Democrats win majority in the Senate, flipping control of upper chamber

Updated on: November 3, 2026 / 11:46 PM EST / CBS News

Washington — Democrats won control of the Senate in the 2026 elections, CBS News projected, after a raft of victories over Republicans in key races, cementing the new majority and flipping party control of the upper chamber.

Democrats were projected to flip seats in Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Kansas and Iowa, winning in states which had become surprisingly competitive in the final stretch of the campaign, while holding on to seats in Georgia and New Hampshire. The size of Democrats' majority remains to be seen.

Republicans currently control a six-seat majority of 53 seats in the Senate, while Democrats hold 47. Democrats needed to win four seats to win the majority. And heading into the cycle, where more than a third of the chamber was up for grabs, the Senate map appeared to work in their favor. While the GOP was defending more seats than Democrats, most of those seats were in states that President Trump had won by comfortable margins in the last election. But in the final months of the campaign, the unpopular war with Iran and high gas and diesel prices put more…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/