📌 NOTE FOR NEW READERS: This is an independent newsletter covering 50501, No Kings, and the pro-democracy and civic action ecosystem. Subscribe to never miss a post.
The Great Blue Wave of 2026!
Democrats won both chambers of Congress, won Republican-held governorships, and made HUGE gains in state legislatures.
The Associated Press & Reuters reported breakthroughs in states Trump carried in 2024: Texas, Kansas, Iowa, Ohio, and South Carolina🎉By November 2 over 57 MILLION US citizens had voted early, 24% more than the early-vote number for 2022 midterms.
We won BOTH chambers!
We flipped enough Republican Senate seats to fully secure a majority!
According to AP results: Here’s where things stand as of today:
U.S. House: At least 254 Democratic seats
U.S. Senate: 54 seats including two independents who caucus with Democrats
Senate seats flipped: 7 Republican seats to blue
Governorships flipped: 5 Republican held governorships to blue
Dems secured BOTH chambers, giving them more power to investigate the trump administration, lead congressional committees, and help to influence legislation when the new Congress takes office in January!
Together we all flipped 7 Republican held Senate seats:
Texas: James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton.
Kansas: Adam Hamilton defeated Roger Marshall.
Iowa: Josh Turek defeated Ashley Hinson.
Ohio: Sherrod Brown defeated Jon Husted.
North Carolina: Roy Cooper defeated Michael Whatley, flipping the seat previously held by retiring Republican Senator Thom Tillis.
South Carolina: Annie Andrews defeated Darline Graham.
Maine: Troy Jackson defeated Susan Collins.
The 2026 midterms made history for women, people of color, Native Americans, religious minorities, and LGBTQ+
For the first time in American history, voters elected a Black woman governor, a Native American woman governor, a Native American woman U.S. senator, and a Muslim U.S. senator. 🎉 This is what we were meant to be, a melting pot of cultures, identities, all with a seat at the table.
Historic Firsts Across the Country
Keisha Lance Bottoms (D, Georgia): First Black woman elected governor in U.S. history, and Georgia’s first woman governor.
Deb Haaland (D, New Mexico): First Native American woman elected governor in U.S. history. Haaland is a citizen of the Laguna Pueblo.
Peggy Flanagan (D, Minnesota): First Native American woman elected to the U.S. Senate. She is a citizen of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe.
Abdul El-Sayed (D, Michigan): First Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate. El-Sayed is Egyptian American.
Chris Pappas (D, New Hampshire): First openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate.
Melat Kiros (D, Colorado): First Generation Z woman elected to Congress nationwide, and Colorado’s first Black congresswoman.
Gina Hinojosa (D, Texas): First Latina elected governor of Texas.
Amy Klobuchar (D, Minnesota): First woman elected governor of Minnesota.
Amy Acton (D, Ohio): First woman elected governor of Ohio. A woman previously held the position briefly through succession.
Annie Andrews (D, South Carolina): First woman elected to the U.S. Senate from South Carolina.
David Crowley (D, Wisconsin): Wisconsin’s first Black governor.
Aaron Ford (D, Nevada): Nevada’s first Black governor.
Xavier Becerra (D, California): First Latino elected governor of California. An earlier Latino governor briefly served through succession in 1875.
Juliana Stratton (D, Illinois): Her victory means Illinois will become the first state represented by two women of color in the U.S. Senate simultaneously, alongside Tammy Duckworth.
Historic breakthroughs weren’t limited to Democrats either:
Byron Donalds (R, Florida) became Florida’s first Black governor, Marsha Blackburn (R, Tennessee) became Tennessee’s first woman governor, and Julia Letlow (R, Louisiana) became the first Republican woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Louisiana.
New Faces Making History in Congress
Several newly elected House members also broke barriers:
Denise Powell (D, Nebraska): First Latina elected to Congress from Nebraska.
Claire Valdez (D, New York): First Native American woman elected to Congress from New York.
Adam Hamawy (D, New Jersey): First Muslim elected to Congress from New Jersey.
J.D. Ford (D, Indiana): First openly gay person elected to Congress from Indiana.
Jeremy Moss (D, Michigan): First openly gay person elected to Congress from Michigan.
And Women Breaking New Records Nationwide!
At least 159 women will serve in Congress in 2027, surpassing the previous record of 152. Women's representation in Congress is reaching a new high, the number of women serving in the Senate is projected to fall from 27 to at least 23. The congressional record is being driven by gains in the House. Rutgers University
At least 17 women will serve as governors, an all-time high.
Three Black women will serve in the U.S. Senate simultaneously for the first time: Angela Alsobrooks, Lisa Blunt Rochester, and newly elected Juliana Stratton.
New Mexico elected the nation’s first gubernatorial ticket consisting entirely of women of color: Deb Haaland and Stephanie Garcia Richard.
Dems Make Their Biggest State Legislative Gain in Years!
Democratic control went up from 39 legislative chambers to 52 in the post election assessment. (National Conference of State Legislatures)
Arizona: Democrats won both legislative chambers, creating the state’s 1st Democratic trifecta since the 1960s.
Wisconsin: Democrats flipped both chambers, ending years of Republican legislative control.
Texas: Democrats won the state House for the first time since the 2002 election.
Pennsylvania: Democrats took the state Senate for the first time since before the 1994 election.
Michigan: Democrats regained the state House, restoring unified Democratic control of state government.
New Hampshire: Democrats flipped both legislative chambers, but the Republican governor won reelection.
An AP Poll surveyed over 100,000 voters and provided a clear picture of what brought this result:
Cost of living: 9 in 10 voters said the cost of living is a major factor in their vote. Two-thirds said Trump’s policies contributed to inflation.
Younger voters: Around 70% of voters under 30 supported Democratic House candidates. While in 2024: this group was much more evenly divided between Trump and Kamala Harris.
Black voters: Roughly 90% supported Democratic House candidates, with particularly substantial movement among Black men compared with 2024.
Hispanic voters: Approximately 60% supported Democratic House candidates. Republicans lost much of the ground Trump gained with Hispanic voters in 2024.
Sources: AP voter demographic analysis | AP economic voting analysis
$2 Billion Spending on Senate Races
According to analysis of Federal Election Commission, outside political organizations spent over $2 billion on Senate races during the 2026 midterm election. This amount is excluding spending by candidates own campaigns.
Republican groups spent about $1.16 billion, compared with $689 million spent by Democratic groups in races Reuters analyzed.
Republican aligned organizations spent approximately $1.1 billion supporting candidates who, ultimately, lost.
Texas Was the Most Expensive
In the Texas Senate race:
Republican aligned outside groups spent approximately $316 million supporting Ken Paxton.
Democratic-aligned outside groups spent approximately $109 million supporting James Talarico.
Talarico’s own campaign raised more than $146 million directly.
& Talarico still won. 🎉
We Need New Senate Leadership
Chuck Schumer wants to stay on as the Senate Dem leader: Five new elected senators have now publicly opposed Schumer’s return to this leadership position: Adam Hamilton, Annie Andrews, Troy Jackson, Abdul El-Sayed, and Peggy Flanagan.
Chris Van Hollen Is Considering Challenging Schumer!
Just yesterday Senator Chris Van Hollen confirmed he’s open to challenging Schumer for Senate majority leader.
Van Hollen told reporters: “I’m in listening mode and haven’t shut the door.”
Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed has expressed his support for Van Hollen.



