Democrats Near Largest House Majority Since 2008

Democrats have taken 52 of the 234 districts Trump carried in 2024, according to The New York Times. They have also unseated at least 40 incumbents, including in Iowa and Missouri districts Trump won by double digits. If the final count reaches 260 seats, Democrats would hold about an 85-seat majority, roughly 60% of the House’s available seats.

The party’s largest House totals in recent decades were 267 in the early 1990s, 258 in the following Congress and 257 after Barack Obama’s 2008 victory. The result would mark the biggest midterm victory by either party in half a century, the source report said. It would also be the first time Trump, who served as president from 2017 to 2021, has faced Democrats controlling both chambers of Congress.

Two Senate races, in Alaska and Mississippi, remained too close to call. Democrats could gain two more seats in the upper chamber, potentially reaching a 56-44 majority.

The results are a major setback for Trump, who held rallies nearly every day last month to energise supporters. Most voters appear to blame his administration for high costs and want Congress to impose more checks on him, according to the report. Democrats have signalled they will pursue investigations of senior Trump administration figures, including scrutiny of how the president enriched his family; impeachment of Trump or cabinet officials has not been ruled out.

Trump told The New York Times, “I am absolutely willing to accept those results,” and said he would “work with the Democrats.” Minutes later, however, he posted a picture on social media of a red baseball cap bearing the word “VETO.”