stagnant patterns.
The first openly gay man to hold a senate seat was elected in New Hampshire – Chris Pappas. Peggy Flanagan won a senate seat in Minnesota, making her the first Native American woman to be a senator. In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed won a senate spot, meaning he is the first Muslim-American to serve in the U.S. Senate.
Kansas became a blue state for the first time in 94 years, electing a democratic senator to break the red that has been a pattern since 1932.
Additionally, many key firsts happened within races for governor across the country. Texas elected their first Latina woman as their governor, and Georgia elected the first ever black female governor.
“It was great to see the vast diversity that our country has,” said sophomore Melissa Liu, “I think it reflects the freedom and security that Americans feel to express their opinions”.
This vastly democratic wave has a strong impact on the future of president Trump’s term, and the future of the republican party. Having a majority in both the house and the senate means that the democrats have more control over what the president can do, and democratic opinions hold more sway.
“It’s hard to say what will happen next,” said U.S. History teacher Ms. Sell, “but this will hopefully affect our students and the country positively, and I think that these results mean that the voters want a change”.
In conclusion, the 2026 midterm elections have been historical because of the dramatic shift between parties and numerous firsts achieved.
“I enjoy keeping up with the elections,” said Jeong, “and I can’t wait until I am able to vote as well!”