We believe it’s time for Chuck Schumer to step aside, we need leadership who is prepared to exercise their new majority aggressively and deliver on the changes we expect.
TAKE ACTION:
CONTACT YOUR SENATORS
U.S. CAPITOL SWITCHBOARD: 202-224-3121
We encourage everyone who supports new leadership to make it clear:
Contact Senator Chris Van Hollen, encourage him to speak up about the senate majority leader position Use the power of social media, tag him: ( @ + and enter the name ) where you can!
Share this so we can reach more people willing to take action and reach out to their representatives:
Senate Dems will choose a leader through a private-vote this December.
Only senators in the Democratic caucus participate in that election and the candidate needs majority votes to win which is why we need to reach out to our representatives NOW to demand better.
We Also Need New House Leadership
Hakeem Jeffries is expected to become the next speaker of the House however, congressional offices are being flooded with calls urging representatives reject Jeffries. A single office reported over 500 calls in just TWO days. Let’s get louder!
A petition calling for Jeffries to withdraw from the speaker race has surpassed ONE MILLION signatures!








Congress Returns & the Lame-Duck Session Begins
Newly elected lawmakers just arrived in Washington DC this weekend for orientation, and the Republican-controlled Congress returned for its last final weeks.
The agenda includes government-funding, the yearly defense policy bill, pending judicial nominations, and a possible House vote on a resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
What Is a Lame-Duck Session?
A lame-duck session is the term used when Congress continues working after an election but before newly elected members officially take office.
Yes, Dems won both chambers, Republicans still hold current Congress until January 3. Lawmakers who lost reelection or are retiring can still vote on current legislation, confirm nominees in the Senate, and make decisions.












The established Democratic leadership has egos stronger than their character. Moderation doesn't work. It's necessary to look beyond the end of your nose, which none of them are capable of doing. Voters spoke loud and clear: change the direction of politics in America. Embrace the mantra of protecting people from the greed devouring our country. Get to work removing the corruption rampant in our government. Prove to the world Trump is an aberration, a disastrous mistake, something we are ashamed of and will never do again. New leaders are needed, bold, progressive ideals are required. Don't waste this opportunity to bring America back to its founding principles. It can be done.
In MO, the Republicans still hold a majority, but democrats broke the super majority in both chambers that they have held for 14 years!