White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles (L) and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller arrive at an event in the White House on July 16, 2025. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
White House chief of staff Susie Wiles is exiting the White House, President Donald Trump said in a social media post on Friday.
Deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller -- a Trump loyalist, longtime political adviser and shaper of the president’s immigration policies -- will take over on Monday, Trump said. Wiles will move over to the Trump political operation, he added.
As he departed the White House on Friday, Trump told reporters that he "wanted to make a change" with his chief of staff, adding that Wiles had done a good job.
But sources tell ABC News that Trump was privately blaming Wiles for his midterm's losses. Once that became clear, sources said Wiles made the decision to submit her resignation, which she did Thursday night.
Wiles confirmed that Friday would be her last day in the position in a statement on social media, saying that serving in her role "has been the honor of a lifetime."
"While my role may be changing, my commitment to the President and the mission never will," Wiles wrote.
Wiles was the first person that Trump named to his White House staff following his 2024 election victory, becoming the first female White House chief of staff.
"Susie Wiles just helped me achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history, and was an integral part of both my 2016 and 2020 successful campaigns," Trump said in a statement at the time appointing her to the position.
As questions previously swirled about Wiles's future in the administration, President Trump came to her defense as recently as three weeks ago.
"Susie is here, and she's going to be here for a long time," Trump said in October.
She was a key ally to the president as he sought to orchestrate his return to office in the aftermath of his 2020 election loss that resulted in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Wiles, who served as campaign manager for the entirety of Trump's 2024 run, was known for running a tight ship and staying away from the spotlight and social media.
A Florida native, Wiles was a longtime powerful Republican adviser for years, and was credited with helping elect the likes of Florida's Sen. Rick Scott and Gov. Ron DeSantis back in 2018, but was later pushed out of the governor's orbit in 2019. Wiles later found herself in the inner-circle of Trump -- who went on to defeat DeSantis in the battle for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election.
As chief of staff, Wiles continued to be an inconspicuous, albeit powerful, figure in the White House -- continuing to stay out of the spotlight and speaking infrequently to the media.
In 2025, Wiles sat for a series of 11 interviews with the magazine Vanity Fair -- her only in-depth interview -- in which she opened up about the first year of Trump's second term, offering unreserved descriptions of top figures in the administration. In one exchange, according to Vanity Fair, she noted that the president has an "alcoholic's personality" -- a comment that Trump later defended, though he has repeatedly said he doesn't drink alcohol.
In the interviews, Vanity Fair reported that Wiles noted that there had been a few times where she has been "outvoted" in the administration, and cited Trump's Day 1 pardons of Jan. 6 rioters as an example, though she noted that eventually she "sort of got on board."
Wiles told the magazine that Trump had time to think about what he wanted to do before returning to office a second time, giving her the opportunity to pick her battles.
"So no, I’m not an enabler. I’m also not a bitch. I try to be thoughtful about what I even engage in," she said at the time. "I guess time will tell whether I’ve been effective."
Miller, an immigration hard-liner, has worked as one of Trump's top advisers, including as his deputy chief of staff during the president's second term in office.
Miller played a key role in Trump's first administration, crafting immigration policies -- including those that resulted in thousands of families being separated at the border.
After leaving the first Trump administration in 2021, Miller became the head of America First Legal, which described itself as the conservative answer to the American Civil Liberties Union.
America First Legal took the Biden administration to court several times over immigration policy, notching a win when a federal judge struck down a program known as "Keeping Families Together" that would have provided temporary relief from deportation for undocumented spouses and stepchildren of U.S. citizens by allowing them to apply for legal status without having to leave the country.
America First Legal was also among many groups listed as part of Project 2025, a blue-print for a Republican presidency that generated controversy on the campaign trail and became a target of Democratic criticism. Trump distanced himself from Project 2025 and America First Legal sought to be removed from the website's list of advisory board members.
President Donald Trump has made his mark on the White House in many ways -- including the massive ballroom construction project and the several gold touches he's added throughout the West Wing.
Fresh off a midterm election defeat, Trump signed a proclamation Thursday aiming to prevent future presidents from making major changes to the Oval Office and the Cabinet Room.
"We've had tremendous victory in this office," Trump said. "So we're making it a national monument, and it will not be allowed to be touched by anybody, destroyed, ripped down by stupid people, in order to build something in a slightly different shape."
The proclamation designates the Oval Office, the outer Oval Office and the Cabinet Room as a national monument, which Trump said will make them "impossible to knock down and change in any meaningful way."
Trump said the interior of the Cabinet Room, which serves as a meeting room for the president and his top advisers, is "pretty much the same" as before, but he also said it has been "substantially upgraded" and that he added new chandeliers.
Trump also said "no major modification" will take place to the Cabinet Room or Oval Office "without the approval of Congress."
The president indicated that the proclamation he signed declaring the rooms national monuments would have to be sent to Congress to be ratified.
"So we're going to be declaring it a national monument, and we're going to send it over to Congress, have it ratified," he said.
Asked by a reporter asked whether a future president could remove the gold accents that the president has hung in the Oval Office, Trump indicated that a future leader could, but "very carefully."
In October 2025, Trump himself made major structural changes to the White House, tearing down the East Wing with little notice or oversight, as part of the plan to build the White House ballroom.
Construction has continued since then, drastically changing the White House grounds. On Wednesday, speaking publicly for the first time following the GOP's midterm losses, Trump touted the ballroom project as he invited reporters to the construction site to witness the raising of the final beam.
At the Wednesday event, Trump acknowledged the criticism he has received for focusing his attention on the White House projects.
"And you know, when I get criticized, like, 'Why are you working on the White House?' I'm doing it because the White House is the ultimate symbol of America, and it's got to be pristine," Trump said.
A federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s proposed “triumphal arch” in Washington, D.C., just hours after a federal panel voted to give final approval to the project Thursday night.
D.C. District Court Judge Tonya S. Chutkan granted the D.C. and Virginia governments’ request for a temporary restraining order late Thursday, halting the Trump administration’s efforts to begin construction for at least 14 days.
Chutkan also consolidated the case with a separate lawsuit filed by three Vietnam War veterans and an architectural historian.
The vote by the National Capital Planning Commission, which is led by Trump appointees, was 8-4. The vote came after hours of public testimony, including from the Vietnam veteran who's leading the lawsuit to stop the project, who called it "frankly blasphemous."
Michael Lemmon, who served in the Army before spending a career in the foreign service, told the NCPC that the 250-foot arch would "profoundly disturb the peace and tranquility" owed to those buried at nearby Arlington National Cemetery.
"It is frankly blasphemous," Lemmon told the commission.
Lemmon was one of some 130 people who had signed up to provide their comments to the NCPC before its final vote.
The proposed arch would be more than twice as tall as the 99-foot-high Lincoln Memorial and taller than France's Arc de Triomphe.
The public testimony began with a fiery exchange between Rep. Jared Huffmanof California, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, and NCPC Chair Mark Paoletta.
Huffman blasted plans for the arch, saying it "would dishonor America, our ideals and our laws."
Paoletta challenged Huffman on his knowledge of the history of Columbia Island -- where the arch would be built across the Potomac River from the Lincoln Memorial -- insisting the project was authorized over 100 years ago when Congress approved the initial plan for Memorial Bridge, which connects Washington, D.C., with the cemetery.
"If you want to make that argument to a federal court, go for it. You're going to lose," Huffman responded.
A lawsuit filed by Lemmon and fellow vets, recently joined by D.C. and Virginia, accuses the Trump administration of violating federal law by not seeking specific congressional authorization for the project.
Paoletta, a Trump loyalist who also serves as OMB's general counsel and acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, defended the arch at the start of the meeting.
"President Trump's historic vision for a monumental arch at Memorial Circle would complete a project over a century in the making," Paoletta said, adding that the project would "honor our nation and her veterans, and provide the sacred ground of Arlington National Cemetery with the monumental gateway it deserves."
