Democrats win control of the House and Senate, flipping seven Republican Senate seats.
The seven are Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas, and AP has called all seven. Kansas last elected a Democratic senator 94 years ago. Democrats take control of Congress on Jan. 3.
Senate33 of 35 races called
Seven Republican seats flipped by DemocratsOther called racesUncalled: Alaska, Mississippi
House367 of 435 races called
228 called for Democrats139 called for Republicans68 uncalled
One mark per House seat, AP calls as of 9:30 a.m. ET, Nov. 4. Uncalled seats are not assigned to either party.
In Fox News’s voter poll, 43% said one reason for their vote was to oppose Donald Trump and 16% said it was to support him. He had urged voters to “pretend I’m on the ballot,” then said on election night that he was not on it.
“Last night was closer to Chernobyl.”National Review, the conservative magazine
The moneyElon Musk gave $474 million in disclosed donations to federal and state political groups since Jan. 1, 2025, by The New York Times’s count. His response on X: “Guess my election-interfering space lasers didn’t work this time.”
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Iran says mines destroyed four tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, which the BBC has not verified.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday, Nov. 4, that the four tankers were using a prohibited route through Hormuz. Iran also claimed mines destroyed three tankers early Tuesday. CBS says the statement has all four still burning; the BBC says two.
What the record shows
- Nov. 3–4 claims
- Independent reporting has named no ship Iran says it destroyed.
- Oct. 28–30 attacks
- A naval shipping-security center (JMIC) named Riti, Louise 1 and Arzanah in Hormuz, and Al Mayeda in the Gulf. It tied only Louise 1 to explosives on the hull.
- 1987–88
- Mines damaged eight merchant ships across the Gulf and Gulf of Oman, sinking two.
Trump acknowledged the war contributed to Republican losses, then told The Wall Street Journal: “I don’t think about it. I did the right thing. I would have done it again.”
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Trump says the U.S. will end its nearly $4 billion a year in military aid to Israel by year’s end.
He told Fox News on Election Day morning. The aid runs under a $38 billion, 10-year deal covering 2019 to 2028. Trump said he and Benjamin Netanyahu reached the deal months ago, and that arms sales would continue.
“Why should we suffer the slings from lunatics like El-Sayed when they don’t need it? … It’s a bad talking point.”Trump, on attacks on the aid from Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan’s Democratic senator-elect
The 2026 package is $3.3 billion in military grants plus $500 million for missile defense. A spending law ordered the grants paid within 30 days, so the cutoff may mostly reach 2027 and 2028. Permanently canceling approved money takes a new law. Trump has not said which aid ends or how.
The deadlineThe Guardian, ABC, the Financial Times and Politico report the end of this year; PBS reports next year.
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Trump says he will accept the midterm results, blames Republican candidates and threatens to veto Democratic bills.
He told CBS News: “I have the ultimate power — it’s called ‘veto.’” Overriding one takes two-thirds of each chamber, 290 House votes and 67 Senate votes at full attendance.
HouseAt least 258 Democratic seats, NBC News estimate
An override would still need 32 House Republicans. Scale: 0 to 435 seats.
Senate54 Democratic seats won, Alaska and Mississippi uncalled
An override would still need 13 Senate Republicans. Scale: 0 to 100 seats.
On Fox News late Tuesday, Trump said: “After a couple of months of vetoes, they’ll call and they’ll say, ‘How do we get this stuff done?’” Congresses controlled by the party opposing the president overrode 30 of 230 vetoes from 1969 through 2024.
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House Democrats plan probes of Trump’s businesses, crypto and pardons; NBC now estimates at least 258 seats.
Democrat Johnny Garcia delivered the 218th seat, per the AP, by winning Texas’s 35th District, which was redrawn in 2025 to favor Republicans. Hakeem Jeffries is in line to become the first Black speaker when the new House takes over Jan. 3, 2027.
231 called for Democrats144 called for Republicans60 uncalled
One mark per House seat, NBC News calls as of 9:30 a.m. ET, Nov. 4. Uncalled seats are not assigned to either party.
NBC estimated about 244 Democratic seats on election night. Democrats won 215 in 2024, so its new estimate would mean a gain of at least 43.
Democrats plan to probe Trump’s family businesses, immigration enforcement, pardons and the Jeffrey Epstein matter. The Oversight Committee, under incoming chair Robert Garcia, plans to examine Trump’s cryptocurrency ventures. On impeachment, Jeffries says Democrats “haven’t ruled anything in and we haven’t ruled anything out.”
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Local measures restricting data centers passed or led in 33 places on Nov. 3; supporters won one, in North Dakota.
The 33 comes from the tracker Data Centers on the Ballot and mixes measures that passed with measures still leading late Tuesday. Stateline counted roughly a dozen more with no results yet.
33restrictions passed or leading
1measure won by supporters, in North Dakota
In an NBC exit poll, 56% called AI and data centers at least a major factor in their vote for Congress. Democrats Gina Hinojosa, Keisha Lance Bottoms and Amy Acton won the Texas, Georgia and Ohio governor’s races, per AP calls, after promising to stop construction. Nothing in the results shows those promises decided the races.