Democrats Win Control of the House and Senate. Alaska and Dozens of House Seats Are Still Uncalled. Accept the Rebuke, Then Govern.

The facts come first below. My opinion follows in the section marked as opinion.

Democrats will control both chambers of Congress in January. NPR reported, based on a tally of race calls by The Associated Press, that Democrats "have cemented control of both chambers of Congress," returning the party to full control for the first time since 2023. The AP declared House control at 12:23 a.m. Central, when it called Texas' 35th District for Democrat Johnny Garcia, giving Democrats their 218th seat, in a district Republicans had redrawn to favor their side. CBS News separately projected Democratic majorities in both the Senate and the House.

The totals and race calls below were checked between 5:20 and 5:45 a.m. Central on Wednesday, Nov. 4. Counting continues, and the numbers will move. We report a race as won only when the AP or a major network has called it.

The Senate

Republicans went into the election holding 53 seats to Democrats' 47, and Democrats needed four seats for the majority, CBS News reported. They got more than that. According to Ballotpedia, which said results were still being reported, Democrats will have at least a 54-44 majority after flipping seven Republican-held seats. Each of the seven flips below has been called by the AP.

The flips, as listed by Ballotpedia and matching the seven states named by NPR:

Iowa: Josh Turek defeated Ashley Hinson.

Kansas: Adam Hamilton defeated Sen. Roger Marshall. Ballotpedia says it is the first time Kansas has elected a Democratic senator since 1932.

Maine: Troy Jackson defeated Sen. Susan Collins.

North Carolina: Roy Cooper defeated Michael Whatley for an open seat.

Ohio: Sherrod Brown defeated Sen. Jon Husted in the special election.

South Carolina: Annie Andrews defeated Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed to the seat after the death of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham. The AP called the race at 9:39 p.m. Central, NPR reported.

Texas: James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton. The AP called the race shortly after 10 p.m. Central, the Texas Tribune reported. The Texas Secretary of State's unofficial count at 2:47 a.m. Central, with 74% of precincts reporting, had Talarico at 5,064,261 votes to Paxton's 4,015,883. Ballotpedia says he is the first Democrat to win statewide in Texas since 1994.

Democrats also held seats Republicans had targeted. PBS News, carrying the Associated Press report, said Sen. Jon Ossoff won reelection in Georgia over Rep. Mike Collins, and Rep. Chris Pappas won New Hampshire's open seat over former Sen. John Sununu. In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed held the open seat against Republican Mike Rogers, according to an AP race call reported by NPR. The same report said Republicans held Florida, where Sen. Ashley Moody won the special election, and Wyoming, where Rep. Harriet Hageman won the open seat.

The House

CBS News projected that Democrats will capture enough seats to retake the House early next year, though it said the total extent of the majority is unclear because votes in several competitive races are still being counted. Ballotpedia put the floor at a 231-141 Democratic majority, with at least 18 seats picked up, in figures current as of 12:30 a.m. Central with results still being reported. CBS News's live House tally, last updated at 3:19 a.m. Central, showed 222 seats won by Democrats and 138 by Republicans. It also counted 14 Republican incumbents and no Democratic incumbents defeated so far.

Among the early flips, the AP report carried by PBS said Republican Reps. Tom Kean of New Jersey, Ryan Mackenzie, Scott Perry and Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania lost, and Democrats won open seats in North Carolina and Kentucky. NPR reported Democratic gains in at least three Florida districts that the Republican legislature had redrawn.

What is still not called

Nothing below should be read as a prediction. These races had not been decided when this was written.

The final size of both majorities. Ballotpedia's 54-44 Senate count leaves two seats unresolved, and its House count leaves dozens of seats open.

Mississippi's Senate race. Fox News reported that Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Scott Colom appeared deadlocked, with the race too close to call.

Alaska's Senate race. The Anchorage Daily News reported that Sen. Dan S. Sullivan narrowly led former Rep. Mary Peltola in early preliminary results, 48.1% to 47.7%, with tens of thousands of ballots still to count. If no one tops 50% of first-choice votes, ranked choice tabulation is set for Nov. 18, with certification on Nov. 25.

Several dozen House seats, which CBS News said were still being counted in competitive races.

What the leaders said

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, in line to become speaker, told supporters, "This is a change election, and we understand as House Democrats that we need to deliver dramatic change," CBS News reported. Speaker Mike Johnson said Republicans "will not be deterred by the outcome of one election," according to the same report.

President Trump congratulated Democrats in a call with CBS News, but pointed to his veto. "I think they're gonna want to work with me," he said, according to CBS News. Senate Majority Leader John Thune wrote that "Senate Republicans will not stand idly by," NPR reported.

NPR noted that Trump keeps his veto power, so bills will almost certainly need his signature, while a Democratic Senate will slow the confirmation of his judges and nominees.

Opinion:

This was a rebuke, and Republicans should take it as one. Seven Senate seats, including Kansas, South Carolina and Texas, do not change hands because of bad luck. Voters were telling Washington something about prices, about a war that has stretched into its ninth month and about leaders who seemed more interested in construction projects than grocery bills. A party that believes in accountability has to accept accountability.

The winners owe the country something too. Talk of an investigative blitz is already running ahead of talk about lowering costs. Oversight is a duty, and no president is above it. But if the next two years become a revenge tour, the people who just handed Democrats the gavel will hand it back. Fix what voters asked you to fix.

And everyone owes patience to the count. Alaska will take weeks. Dozens of House seats are open. Before Tuesday, I asked readers in Senate and House Races to Watch on Election Day, and When Polls Close to choose character and then be patient. That still holds. Let the counties count, let the losers concede when the numbers are in, and let the courts handle real disputes with real evidence.

Christians should not be rattled, and they should not gloat either. Power in this country changes hands by ballots, and it has again. Scripture says of God, He removeth kings, and setteth up kings. That is not a slogan for either party. It is a reminder that no majority is permanent and no officeholder is the savior. Pray for the new Congress and for the president. Then hold all of them to their word.