Pointing to President Trump's plan to have the arch house drones, snipers and ammunition, Paoletta also said the arch would mark "a generational security opportunity to protect our nation's capital."
With the administration indicating it could begin construction as soon as the NCPC grants its final approval, the judge presiding over the lawsuit against the project has ordered the administration to provide the court with at least 30 minutes' notice before any work begins.
Earlier Thursday, the Justice Department informed the court that a construction contractor had prematurely painted lines on the grounds. Pictures of the painted grass were posted by a freelance photographer.
Lawyers for the administration say the contractor "did not have authorization from the National Park Service (NPS) to undertake the line painting," adding that NPS officials might "periodically visit the site to prevent unauthorized activity."
The Park Service plans to have construction of the arch take place 20 hours per day over the next two to three years, according to planning documents released earlier this year by the Interior Department.
Rep. Stacey Plaskett speaks during a mark up meeting with the House Budget Committee on Capitol Hill on May 16, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Four months after America celebrated 250 years of independence, voters are projected to make history again, electing Black governors in states that have never done so.
With votes still being counted, ABC News projects that Democrats Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia, David Crowley in Wisconsin and Aaron Ford in Nevada, along with Republican Byron Donalds in Florida, will win their races.
The victories came at a time when Black Americans already hold some of the most influential positions in Washington: with Democrats projected to take control of the House, Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries is poised to be the first Black speaker of the House, where enslaved Black Americans helped construct the U.S. Capitol more than two centuries ago; Republican Tim Scott is the longest-serving Black senator in American history; and the country has elected both a Black president and a Black woman as vice president.
Yet before Tuesday, only three Black Americans had ever been elected governor of a U.S. state.
With his 2022 election, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore followed Virginia's L. Douglas Wilder in 1989 and Massachusetts' Deval Patrick in 2006. Moore is projected by ABC News to win reelection.
In the U.S. Virgin Islands, Democratic Delegate Stacey Plaskett is projected to win the governor's race and become the territory's first woman chief executive.
After their inauguration next year, Black governors will represent 10% of the nation's chief state executives for the first time in history.
Other Black politicians have been governor without winning an election, including Louisiana's P.B.S. Pinchback during Reconstruction and New York's David Paterson, who succeeded Eliot Spitzer after his resignation in 2008.
In Georgia, one of the original Confederate states, Bottoms, a former Atlanta mayor, will be the country's first Black woman elected governor, in addition to being Georgia's first Black and first woman governor.
Bottoms, who has deep roots in Georgia, is descended from enslaved people. Her projected victory follows two unsuccessful gubernatorial campaigns by fellow Democrat Stacey Abrams, who sought the office in 2018 and 2022.
In Florida, Donalds, a Republican congressman who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, will be the country's first Black Republican elected as governor.
Milwaukee County Executive Crowley will be Wisconsin's first Black governor in its 178-year history.
Ford, Nevada's attorney general, would hold the distinction of being the first Black person to have been elected governor west of the Mississippi River. Ford previously made history as Nevada’s first Black AG and state Senate majority leader.
The victories span two political parties, several regions and candidates with vastly different political views. Despite those differences, the victories share a historical distinction that few have ever held in the country's semiquincentennial.
And the historic firsts extended beyond governors' races.
With Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's projected re-election, running mate and former New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams would become the state's first Black woman elected lieutenant governor.
In Oklahoma, Republican T.W. Shannon is projected to win his race for lieutenant governor. Shannon, a member of the Chickasaw Nation, also made history as Oklahoma's first Black and Chickasaw House speaker.
In another historic milestone reaching back 150 years, ABC News projects South Carolina state Sen. Mike Reichenbach is set to become the state's first Black lieutenant governor since 1876.
The last two Black men to serve as lieutenant governor were Republicans Alonzo J. Ransier, who served from 1870 to 1872, and Richard Howell Gleaves, who served from 1872 to 1876.
In Pennsylvania, Austin Davis, the state's first Black lieutenant governor, is projected to serve a second term with Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro.
The Senate is also set to make a historic change when the new Congress convenes.
In Illinois, Democratic Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton is projected to win the state's U.S. Senate seat and would become just the sixth Black woman to serve in the chamber. She would join Democratic Sens. Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland and Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, marking the first time that three Black women serve in the Senate simultaneously.
The historic victories followed years of unsuccessful, high profile campaigns by Black candidates on both sides of the aisle. Along with Abrams' two losses in Georgia, Republican Winsome Earle-Sears fell short in her 2025 bid to become Virginia's first Black woman governor.
Not every Black candidate who ran for governor won Tuesday, though.
In Michigan, Republican U.S. Rep. John James lost his bid for governor, while South Carolina Democrat Jermaine Johnson also fell short. In Florida's Senate race, democratic socialist Angie Nixon lost to Ashley Moody, who was running for a full term after being appointed to fill the remainder of Secretary of State Marco Rubio's term.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks while participating in a discussion during the U.S. Army's 2026 Annual Meeting and Exposition, October 14, 2026 in Washington. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would remain on the job, even as he acknowledged that the war with Iran had contributed to Republicans' sweeping midterm losses and as Democrats prepare to use their new congressional majority to potentially investigate the Pentagon chief.
Trump dismissed the possibility of replacing Hegseth, telling reporters he was "doing a great job." When asked about speculation that Hegseth is eyeing Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn's soon-to-be-vacated Tennessee seat, Trump predicted the defense secretary would be "very popular" in the state.
Blackburn, who won Tennessee's gubernatorial race Tuesday, declined to weigh in on who might be picked to fill her Senate seat. Asked about who would be appointed, she said, "It's not a conversation for today."
Trump's remarks come as Republicans grapple with the political fallout from the eight-month war with Iran, which has driven up gas prices and fueled voter frustration over the cost of living. The war and its economic consequences are widely seen as a major factor in Republicans' crushing midterm defeat.
"The Iran thing we had to do, and we continue to do it," Trump told reporters, adding that he believes the war will be worth it in the long term.
In April, Hegseth declared a "historic and overwhelming victory" over Iran. But fighting has continued for months, killing and wounding American troops, driving up energy costs and consuming expensive U.S. munitions that could take years to replace.
Hegseth intends to remain at the Pentagon through the end of Trump's term, according to his spokesperson.
"Secretary Hegseth will not back down or be deterred by politicians seeking to score partisan points or launch phony investigations where no wrongdoing exists," Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told ABC News Wednesday, adding Hegseth is "100% committed to leading the Department until the end of President Trump's term in office."
Trump has privately sought input from Republicans close to the White House about how they feel Hegseth is doing in the job, according to sources familiar with the situation, as the administration grapples with the political consequences of the war and the election.
Democrats say they are preparing to use their new congressional majority to scrutinize an administration that has faced limited oversight during the past two years, with Hegseth expected to be a major target for scrutiny and possible impeachment. Democrats could use their subpoena power to attempt to question Pentagon officials about the Iran war, the legality of strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats and Hegseth's unexplained firings of senior military officers.
But party leaders are also looking to keep affordability at the forefront of their agenda, balancing investigations into the Trump administration with the economic concerns that helped deliver their sweeping midterm wins.
Vice President JD Vance, who has been widely viewed as a possible contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2028, distanced himself from the conflict in a candid rebuke of the administration, placing the GOP defeat on the war with Iran.
"The reason we lost is the war," Vance said in a social media post Wednesday. "The president himself said so last night."
Nationally, 34% of U.S. House voters said that the war in Iran was "crucial" to their vote, while 49% said the same about the cost of living and 55% said government corruption was crucial to their vote, according to ABC News Voter Poll data.
Vance argued that Republicans could defend the decision to go to war, but should not ignore the electoral consequences.
"If you'd like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that's at least honest," he added. "But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there."
