US midterms by the numbers: 122.7 million ballots, Democrats take at least 240 House and 54 Senate seats

The scale of the Democratic victory in the United States midterm elections is now clear in the numbers. In the November 3 vote, President Donald Trump's Republicans lost control of both chambers of Congress — the House of Representatives and the Senate — while voter turnout was among the highest for a midterm in more than a century.

According to preliminary estimates from the University of Florida's Election Lab, about 122.7 million ballots have been counted so far. About 48.8 percent of the eligible population voted, the second-highest midterm turnout in more than a century, just below 2018.

As of 09:00 GMT on Thursday, November 5, Democrats had won at least 240 seats in the House and 54 in the Senate, enough to control both chambers. Republicans had won 147 House seats and 44 in the Senate.

Not every race has been called yet. Forty-eight House races and two Senate races, in Alaska and Mississippi, have yet to be decided. Democrats could end up with more than 260 seats in the House and 56 in the Senate.

The early-voting figures also show the scale of this election. Of about 210 million registered voters, 54.5 million had already cast their ballots early by 10am US East Coast time on Sunday, November 1, according to the Election Lab. About 30 million voted in person and 24 million by mail. By the time polls closed on Tuesday, the total had more than doubled to 122.7 million.

Turnout varied widely by state. Maine recorded the highest, with 65.78 percent of eligible voters casting a ballot, followed by Minnesota at 65.16 percent and Michigan at 63.65 percent. West Virginia had the lowest, at 33.33 percent, followed by Oklahoma at 37.08 percent and Hawaii at 37.68 percent.

Democrats needed a net gain of four Senate seats to reach 51, the number needed for a majority, because Vice President JD Vance can break a 50-50 tie in the Republicans' favour. They went well beyond that, flipping seven Republican-held seats and securing at least 54 seats in the incoming Senate.

The Democratic Senate winners include James Talarico in Texas, Roy Cooper in North Carolina, Annie Andrews in South Carolina, Sherrod Brown in Ohio, Josh Turek in Iowa and Adam Hamilton in Kansas. In Maine, Democrats unseated Republican Senator Susan Collins. Democrats also held onto all their existing seats, even where they had a new candidate, such as Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan.

In the 435-member House, the target was 218 seats for a majority. Democrats crossed that threshold with ease, flipping at least 31 Republican-held districts, including in areas reshaped by new congressional maps. In New York's 17th district Cait Conley defeated Mike Lawler, in New Jersey's 7th Rebecca Bennett unseated Thomas Kean Jr, in Virginia's 2nd Elaine Luria defeated Jen Kiggans, in Wisconsin's 3rd Rebecca Cooke defeated Derrick Van Orden, and in Michigan's 4th Sean McCann defeated Bill Huizenga, an eight-term incumbent.

The Democratic breakthrough in Texas was historic. James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton to become the state's first Democratic senator since 1993. Gina Hinojosa also unseated Governor Greg Abbott, becoming the state's first Latina governor and its first Democratic governor since 1994. Kansas elected its first Democratic senator since 1932, and South Carolina will have its first since 2005.

Control of Congress gives Democrats the power to block Republican legislation, lead House committees and investigate the Trump administration. But the president can still veto bills they pass, and overriding a veto requires a two-thirds majority in both chambers, which Democrats do not have.

The new Congress takes office on January 3, 2027. Until then, Republicans keep control of both chambers.