Updated early Wednesday, Nov. 4, per NBC News, CBS News and PBS NewsHour. Counts are still changing and the Associated Press has the official calls; this article will be updated as races are called.
Where the count stands
- House: NBC News and CBS News both project that Democrats will win control of the House of Representatives, ending the Republican majority that began in 2025. NBC’s projection assumes about 252 seats, well above the 218 needed, and says the number could shift by a few seats. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries declared “Victory for America” after the projection and is positioned to become Speaker when the new Congress convenes.
- Senate: NBC News projects that Democrats will also win the Senate, which would give them control of both chambers of Congress from January. Republicans entered election night with a 53-47 majority, so Democrats needed a net gain of four seats. NBC counts Democratic pickups in Texas (James Talarico), Iowa (Josh Turek), Kansas (Adam Hamilton), Ohio (Sherrod Brown) and South Carolina (Annie Andrews), along with North Carolina (Roy Cooper). Democrats also held Georgia (Jon Ossoff) and New Hampshire (Chris Pappas). Republicans held Florida (Ashley Moody), Arkansas, Tennessee and other seats. CBS News had called most of those races but had not yet projected overall Senate control when we last checked.
- Still to be called: Maine (Susan Collins) and Michigan (Abdul El-Sayed vs. Mike Rogers) were uncalled in the reports we reviewed. Maine uses ranked-choice voting, which can delay a final result.
- Governors: Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms won Georgia’s governor race and would be the state’s first woman and first Black governor. Republican Byron Donalds won in Florida.
- Ballot measures: Maryland voters approved a Democratic-backed redistricting amendment, and Virginia voters approved an abortion-rights amendment, according to PBS NewsHour.
Projections can change as late ballots are counted. For the official calls, check the Associated Press and your state election office.
What a Democratic House means
A majority in the House lets the winning party elect the Speaker, chair every committee and decide which bills reach the floor. If Democrats hold both chambers, as NBC projects, the most immediate effects would be on spending bills, nominations and oversight. Health-care subsidies, government funding and tax policy are likely early fights, with the Fed holding rates steady days before the vote and 2027 tax brackets still to be set. We cover the health-care side in our guide to ACA open enrollment for 2027.
Americans voted on Tuesday, Nov. 3, in the 2026 midterm elections. All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and 35 seats in the Senate were on the ballot, along with 36 governorships and many state and local contests. Whichever party ends up controlling each chamber will shape what Congress can pass for the next two years. This explainer covers how that is decided, why the answer can take days, and what comes next.
How control of each chamber is decided
- House: A party needs 218 seats for a majority. Republicans held the majority going into the election, so Democrats needed a small net gain to take control.
- Senate: There are 100 senators. A party with 51 seats has an outright majority. With a 50-50 split, the vice president, who is a Republican, casts tie-breaking votes, so Republicans would hold control in that case. Republicans held the majority going into the election, so Democrats needed a net gain of four seats to reach 51.
Control matters because the majority party picks the leaders, sets the legislative schedule, chairs the committees and decides which bills reach the floor. A divided Congress, with the parties split between the two chambers, often means gridlock and more investigations.
Why some races take days or weeks to call
Election night results are unofficial. A race is “called” by news organizations such as the Associated Press when one candidate’s lead is judged too large for the remaining ballots to change. Several things slow this down:
- Close margins. If the margin is within a state’s recount threshold, a recount may be automatic or may be requested by a candidate. Thresholds vary by state.
- Mail and provisional ballots. Some states count mail ballots that arrive after Election Day if they are postmarked on time, and some take longer to process them.
- Slow-counting states. Rules on when counting can begin differ by state, which can delay big counties.
- Runoffs. In some states, a candidate must win a majority. If no one does, a runoff is held weeks later. Georgia, for example, requires a majority for general elections, and a runoff would take place about four weeks after Election Day, in early December. Check with state election officials about any race that may be affected.
- Late-reporting regions. Alaska and Hawaii finish counting after most of the country.
From “called” to “certified”
After the unofficial results come the official steps:
- Canvassing: local officials review and finalize the vote counts.
- Certification: states certify results by deadlines set in state law, typically within a few weeks of the election.
- Recounts and challenges: any recount or legal challenge generally happens before certification.
- Seating: new members are sworn in when the 120th Congress convenes on Jan. 3, 2027. Senators elected this year begin six-year terms that day.
What happens before January
Congress returns for a “lame-duck” session after the election. Lawmakers who lost or are retiring are still in office until Jan. 3, and the current majority party controls the agenda. Typical items include government funding, which has to be addressed before current spending authority expires, and nominations. Leadership elections for the next Congress also happen in the weeks after the election, when each party’s members choose their leaders.
What to watch
- The margin. A narrow majority in either chamber gives a small group of lawmakers outsized power over any single bill.
- Leadership. Whether current leaders keep their jobs is decided by their party’s members, not voters.
- Key policy deadlines. Health-care subsidies, government funding and tax decisions are likely to be among the first fights of the new Congress.
- State-level results. Governors and legislatures elected this year will oversee redistricting, election administration and state budgets.
How to follow results reliably
Use official sources. State secretary of state websites publish results as counties report. The Associated Press, which makes the race calls most newsrooms use, and the Federal Election Commission (for campaign finance) provide independent information. Be skeptical of unverified claims on social media, especially while votes are still being counted. Unofficial counts changing as more ballots are tallied is normal and not in itself a sign of a problem.
Sources
- Constitution of the United States, Article I (House and Senate composition)
- U.S. House and Senate official sites (membership and calendar)
- Associated Press race-call methodology; state secretary of state election offices
- Ballotpedia 2026 election analysis
This article explains the process and does not report election results. Check the latest Luz News coverage for race calls.