California Democratic Congressional candidate Randy Villegas listens to a question from a reporter at his election night party on November 03, 2026 in Bakersfield, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Texas Republicans touched off a battle of mid-decade redistricting efforts when they embraced a plan pushed by President Donald Trump for the GOP-controlled legislature to redraw congressional districts to make them more friendly to Republicans.
California retaliated with its own gerrymandering in an effort to flip five seats held by Republicans to counter the effort to redraw five seats in Texas.
Other states got into the fight, either choosing to redraw their maps ahead of the midterm elections or taking advantage of court rulings that gave them an opportunity to.
While Republicans redrew 15 congressional seats to try to flip over the past two years, as of Wednesday evening they are projected to lose two-thirds of them. Meanwhile, California's Proposition 50 ballot initiative that redrew five seats to make them more friendly to Democrats appears to be paying off for them.
Here's where things currently stand:
Redrawn by Republicans
Alabama Second District: Democrats hold -- Democratic Rep. Shomari Figures is projected to hold onto his seat.
Florida 9: Not yet projected.
Florida 14: Democrats hold -- Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor is projected to keep her seat.
Florida 22: Democrats hold -- Democrat Pia Dandiya is projected to win.
Florida 25: Democrats hold -- Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz is projected to win in this district.
Louisiana 6: Not yet projected.
North Carolina 1: Not yet projected.
Ohio 1: Democrats hold -- Democratic Rep. Greg Landsman is projected to win.
Ohio 9: Democrats hold -- Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur is projected to win.
Tennessee 9: Republicans flip -- Democratic state Rep. Justin Pearson conceded to Brent Taylor in this seat that opened up when Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen announced he was retiring.
Texas 9: Democrats hold - Democrat Leticia Gutierrez is projected to win this open seat.
Texas 28: Democrats hold -- Rep. Henry Cuellar is projected to win.
Texas 32: Republicans flip -- Jace Yarbrough is projected to win this seat that is open after Democratic Rep. Julie Johnson opted to leave Congress.
Texas 34: Democrats hold -- Rep. Vincente Gonzalez is projected to win.
Texas 35: Democrats hold -- Democrat Jonny Garcia is projected to win.
Redrawn by Democrats
California 1: Democrats flip -- Mike McGuire unseated GOP Rep. James Gallagher.
California 3: Democrats flip -- Rep. Ami Bera won this seat held by Republican-aligned independent Kevin Kiley, who is projected to lose in the new 6th District.
California 6: Democrats flip -- Randy Villegas unseated Rep. David Valadao
California 41: Democrats flip -- Linda Sánchez is projected to win this seat held by Republican Ken Calvert, who ran in a different district.
California 48: Democrats flip -- Democrat Marni von Wilpert is projected to flip the seat held by Republican incumbent Darrell Issa, who is retiring.
Utah 1: Democrats flip -- former Rep. Ben McAdams is projected to win in this redrawn district that favored Democrats and caused shuffling and retirements among Utah incumbents.
Vice President JD Vance speaks at a campaign rally at Griffiss International Airport on Nov. 2, 2026, in Rome, New York. (Tom Brenner/Getty Images)
Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that the Trump administration's ongoing war with Iran was to blame for Republicans' massive losses in Tuesday's midterm election, during which Democrats reclaimed control of both chambers of Congress.
But President Donald Trump, asked about Vance's comments, remained committed to the ongoing military action despite "largely" agreeing with Vance about the impact of the war on the election.
"The reason we lost is the war," Vance said of the Trump administration's ongoing conflict with Iran. "The president himself said so last night."
Vance said he spoke with pollsters who told him that many people who voted for Trump in 2024 switched to the Democrats in this election because they were "angry."
The ABC News Voter Poll found about 4 in 10 House voters nationally said they were angry about the way things were going in the country today and a similar share were dissatisfied.
"If you'd like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that's at least honest. But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there," Vance wrote.
The vice president in the past has publicly been supportive of the war and slammed the president's critics over the issue.
Trump often suggested on the campaign trail that the war, and inflated gas prices, were "a small price to pay" to prevent Iran from having a nuclear weapon.
Asked about Vance's comments during an event at the White House on Wednesday, Trump called them "largely true," however he defended his decision to attack Iran, which he has done in the past.
"If I had it to do again, I'd have to do it again because long term, it's the only answer," Trump told reporters. "You can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon."
Trump said he knew Vance's view of the war from the beginning.
"I know how he feels about it. I think it was -- I think it was fine. Yeah, I thought it was good," Trump said of Vance's social media post. "I knew that when I went in, and we stopped them from having a nuclear weapon, and they will never have a nuclear weapon."
Asked if he felt the war was worth it, Trump said he did.
"I do. Yeah. I mean, well, you have no choice," he said, later adding, "I can tell you that, as far as that war is concerned, I would have done nothing differently."
ABC News' Voter Poll of House voters found that voters nationally were more focused on other factors, including the cost of living, than the Iran war.
Nationally, 34% of U.S. House voters said that the war in Iran was "crucial" to their vote, while 49% said the same about the cost of living and 55% said government corruption was crucial to their vote.
Although the Iran war has led to rising gas prices, voters have said that their concerns over the cost of living weren't just limited to their receipts at the pump.
The Voter Poll found 59% of House voters nationally saying they were "very concerned" about the cost of healthcare.
About 6 in 10 U.S. House voters said that the federal government should play a bigger role in helping Americans get healthcare and 55% said the Trump administration's policies have made their healthcare costs worse. Just 10% said the Trump administration has improved their healthcare costs, according to the Voter Poll.
Trump's tariffs have also been costing the typical American household almost $1,000 a year.
Vance said in his X post that an unidentified pollster told him that their "economic messaging wasn't sharp enough down the stretch."
Vance argued that Republicans were not failed by turnout among Trump 2024 voters, saying they "showed up," but that those Americans, according to a pollster, were "pissed and planning to vote for the other guys."
He also claimed of Republican turnout that "in no state was it catastrophic."
"The main problem is that many people who voted for Trump/Vance in 2024 voted for Democrats in 2026," the vice president said.
-ABC News' Elizabeth Schulze contributed to this report.
Texas State Rep. James Talarico speaks with "Good Morning America," Nov. 4, 2026, after winning his election bid. (ABC News)
Texas Senator-elect James Talarico says the Democratic sweep in the midterm elections goes beyond party lines.
"This was bigger than the Democratic Party or the Republican Party. Texans from all corners of our state demanded change and now change is on the way," Talarico said in an interview on "Good Morning America" Wednesday, hours after he beat his Republican challenger, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Talarico, a former teacher and seminarian, campaigned on lowering costs and fighting corruption, a sticking point against his challenger Paxton, whose campaign was overshadowed by fraud and corruption allegations, which he has denied.
Talarico said he would work with Republicans and President Donald Trump to bring about change for Americans, touting his previous track record in the Texas House of Representatives.
“In the state house, I worked with both parties to pass 60 bipartisan bills to lower people's costs,” he said. “I think we could repeal these tariffs to lower grocery prices. I think we could suspend the federal gas tax and the federal diesel tax to provide some relief at the pump. And I hope that we can end this disastrous war in Iran so that we can bring down prices across the board."
Democrats are projected to take control of both the House and Senate and Talarico said Americans aren’t seeing eye to eye with President Trump’s stance on tariffs and the ongoing war with Iran.
"I think the people of this country may have convinced [Trump] last night. They delivered a resounding message that they want the president, they want both parties in Congress to focus on them, to focus on making their lives easier and better and less stressful, and that's not a Democratic thing or a Republican thing,” said Talarico.
Another major issue Talarico said he hopes to tackle is immigration.
“We need to bring both parties together to pass comprehensive immigration reform that includes border security,” Talarico said. “We have to know who's coming into our country but we should also fight for more legal pathways for hardworking immigrants to come here and contribute to our economy, make us richer and stronger as a nation and we should pass a pathway to citizenship for our neighbors who have been here for years and decades and they can come out of the shadows.”
