The Republican Party won 157 seats in the House of Representatives and 44 seats in the Senate in the November 3, 2026 midterm elections, while the Democratic Party captured 253 House seats and 54 Senate seats, according to Kompas.id.
Voters delivered a sweeping rebuke to the incumbent administration, handing the opposition control of both chambers of Congress. CNN Indonesia reported that Republican lawmakers debated various factors behind the severe defeat in maintaining their congressional majority, including an increasingly unpopular Donald Trump.
Donald Trump repeatedly asked U.S. voters to treat him as though he were personally on the ballot on November 3, 2026. Many voters obliged that request, but rather than backing the president, they punished the Republican Party he leads.
Previously, in 2006, the Democratic Party successfully seized control of both chambers of the U.S. Congress while George W. Bush led the Republicans. The practice of midterm elections is rooted in the necessity of checks and balances, separation of powers, and the public’s right to periodically evaluate elected officials.
Representative Jeff Van Drew told CNN on November 9, 2026, that the president’s flagging popularity among voters directly impacted his own reelection bid against a Democratic challenger. This is not a fight between me and my opponent. This is a fight between the president and the people. … The people voted against Trump,
Van Drew said, as reported by CNN Indonesia.
Democratic victories materialized across deeply conservative states including Texas, Kansas, and South Carolina. A senior Republican lobbyist in Texas told the BBC that the outcome was a total rejection of the president.
An AP survey of roughly 80,000 voters across 50 states showed that about three-quarters of respondents felt angry or dissatisfied with the country’s direction, as reported by Harian Disway. More than half of national voters identified government corruption as an important factor, surpassing those focused strictly on living costs.
Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado expressed strong frustration regarding the Iran war, noting that her Democratic opponent opposed the conflict, which proved sufficient to capture votes. Meanwhile, Harian Disway reported that approximately six out of ten voters believed the president prioritized personal interests over national concerns.
The change in congressional control makes US trade tariffs and foreign policy competition with China harder to predict, according to an analysis by Phar Kim Beng, Director of the Institute of International and ASEAN Studies (IINTAS), cited by Kompas.id. With Trump remaining in office until January 2029, Congress is expected to face fierce resistance from him regarding import tariff policies.
Democratic leaders plan to prioritize domestic issues starting in January 2027, focusing on costs for food, energy, housing, and healthcare.
Iran grew increasingly confident in dealing with the United States after the Republican Party suffered a defeat in the midterm elections. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei delivered a firm message on November 4, 2026. Negotiations continued to face conflicting interests, particularly concerning the Iranian nuclear program, economic sanctions, and security arrangements in the Middle East.