Democrats Win Senate Control, Holding at Least 54 Seats After Upsets in Texas and Kansas

Democrats will take control of the U.S. Senate in January, according to CBS News projections, after upsets in Texas, South Carolina and Kansas in Tuesday's midterm elections. Two races, in Alaska and Mississippi, remain unresolved, but Democrats have already secured enough wins to hold at least 54 seats in the 100-member chamber, a result CBS called a once-unthinkable feat.

Democratic candidates also flipped seats in Maine, Iowa, Ohio and North Carolina. The party held its seats in Georgia, New Hampshire and Michigan, where Democrat Abdul El-Sayed beat Republican Mike Rogers in a contentious race. Earlier results published on this site showed Roy Cooper taking the North Carolina seat and Sen. Jon Ossoff winning reelection in Georgia.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that "whenever Trump defies the will of the American people or the law, we will launch investigations, take him to court, and entangle him in legislative razor wire." The win gives Democrats control of both chambers of Congress, as the House also flipped.

The biggest open question is who will lead the new majority. Schumer has led the Senate Democratic Caucus since 2017, but several incoming senators-elect have signaled they want new leadership. Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said Saturday at the Crooked Con political conference in Washington that "there should be no coronation." He said the caucus needs to discuss "what the Democrats are going to do with this new responsibility and these new powers, and that nobody should get a blank check." A Van Hollen aide told CBS News on Friday that he will not pursue the majority leader post himself.

In Mississippi, the Senate race between Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Scott Colom is a toss-up. As of Friday evening, Colom led by about 2,500 votes, according to CBS. Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson said roughly 3,600 absentee ballots were still outstanding, along with an unknown number of affidavit ballots from voters whose eligibility must be confirmed. Absentee ballots must arrive within five business days, and counties have until Nov. 13 to process affidavit ballots.

Both parties have lawyers in the state. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has sent attorneys and resources to monitor the count, CBS confirmed. The National Republican Senatorial Committee and Hyde-Smith's campaign asked counties to separate and preserve all affidavit ballots, a request the Colom campaign called a "desperate stunt." Colom told reporters Thursday, "I'm confident that ultimately Mississippi has decided to go in a new direction." Hyde-Smith wrote on X that thousands of votes remain to be counted in Republican counties and that she is confident they will carry her to victory.

Mississippi does not allow recounts, so the winner will be decided by plurality of the votes counted. The Mississippi Republican Party chairman, Mike Hurst, said the election "is far from being over," and noted the state party has attorneys and observers in place. Whatever the final tally, Democrats will hold the Senate when the new Congress convenes in January.