Talarico also reiterated his campaign message of leading with a focus on loving fellow Americans.
“I'm called to love all of my neighbors, not just my neighbors who look like me, or pray like me, or vote like me. And that's what this campaign was built on: a deep love for all of our neighbors,” Talarico said, adding, “I think it's a model for what politics can look like in our state and in our country in the years ahead."
South Carolina Democratic Senate candidate Annie Andrews gets an update on election results from her campaign team while waiting with family before a midterm election night watch party at the Charleston Marriott, Nov. 3, 2026, in Charleston, S.C. (Win Mcnamee/Getty Images)
Democrats rode a wave of discontent -- both for the economy and President Donald Trump -- and gained control of the Senate once again, making gains in places that just two years ago would have been unthinkable.
Kansas, South Carolina, Iowa are just a few of the Republican strongholds where insurgent Democrats not only won but did so with notable margins - with notable shifts in key demographic groups and voting blocs.
Here's how we got here:
Georgia
Democrat Jon Ossoff is projected to win reelection to the U.S. Senate, according to ABC News Voter Polls. Ossoff, who narrowly won his Senate seat in a runoff election in 2021, earned more support from Georgia voters in this year’s race, winning the support of around 6 in 10 voters across the state.
Ossoff was able to improve his vote margins among white voters by about 10 percentage points compared to Democrat Raphael Warnock’s victory in 2022.
Younger voters helped propel Ossoff to victory in the 2026 Georgia Senate race, according to ABC News Voter Polls. Voters under 30 widened their support for a Democrat, from 21 points in 2022 to 69 points now. While 45 to 64-year-olds supported the Republican candidate by 8 percentage points in 2022, they supported Ossoff by a similar margin this year, according to ABC News Voter Polls. Ossoff was able to win solidly among independents, who make up 3 in 10 voters in the Georgia electorate, according to ABC News Voter Polls. Roughly 6 in 10 independents voted for Ossoff over his Republican challenger, Collins.
Ossoff built support among white voters in the 2026 election compared to Warnock in 2022. Roughly 4 in 10 white voters backed Ossoff in this year’s race (39%), while 29% supported Warnock back in 2022.
About 3 in 10 Georgia Senate voters say they are angry about the way things are going in the country today according to ABC News Voter polls. Around 9 in 10 Georgia gubernatorial voters who said they were angry about the country’s state of affairs supported Ossoff.
According to ABC News Voter Polls, about three-quarters of Georgia Senate voters rate the economy negatively, including about a third who say the economy is poor. Roughly 9 in 10 voters who describe the nation’s economy as poor voted for Ossoff in the 2026 Senate election.
According to ABC News Voter Polls, about 6 in 10 Georgia Senate voters disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job as president, including about half of voters who strongly disapprove. Roughly 9 in 10 voters who disapprove of Trump backed Ossoff in this year’s race.
South Carolina
Democrat Annie Andrews is projected to have defeated Republican Sen. Darline Graham, who held the seat after her brother, longtime Sen. Lindsey Graham, died in June.
Black voters in South Carolina supported Andrews over Graham by an 83% to 14% margin, according to ABC News Voter Polls, almost identical to the margin that Matthews had over Scott in 2022 when Black voters made up 22% of the electorate.
But white voters shifted heavily toward the Democrat this year. In 2022, white voters supported Republican Tim Scott by 54 percentage points. This time they supported Graham by only 14 points.
Women backed Andrews over Graham by just over 10 percentage points, according to ABC Voter Polls. In 2022, women backed Scott by 18 percentage points. While Graham won men this year, her margin was in the single digits -- compared to a 34-point margin in favor of Scott four years ago. Among white men, in particular, Graham’s margin was around 20 percentage points -- down from a 58-point margin for the Republican in 2022.
Roughly 4 in 10 South Carolina voters are 65 and older, and they backed Graham by 10 percentage points over Andrews, according to ABC Voter Polls. But that margin is much narrower than the 32 point margin that Scott held among these older voters in 2022.
Roughly 1 in 10 Trump voters in 2024 crossed over to vote for Andrews this year. Almost none of Kamala Harris’s 2024 voters supported Graham, according to ABC News Voter Polls.
College graduates backed Andrews by a margin of 17 points, according to ABC News Voter Polls. That was a flip from 2020 when 57% of college graduates voted for Lindsey Graham. In 2022, Scott won college graduates by 23 percentage points.
Suburban voters in South Carolina broke toward Andrews by 8 percentage points according to ABC News Voter Polls. In 2022, suburban voters favored Scott by 24 percentage points. Urban voters backed Andrews by a 27 point margin, more than double the margin from 2022.
Iowa
Josh Turek is projected to win the Iowa Senate race, becoming the first Democrat to represent Iowa in the upper chamber since Tom Harkin was elected in 2008. His victory was propelled by strength among independents and by peeling off enough Trump 2024 voters.
Self-identified independents in Iowa prefer Turek by around 20 percentage points, according to ABC News Voter Polls. Party-switching among Democrats and Republicans is relatively muted, though Turek captured more Republicans than Democrats who voted for GOP candidate Ashley Hinson.
About 1 in 10 Iowa Senate voters who backed Trump in 2024 crossed over to Turek, while few Harris voters supported Hinson, according to ABC News Voter Polls.
Male voters in Iowa back Hinson by about 10 percentage points, while women support Democrat Josh Turek by a similar margin, according to ABC News Voter Polls. In 2022, Republican Chuck Grassley carried men by 24 points and women by 3 points.
In 2022, Iowa Senate voters under 30 were the only age group to back Democrat Michael Franken over Grassley by 9 percentage points. This year, voters aged 18 to 29 supported Turek by around a 2-to-1 margin, according to ABC News Voter Polls. Voters aged 30 to 44 also prefer Turek by about 10 points, those aged 45 to 64 back Hinson by around the same margin, and voters 65 and older are roughly evenly split between the candidates.
Ohio
Democrat Sherrod Brown is projected to win the Ohio Senate seat over Republican John Husted and retake the seat he lost in 2024. Here’s how he built a winning coalition.
Ohio voters tonight were extremely negative about the state of the economy, frustrated with Trump’s tariffs and concerned about high costs, which a majority blamed on Trump, according to ABC Voter Polls. And Brown won big among the more economically disenchanted. He was also able to capitalize on the roughly 6 in 10 who said Husted was too supportive of Trump, gaining ground relative to his 2024 margins among most key demographic groups.
Brown won female voters in Ohio by roughly 15 percentage points over Husted, according to ABC Voter Polls. In 2024, women split about evenly between Brown and Republican Bernie Moreno. While Brown narrowly lost men, the margin was somewhat smaller than the 9 points by which he lost men in 2024.
Brown won voters under 30 by more than 40 percentage points, according to ABC Voter Polls -- a sharp reversal from 2024 when voters under 30 backed Moreno by 4 percentage points. He also won voters ages 30 to 44 by roughly 30 points, compared with his 2-point margin in 2024. He carried those ages 45 to 64 by a very slim margin -- a group he lost by 10 points two years ago. This year, though, he lost ground among voters ages 65 and older compared with 2024.
Independents backed Brown over Husted by 26 percentage points, according to ABC Voter Polls. This is a sizable increase over his margin with this group in 2024 (+9) and 2018 (+12), according to Edison. Brown also won nearly all Democrats and around 1 in 10 Republicans.
White Ohio voters supported the Republican Senate candidate by at least 10 percentage points in each of the last two cycles. But tonight, white voters broke nearly evenly according to ABC Voter Polls -- returning to margins last seen in the 2018 midterms.
Brown’s margin among Black voters also increased from 71 points in 2024 to 82 points this year, according to ABC Voter Polls.
