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Democrat Annie Andrews won South Carolina\u2019s US Senate seat on Tuesday, a stunning victory over President Donald Trump\u2019s hand-picked candidate Darline Graham in a state that he carried by nearly 18 percentage points just \u200btwo years ago.<\/strong><\/p>\n Andrews\u2019 win, along with Democrat Roy Cooper\u2019s win in North Carolina\u2019s Senate race, gave the party two of the four seats it needs to net in order to take control of \u200cthe chamber. The results also suggested that a Democratic wave was growing large enough to swamp even deeply Republican areas.<\/p>\n It was still too early to determine whether Democrats would be able to replicate those performances in the other critical races that will determine the Senate majority, including Alaska, Iowa, Michigan, Maine, Ohio and Texas, with millions of votes still uncounted in those states.<\/p>\n Andrews, a pediatrician, is the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in South Carolina in 28 years, after a race that neither Democrats nor Republicans considered competitive until recent weeks.<\/p>\n After the death of \u200bhis ally, US Senator Lindsey Graham, Graham\u2019s sister Darline was appointed to fill his seat and Trump encouraged her to run for a full six-year term. But her political inexperience proved a liability.<\/p>\n Democrats also held onto \u200bSenate seats in Georgia and New Hampshire, both races that were once considered competitive but moved out of reach for Republicans amid Trump\u2019s declining approval ratings.<\/p>\n \u201cIn sweeping and decisive victories, the American people have rebuked the depravity, corruption and incompetence of the man named President Donald J. Trump,\u201d incumbent Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff, the projected winner in Georgia, told supporters at a victory party.<\/p>\n In Florida, Republican \u200bSenator Ashley Moody fended off Democrat Angie Nixon but was ahead by only about 3 percentage points in a state Trump carried by 13 points in 2024, according to a vote count compiled by Reuters and USA Today, further evidence that \u200beven solidly Republican states were shifting dramatically toward Democrats.<\/p>\n Democrats held onto three House districts in Florida that Republican lawmakers had redrawn earlier this year, all of which backed Trump by at least 9 percentage points. The fate of the House overall remained uncertain, with the majority of races still uncalled.<\/p>\n Midterm elections are typically viewed as a referendum on the president, and that is especially true for Trump, who dominates attention like no other politician. Trump himself told his supporters to \u201cpretend I\u2019m on the ballot\u201d and held dozens of rallies in the closing weeks. In addition, 70% of voters surveyed said they want Congress to provide more checks and balances on the president.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s approval rating is hovering near his career lows, with voters frustrated by war with Iran, higher fuel prices and wider affordability concerns.<\/p>\n Led by Trump, Republicans have portrayed Democratic candidates as radical, un-American and even communist, labels Democrats flatly reject.<\/p>\n Opinion polls show voters are most concerned about affordability and disapprove of Trump\u2019s handling of the issue. His tariffs on imports, many of which the courts threw out, and his decision to attack Iran in February raised prices for consumers.<\/p>\n There are 47 US House races widely seen as competitive, according to a Reuters analysis of the leading election forecasters. If the other contests all proceed as predicted, Democrats would need to win only 13 of those races to secure a majority.<\/p>\n Legal observers and \u200bDemocrats have warned that Trump, who has long falsely claimed \u200bthat US elections are rigged, may attempt to challenge \u2060Tuesday\u2019s results if Republicans lose.<\/p>\n The US Justice Department said it had deployed 1,000 election monitors and observers to all 50 states in what it called the largest Election Day monitoring effort in history.<\/p>\n Democrats criticized the plan as potential voter intimidation. In roughly two-thirds of the jurisdictions the department listed, voters supported Democrat Kamala Harris over Trump in the 2024 presidential election, a \u200bReuters analysis found.<\/p>\n Election officials in several states reported no issues with the monitoring effort. New Mexico\u2019s secretary of state\u2019s office said it had received reports of federal monitors asking \u201cunusual \u200bquestions\u201d in one county and that \u2060the Justice Department offered assurances that the conduct would be addressed.<\/p>\n A New York Times report upended the Alaska Senate race when it said that the campaign of Democratic candidate Mary Peltola, 53, helped recruit a third candidate to run as an independent who shares the first and last name of her Republican opponent, Dan Sullivan, 61. Supporters \u2060of the incumbent \u200bSullivan said they were not confused by the presence of two Dan Sullivans on the ballot, opens new tab.A REBUKE TO TRUMP, WINNER \u2060SAYS<\/strong><\/h2>\n
According to \u200bexit polls conducted by SSRS on behalf of a consortium of US media outlets including major television networks and the Associated Press, half of voters nationwide said they saw the 2026 midterm elections as an opportunity to rebuke the president, and \u200bthree-quarters said they are \u201cangry\u201d or \u201cdissatisfied\u201d with the way the country is headed.<\/p>\nTRUMP DEPLOYS ELECTION MONITORS<\/strong><\/h2>\n
ELECTION INTRIGUE IN ALASKA<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Peltola has denied involvement. Trump\u2019s Justice Department has launched a criminal probe into the allegations and filed a lawsuit to block certification of the election results, though a judge dismissed the latter effort.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey make it pretty obvious: It says \u2018incumbent\u2019 after his name,\u201d \u200bsaid Jake Wesley, 27, who grew up in Anchorage and is now stationed there in the US Air Force. In recent days, Trump has complained repeatedly that voters may not know the meaning of the word.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n