Ohio voters with a college degree backed Democrat Sherrod Brown by about 20 percentage points, according to ABC News Voter Polls. This is a slight improvement over his 14-point margin with this group in both 2024 and 2018. While he lost voters without a college degree to Republican John Husted by single digits, this improved substantially over the 14 points by which he lost this group in 2024.
Kansas
Democrat Adam Hamilton is projected to become the first Democrat to be elected to the U.S. Senate from Kansas since 1932. Here’s how he beat incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall to win the seat.
Four in 10 Kansas Senate voters say they are angry about the way things are going in the country today, according to ABC News Voter Polls, and they supported Hamilton over Marshall by roughly an 80-point margin. Another roughly third are dissatisfied and they split their vote according to ABC News Voter Polls.
Nearly 6 in 10 Kansas Senate voters disapprove of Trump, including about half who strongly disapprove and they widely supported Hamilton over Marshall, according to ABC News Voter Polls.
About 4 in 10 voters in Kansas are Republicans and over 8 in 10 of them voted for Marshall, according to ABC News Voter Polls -- but 12% of them split off to vote for Hamilton and nearly all Democrats supported Hamilton. Independents split for the Democrat by a more than 2-to-1 margin, according to Voter Polls.
Women supported Hamilton by a 10-percentage point margin and men supported Marshall by a 2-point margin, according to ABC News Voter Polls. In the 2022 election, both men and women supported Republican Jerry Moran by double-digit margins and he won his third term to the U.S. Senate by a wide margin. In 2020, when Marshall beat Democrat Barbara Bolinger for the U.S. Senate, men supported Marshall by 22 points, but Kansas women were about evenly split.
Essentially all of the Kansas voters who voted for Kamala Harris in 2024 supported Hamilton, according to ABC News Voter Polls. Trump voters were not as united around Marshall, with 10% of them peeling off for Hamilton.
Texas
Democrat James Talarico, an educator and member of the Texas House of Representatives, was projected to defeat Republican Ken Paxton. Talarico was propelled to victory by younger voters. Roughly 8 in 10 voters ages 18-29 (79%) supported Talarico in this year’s race, compared with about half of 18 to 29-year-olds who supported Democrat Collin Allred in 2024.
In the Texas Senate race, 58% of female voters supported Talarico, while men were roughly evenly split in their vote, according to ABC News Voter Polls. In the 2024 Texas Senate race, male voters favored Republican Ted Cruz by an 18 percentage point margin over Allred while women were about evenly split between candidates.
Talarico gained among Black and Hispanic Texans during his 2026 Senate victory, according to ABC News Voter Polls. Nine in 10 Black voters and two-thirds of Hispanic Texans supported Talarico over Paxton. This is roughly 10 percentage points higher than the shares Allred received from these groups during his 2024 candidacy for Senate.
Roughly 7 in 10 Texas Senate voters (71%) rated the economy negatively, including 34% who rated the economy as poor according to ABC News Voter Polls. Among voters who evaluated the economy negatively, 72% voted for Talarico.
About 4 in 10 Texas Senate voters (41%) said the economy was the top issue facing the country, while 29% said the state of democracy, according to ABC News Voter Polls. Voters who viewed democracy as the most important issue favored Talarico by a roughly 3-to-1 margin, while Talarico won economy-focused voters by a double-digit margin.
Nearly 6 in 10 Texas Senate voters disapproved of Trump, including half who disapproved strongly, and those voters supported Talarico by wide margins.
About twice as many Texas Senate voters said they were worse off (43%) than better off (20%) compared with two years ago, according to ABC News Voter Polls. Among voters who said their financial situation has worsened, 77% voted for Talarico.
-ABC News' Sofi Sinovich, Bianca DiJulio, Alauna Safarpour and Will Lennon contributed to this report.
The sun sets on the U.S. Capitol on Election Day evening on November 3, 2026 in Washington. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Democrats are projected to retake the House for the first time since 2020 in an election where President Donald Trump’s shadow loomed large over the proceedings.
Democrats made small but substantive improvements in their share of the vote across many groups and benefited from Trump’s deep unpopularity and voters' negativity about the economy.
According to ABC News Voter Polls, about 6 in 10 Americans who voted on U.S. House races disapprove of Trump’s performance as president, including 53% who strongly disapprove.
Voters who strongly disapproved of Trump supported Democrats for the House by an 89-percentage point margin. Just 2 in 10 voters in U.S. House races strongly approved of Trump and they supported Republicans by a 96-point margin.
And more than half of voters for U.S. House strongly disapprove of Trump’s performance as president, according to ABC News Voter Polling, that's the highest strong disapproval share for any president dating back to the 2008 election when George W. Bush was president and Barack Obama was elected.
About two-thirds of those who voted in House races say Trump has the wrong priorities and a similar share says he prioritizes his own personal interests over those of the country. These voters chose Democrats for the U.S. House over Republicans by 69 percentage points and 73 points, respectively, according to ABC News voter polling.
More Americans who voted in U.S. House races say their vote was to express opposition to Trump rather than support for him in ABC News voter polling, 43% to 16% and 96% of them voted for Democrats.
Three-quarters of these voters rated the state of the economy negatively and they supported Democrats by 40 percentage points. Among the roughly one-third of voters who rated the economy poorly, they supported Democrats by 71 points.
About 7 in 10 Americans who voted on House races say the U.S. economic system generally favors the wealthy rather than being fair to most Americans and they supported the Democrats by about a 3-to-1 margin.
More say their family’s financial situation has gotten worse than better in the past two years by more than a 2-to-1 margin and they largely supported Democrats.
About 8 in 10 Americans who voted in House races felt inflation had caused their family severe or moderate hardship in the past year, with most of them supporting Democrats. And 62% of these voters blamed Trump’s policies for higher than usual prices rather than factors outside of his control, according to ABC News Voter Polls.
The Democratic Party held a slight advantage in favorability over Republicans -- 47% vs 41% -- and also won a 25-percentage point lead among the 15% of "double haters" who are unfavorable of both parties, per ABC News Voter Polls.
ABC News Voter Polls find that Democrats improved on their typical wide lead among voters in House races who are under 30, winning roughly three quarters of their votes today, compared with just more than half in 2024.
About a third of voters don't identify with either major political party but they backed Democrats in U.S. House races by a 56% to 39% margin, according to ABC News Voter Polls.
In the previous two elections, independent voters split roughly evenly between the two parties, according to Edison Research.
President Donald Trump takes of his hat as he departs after delivering remarks at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, November 2, 2026 in Washington. (Finn Gomez/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump on Tuesday at points lashed out, made excuses and appeared resigned after Republicans suffered resounding losses in the midterm elections.
In some of his first public remarks following the Democrats' victories, Trump said in an interview on Fox News that he was "a little bit surprised" by the results.
"I thought we would do better," Trump said. "We had tremendous rallies, thousands of people outside let alone inside that couldn't get in."
In other remarks, Trump put some of the blame on Republican candidates and high gas prices from the war in Iran -- and also said he was willing to work with Democrats.
"I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!" Trump posted on his social media platform shortly after Democrats were projected to take control of the House.
During a flurry of campaign stops across states and districts he won handily in 2024, Trump had implored Republicans to vote as if he were on the ballot.
"But they didn't agree, and they didn't like the candidates in most cases, just one of those things," Trump said a phone interview with Politico. "There were plenty of people elected too, but, you know, not enough."
Trump played an outsized role in several key races, such as the Texas Senate race, where Trump endorsed Ken Paxton over incumbent John Cornyn in the GOP primary, and in the special election in South Carolina where Trump endorsed Darline Graham for a full term to fill her late brother Lindsey Graham's seat.
Both Paxton and Graham were projected to lose their races on Tuesday.
Asked if he thought there were candidates he thinks didn't do enough, Trump said: "I don't want to blame anybody. I just want to say, you know, it was -- it was a very interesting period of time. I watched with great interest, learned from it."
After results rolled in showing that Democrats would take the House and then later the Senate, Trump used his social media platform to lash out at the incumbent Republican governor of Texas, who had lost his bid for a fourth term.
"If Greg Abbott, the Governor of Texas, hadn't become a RINO in the last six months of his Political Life, he wouldn't have lost," Trump said in one of the posts, using the term for "Republican in Name Only."
"He went back to his original formula, and it wasn't pretty," Trump added.
Democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa was projected to defeat Abbott, who was running for his fourth term.
In his initial set of remarks, Trump said he would work with Democrats -- but also emphasized his ability to veto legislation.
In the Politico interview, Trump said he was willing to work with Democrats to "make sure things go well for our country."
"I'd consider doing whatever I think is appropriate and good for the country," he told Politico when asked if he would consider striking an immigration deal with Democrats.
However, in another post on his social media platform on Tuesday night, Trump posted a picture his signature red hat with the word "VETO" displayed across it.
Ahead of the results, Trump had projected confidence that Republicans would defy the polls but said that he would be "Mr. Veto" if Democrats were to regain control.
Speaking to Fox News, Trump said Democrats are "in control, but they're really not in control because they can send over, you know, 50 different great bills that they're all excited about, and I send them back with a nice stamp veto."
Democrats will win enough seats in the U.S. House of Representatives to gain control of the lower chamber of Congress -- propelled by a wave of discontent with the economy and the president, according to ABC News projections and Voter Polls.
Democrats flipped at least six Senate seats, including in Republican strongholds like Kansas and South Carolina, ABC News projects. And they flipped at least a dozen House seats as well as several governor's seats — also in traditionally red states, making history in several cases.
In Texas, Democrat Gina Hinojosa denied Gov. Greg Abbott, a close ally of the president, a fourth term.
A shift in the balance of power could curb the executive influence of President Donald Trump and could have meaningful implications for domestic and foreign policy amid a generally unpopular U.S. war with Iran, climbing inflation and record-high fuel prices that have strained American households.
About two-thirds of Americans disapprove of how Trump is handling the economy (65%) -- a record high over both of Trump's presidential terms and roughly the same as then-President Joe Biden's worst economy rating in ABC/Post polling in September 2023 (64%).
Trump, who urged Americans at rallies across the country to "pretend I'm on the ballot" when they vote in the midterms, wrote on X Tuesday night that he was "not on the ballot."
"I wasn't on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!" Trump claimed.
The president told The New York Times in a phone interview on Tuesday night that he will accept the results of Tuesday's elections and said that he is willing to work with Democrats.
"I am absolutely willing to accept those results," Trump said.
"We'll work with the Democrats, and we'll, you know, look forward to working with them. We'll probably work something out," he added.
But he also posted a hat on social media with the word "VETO" on it.
Key Senate victories
As votes are tallied across the country, Democrats secured several key wins in consequential Senate races in both battleground states and red states that voted for Trump in 2024.
Thirty-five Senate seats are in play during the 2026 midterms, but the outcome of a few races in both battleground and traditionally Republican states will determine which party will control the upper chamber of Congress next year.
Texas: Democrat James Talarico will win the Texas Senate race, defeating Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and becoming the first Democrat to win a Texas statewide race in over 30 years, ABC News projects. The last time a Democrat won a U.S. Senate election was in 1988. Talarico, a former state representative and Presbyterian seminarian, ran against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Paxton waded into the culture wars in his attacks against Talarico, while the Democrat has kept his message on the economy front and center and criticized the attorney general over a series of political scandals that have embroiled Paxton's career.
South Carolina: Democrat Annie Andrews is projected to win the South Carolina Senate race, flipping a seat blue after it had been held by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham for the past 23 years.
Andrews, a pediatrician, ran against incumbent Republican Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed to the Senate by Gov. Henry McMaster and succeeded her brother after he died unexpectedly in July.
Darline Graham was the first woman to represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate, but Annie Andrews is projected to become the first woman elected in that position.
North Carolina: Democrat Roy Cooper, the state's former governor, will win the North Carolina Senate race, ABC News projects, flipping the seat blue.
Cooper ran for the open seat against Republican Michael Whatley, a former Republican National Committee chairman who was endorsed by President Trump. The seat is held by outgoing Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, a Trump critic, who announced his retirement last year.
Georgia: ABC News projects that incumbent Democrat Jon Ossoff will win reelection in Georgia's race for U.S. Senate against Republican Rep. Mike Collins, who represents Georgia's 10th congressional district.
Ossoff, who is the only Democratic senator up for reelection this cycle in a state that Donald Trump won in 2024, was once viewed as one of the most vulnerable incumbent Democratic senators.
But polls showed a close race as Collins' campaign has been marred by several controversies and the congressman has also faced some heat over his support for the generally unpopular war in Iran.
Maine: Democrat Troy Jackson's campaign spokesperson Maggie Amjad told ABC News that Republican Sen. Susan Collins, a moderate who was elected in 1996, called and conceded the Maine Senate race. Collins said in a statement on Tuesday night that she called to congratulate Jackson. “It has been the honor of my life to serve the people of Maine in the United States Senate. I'm proud of all I have been able to accomplish for our state and for our country in the past 30 years," she said.
Kansas: Democrat and megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton will win the U.S. Senate race in Kansas, ABC News projects, defeating incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall.
Republicans currently hold 53 seats, while Democrats have 45 seats, in addition to independent senators Bernie Sanders and Angus King, who also caucus with the Democratic Party, giving them a total of 47.
Democrats needed to win four additional seats to shift the balance of power, while Republicans can afford to lose up to three seats and keep the majority, with the tie-breaking vote of Vice President JD Vance.
A promise of 'change' in the House
All 435 seats of the House of Representatives are on the ballot on Tuesday for two-year terms in the 120th Congress, but 14 of those seats that ABC News rates as toss-ups are crucial to determining the balance of power in the House next year.
Key races were in states like Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Montana, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia, while a handful of other consequential races were in congressional districts that were redrawn by Republican legislatures in Alabama, Florida, Kentucky and Virginia.
To shift the balance of power, Democrats needed to gain at least three seats.
The Republican caucus, led by Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, currently holds a slim majority over Democrats with 220 seats, while Democrats have 215.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who will become the first Black speaker of the House if he is elected to lead the party in January, vowed that "change" is coming.
"We're going to push for dramatic reform of the Supreme Court," Jeffries said at the National Association of Black Journalists conference in Atlanta in August.
"The Supreme Court, the conservative right-wing majority on the Supreme Court, has become basically a subsidiary of the MAGA Republican Party. The status quo is acceptable. It's not," he added. Democrats, who last controlled both chambers during the 117th Congress in Trump's first term (2021--2023), are also aiming to make history by electing at least 100 Democratic women to the House, which would set a new record.
Out of 435 seats in the House, 125 are currently held by women, including 95 Democrats and 30 Republicans.
In the 14 toss-up races, seven Democratic women are running against Republican opponents.
ABC News' Juhi Joshi, Oren Oppenheim, Nicholas Kerr, Emily Guskin, Devin Dwyer, John Parkinson and Allison Pecorin contributed to this report.
The 2026 midterm elections made history for several candidates, as voters are projected to have elected the country's first Black, Native American and Hispanic female governors and more major firsts.
All eyes are on the results Tuesday night in the high-stakes election, in which House and Senate races will determine the balance of power in Congress.
But the midterms have also seen an expansion of representation among America's lawmakers, with several candidates celebrating groundbreaking wins.
This story will be updated as more wins are projected.
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Democratic candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms is projected by ABC News to become the next governor of Georgia -- beating billionaire Rick Jackson in the closely watched race.
The projected win for Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, flips the Georgia governor's mansion blue in a state that President Donald Trump won in 2024.
In the closing stretch of the race, Bottoms often repeated on the campaign trail that Jackson "may have the money, but the people still have the power." Before the end of the cycle, Jackson had spent more than $200 million of his personal fortune on his campaign.
Georgia hasn't elected a Democrat for governor since 1998. The seat is currently held by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who was term-limited this year.
This is a major win for Georgia Democrats, who have targeted this seat for years, falling short in 2018 and 2022 with Democrat Stacey Abrams. In 2018, Abrams lost to Kemp by a 1.4-point margin.
Deb Haaland
Deb Haaland, the former U.S. Secretary of the Interior, is projected to win New Mexico's gubernatorial race, becoming the first indigenous governor in U.S. history.
"Thank you, New Mexico! It is the honor of my lifetime to be elected your 33rd Governor," Haaland wrote on X. "Tonight, you made history. You chose a future where New Mexico comes first, where working families have a chance to get ahead, and where every New Mexican has a voice."
She is a member of the Laguna Pueblo, a federally recognized tribe in the state.
Haaland's projected win on Tuesday was against former Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull.
Rep. Gina Hinojosa
The Texas gubernatorial race is also projected to see a historic first, with Democratic Rep. Gina Hinojosa becoming the state's first Hispanic governor.
Hinojosa was running against Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who was aiming to win his fourth term.
The stunning projected win for Hinojosa, who served in the Texas state House, comes after running on education reform and criticizing Abbott over AI data centers.
"This is our last best chance to take back Texas for the people," she wrote on X ahead of the election.
Rep. Byron Donalds
Republican Rep. Byron Donalds is projected by ABC News to win the gubernatorial race in Florida, becoming the state’s first Black governor.
"I am humbled and grateful beyond measure," Donalds said in a victory statement posted to X. "As your Governor, I will give you everything I have. We are going to make life in Florida more affordable. We are going to keep our streets safe. We are going to invest in our young people so that they can attain the Florida Dream that all of us love so dearly. Florida is the envy of the nation. I will fight day and night to keep it that way and to lift our state to even greater heights."
His campaign made headlines in September when Donalds' website was updated to remove some prominent references to Trump. According to the Miami Herald, Donalds removed at least eight references to Trump from his website.
Shortly after the changes, however, Donalds posted a statement on X touting his endorsement of the president.
"I am proud to have President Trump’s endorsement. While everyone is focused on our website, check out our policy proposals to make life more affordable for Floridians,” Donalds wrote at the time.
Dr. Amy Acton
Dr. Amy Acton, the former director of the Ohio Department of Health, is projected to defeat GOP opponent Vivek Ramaswamy for the Ohio governor's seat.
Acton will become the first woman elected governor in Ohio and the first Jewish governor in the state’s history.
The defining moment of this campaign came with an ad made by the Ramaswamy campaign that tried to use Acton’s estranged mother, who fled the state with a husband who was indicted for raping Acton as a child, to call Acton a liar. The ad prompted major backlash and an influx of support and visibility for Acton.
Rep. Chris Pappas
In New Hampshire, ABC News projects that U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas will win the Senate race, becoming the first openly gay senator.
He is projected to beat former Sen. John Sununu, a Republican backed by President Donald Trump, in the race that was seen as a must-hold for the Democrats.
Pappas campaigned with major Democratic figures such as former Vice President Kamala Harris and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Israeli Prime Minister and Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to supporters at the Likud Party election-night event, October 28, 2026 in Jerusalem. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he made a deal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that will see the U.S. "cut off" military aid to Israel this year because Republicans "suffer the slings" from Democratic candidates over the issue.
The president's comments came as voters head to the polls for the last day of voting in the high-stakes midterm elections. The elections could ultimately determine how effective Trump's agenda is in the back half of his second term.
Watch ABC beginning at 7 p.m. EST for live Election Night 2026 coverage and results. Also streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
"Bibi Netanyahu and I have made a deal that -- we give Israel $4 billion a year -- and we made a deal months ago that we're stopping, and ... they're fine with it because, you know, they've become a very successful country. They don't need it, and we won't be paying any more," the president said in an interview on Fox News. "So it's just a wasted thing because we've already agreed that by the end of this year, we won't be paying Israel."
Trump did not provide specifics on the forms of military aid that will end, nor how it will be ended.
Trump made the comment after he was asked about the rise of antisemitism, that it appears "the next generation has no interest in providing arms, selling arms to Israel" and that Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is counting on the shift in public opinion regarding U.S. military aid to Israel in his election bid.
El-Sayed, who is in a tight race with Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers, has said of Israel that if elected, his responsibility would be Michigan's children "rather than thinking about what's in the interest of a foreign government." He has rejected antisemitism charges during the race.
An ABC News/Washington Post/IPSOS poll last month found 58% of Americans say the U.S. should either reduce military support to Israel or end it completely.
The president said politics influenced the decision to cut aid because he doesn't want to give Democrats a "talking point" to use against Republicans.
"We were giving them $4 billion. We are, but it gets cut off at the end of the year," Trump said.
"Why?" Fox's Brian Kilmeade pressed the president.
"Because they don't need it, Brian. I mean, I ask them because they don't need it, and because why should we suffer the slings from lunatics like an El-Sayed when they don't need it?" Trump said. "It's a bad -- it's a bad talking point because you say, 'Why don't we give everybody $4 billion?' Israel's our number one. We give them more than anybody else, and they no longer need it."
Trump added that Netanyahu "brought it up" and that it would be "appropriate" to end aid.
Netanyahu has not yet released a public statement on Trump's comments. Neither the prime minister's office nor the Israeli Defense Ministry immediately responded to ABC News' requests for comment.
Trump, when pressed, did not specify if the move meant was the U.S no longer giving military equipment or money, but suggested it was part of an effort to balance the federal budget.
The vast majority of U.S. military aid to Israel is governed by a 10-year memorandum of understanding between the countries. The current agreement, which was negotiated and signed toward the end of the Obama administration, is set to expire at the end of fiscal year 2028.
Two sources at Israel's Finance Ministry, who requested anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak on the record, expressed surprise at Trump's comments, with one highlighting the Obama-era MoU and the other noting that the future annual budget had already been drafted based on the current agreement.
Under the current MoU, the U.S. provides Israel with $3.8 billion in support annually. Much of that -- $3.3 billion -- is Foreign Military Financing (FMF) -- which is money primarily designated for the purchase of U.S.-manufactured defense equipment. Per the terms of the deal, Israel is required to spend 92% of its FMF on U.S.-made defense products in 2026 and 2027, and 100% of it on American goods in 2028.
MoUs are not legally binding agreements, but Congress effectively codified the annual FMF support levels stipulated by the current deal with Israel as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 -- a measure that had bipartisan support at the time it was passed into law.
Netanyahu has publicly called for the phasing out of U.S. military aid for Israel, arguing that the country doesn’t need the assistance anymore and expressing a preference for joint investments instead. It is unclear if he would support an abrupt cancellation of the current MoU.
Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu's main rival in last week's Israeli election, responded to Trump's announcement in a statement on Tuesday evening local time, saying that his country's "special relationship with the United States is a key component in its national security."
"The fact that the security establishment, along with Israeli citizens, is learning about a change in the strategic relationship framework through the media highlights just how much Benjamin Netanyahu's conduct poses a genuine danger," he said. "We can no longer rely on him and must replace him."
Eisenkot said Netanyahu "must provide answers to Israeli citizens" immediately.
The final vote count from last Tuesday's parliamentary election showed that Netanyahu's bloc maintained its lead, securing 53 seats in the next Knesset, but no coalition secured a 61-seat majority.
The opposition bloc led by Eisenkot won 48 seats, according to official Central Elections Committee figures released on Thursday after all votes had been counted.
Sen. Susan Collins greets a supporter, as she arrives for a campaign event at Ellis Family Market, in Patten, Maine, November 2, 2026. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
As Americans head to the polls for the final day of midterm voting on Tuesday, candidates are making their final appeals to voters in high-stakes House and Senate races that will determine the balance of power in Congress, where Republicans currently control both chambers.
A shift in the balance of power could curb the executive influence of President Donald Trump and could have meaningful implications on domestic and foreign policy amid a generally unpopular U.S. war with Iran, climbing inflation and record high fuel prices that have strained American households.
Here's a look at some key Senate, House and gubernatorial races to watch that could help define the outcome of the 2026 midterms:
Key Senate races
Thirty-five Senate seats are in play during the 2026 midterms, but the outcome of a few competitive races in both battleground and traditionally Republican states, will determine which party will control the upper chamber of Congress next year.
Republicans currently hold 53 seats, while Democrats have 45 seats, in addition to independent senators Bernie Sanders and Angus King, who also caucus with the Democratic Party, giving them a total of 47.
Democrats need to win four additional seats to shift the balance of power, while Republicans can afford to lose up to three seats and keep the majority, with the tie-breaking vote of Vice President JD Vance.
Leading into the midterms, Trump has not only campaigned for Republican candidates in battleground states like Michigan, Georgia and North Carolina, but has also embarked on a red-state push in more reliably Republican states like Texas, Ohio, South Carolina, Florida, Iowa, Kansas and Mississippi.
Asked about his effort to bolster Mississippi Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, who is defending her seat against Democratic District Attorney Scott Colom, Trump said, he "can't take a chance."
Michigan: This race has been a bitter fight between former GOP rep. Mike Rogers and former public health official Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive in a race that has highlighted the divide over U.S. support for Israel and has put El-Sayed on the defensive amid attacks from pro-Israel groups. And days before Election Day, a surprise endorsement for Rogers from El-Sayed's Democratic primary opponent, Haley Stevens, roiled an already contentious race, with Democrats criticizing Stevens and Republicans welcoming her support.
Texas: The last time a Democrat won a U.S. Senate election was in 1988. State Attorney General Ken Paxton is running a close race against Democrat James Talarico, a former state representative and Presbyterian seminarian. Paxton has waded into the culture wars in his attacks against Talarico, while the Democrat has kept his message on the economy front and center and criticized the attorney general over a series of political scandals that have embroiled Paxton's career.
Alaska: Incumbent Republican Dan Sullivan is running against former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola, another candidate with the same name who is on the ticket as an independent in a surprisingly close race in this ranked-choice voting state.
Maine: Longtime Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, a moderate, is defending her seat in a competitive race against Democrat Troy Jackson, a former Maine Senate president and majority leader.
Ohio: Incumbent Republican John Husted and former Sen. Sherrod Brown, who lost his 2024 re-election bid, are fighting for a chance to return to the Senate in a race that ABC News rates Tossup.
Kansas: This race was not expected to be competitive after Trump won the state by a large margin in 2024. Incumbent Republican Sen. Roger Marshall is facing off against Democrat Adam Hamilton, senior pastor of the largest United Methodist congregation in the nation.
Also worth watching: Polls also show close races in more reliably Republican states like South Carolina, Nebraska and Mississippi, where no Democrat has been elected to the U.S. Senate since 1982.
Key House races
All 435 seats of the House of Representatives are on the ballot on Tuesday for two-year terms in the 120th Congress, but 14 of those seats that ABC News rates as Tossup are going to be crucial to determining the balance of power in the House next year.
Key races to watch are in Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Montana, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia, while a handful of other consequential races are in congressional districts that were redrawn by Republican legislatures in Alabama, Florida, Kentucky and Virginia.
To shift the balance of power, Democrats need to gain at least three seats.
The Republican caucus, led by Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, currently holds a slim majority over Democrats with 220 seats, while Democrats have 215.
Twenty-six women are major-party nominees overall, one more than the 2022 record of 25, including 19 Democrats and seven Republicans.
In Texas, Gina Hinojosa could become the first Latina governor. In New Mexico, former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland would be the first Native American woman to serve as a governor. And in Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms could become the state's first woman governor and the first Black woman to govern any state.
And in Ohio, Democratic nominee Amy Acton, who would be Ohio's first female governor, is facing off against Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy.
Ramaswamy faced bipartisan backlash for a controversial attack ad against Acton that featured her estranged mother calling her liar.
Acton, who has spoken out about being a victim of sexual abuse, said that her mother stood by the man who criminally charged with sexually abusing her as a child before his death in 2004.
In a final push before Election Day, Trump and former President Barack Obama -- the last Democratic president to serve two terms -- have made direct appeals to voters, appearing at rallies to bolster congressional and gubernatorial candidates in competitive races.
Obama, who appeared at a rally for Acton on Oct. 24., urged voters to channel their frustration by exercising their right to vote.
"They can't hear your boos. They hear your vote," he said.
Ahead of midterm voting, Trump announced at the GOP's midterm convention on Sept. 9 that he would give adult Americans a $5,000 cash payment that he called the "Trump Dividend" if Republicans keep control of the House and Senate.
While some critics cast this proposal as a bribe, the president has defended it and repeated the pledge at campaign rallies. When pressed on the proposal by ABC News, he denied that the promise of this payment was meant to encourage voter turnout and claimed that the government would pay for it through economic "growth."
Appearing at a rally last week in Corpus Christi, Texas, the president urged his supporters to vote Republican up and down the ballot.
"We're going to elect Republicans up and down the line," he said. "We need that vote, otherwise, all of the great things we've done are going to change very quickly."
ABC News' John Parkinson, Allison Pecorin, Lauren Peller, Juhi Doshi and Max Zahn contributed to this report.
ABC News projects that the Democrats will win enough seats to gain control of the House. Included in the calculation are several seats in later poll closing times that ABC News analysts believe will not affect the outcome.
Heading into Election Day, the Senate consisted of 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and two independents. In the House of Representatives, there are 218 Republicans and 214 Democrats, in addition to one independent and two vacancies.
Polls are closed in Michigan, where voters are weighing in on a key Senate race.
There is a Senate showdown between Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers. After coming up short by fewer than 20,000 votes in his 2024 race against Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin, Rogers is hoping to defeat El-Sayed. If El-Sayed is elected, he would be the first Muslim senator.
In the governor’s race, Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson is facing off against Republican Rep. John James to replace term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Down ballot, Michigan has three key U.S. House races -- out of 13 total that voters will weigh in on -- in the 4th, 7th, and 10th congressional districts.
Five-term Republican Sen. Susan Collins said early Wednesday that she had conceded her re-election race to Democratic challenger Troy Jackson.
ABC News has not yet projected the results of the race.
"It has been the honor of my life to serve the people of Maine in the United States Senate. I'm proud of all I have been able to accomplish for our state and for our country in the past 30 years," Collins said in a statement.
The race was upended earlier this year when Graham Platner, the original Democratic nominee, dropped out of the race due to allegations of sexual assault.
The state also has races for House seats and governor.
Polls closed in New Hampshire Tuesday, where voters cast ballots in a major Senate race, a gubernatorial race and key U.S. House races in the 2026 midterm elections.
U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, a Democrat, is the projected winner in the Senate race, making him the first openly gay man elected to the Senate.
He was facing former Sen. John Sununu, a Republican, for the seat held by retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. Sununu is the brother of popular former Gov. Chris Sununu.
Incumbent Gov. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, is running for reelection against Democratic candidate Cinde Warmington.
Democratic candidate Adam Hamilton is set to make history with a projected win in his U.S. Senate race, breaking the party's 94-year losing streak in Kansas.
Hamilton, a pastor leading the country's largest United Methodist congregation in the country, is projected to defeat Republican incumbent Sen. Roger Marshall for the seat -- the first Democrat win a Senate seat since 1932, defying the odds in a state President Donald Trump won three times.
Meanwhile, in the governor's race, Democratic state Sen. Cindy Holscher and state Senate President Ty Masterson are running for the open seat to replace term-limited Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.
