Democrats seize majority in U.S. House as GOP also loses Senate

(The Center Square) – Democrats achieved sweeping victories on election night, capturing 22 formerly Republican U.S. House seats as of early Tuesday morning.

The gains are in addition to Democrats retaking the Senate, meaning Democrats will fully control Congress during the final two years of President Donald Trump's term. Some Democrats have vowed to begin impeachment proceedings if they win majorities in Congress.

Prior to election day, Republicans held a razor-thin majority in the House with 218 seats and another seat held by an independent caucusing with Republicans.

That changed dramatically on election night, particularly in states like Pennsylvania and North Carolina.

Pennsylvania's Congressional Districts 7, 8 and 10 flipped blue. Incumbent Republican Ryan Mackenzie lost his seat in Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District to Democrat Bob Brookes by a margin of more than 30,000 votes with 78% of votes counted. Democrat Paige Cognetti ousted incumbent Rob Bresnahan by over 10 percentage points in the 8th district while Republican incumbent Scott Perry lost to Democrat Janelle Stelson by over 13 percentage points.

The Republican party sustained heavy losses in North Carolina, with the state's 6th, 9th, 13th, and 14th Congressional districts flipping blue.

Republicans also received blows in multiple red states like Iowa, where they now control only one of four seats. The state's 1st Congressional District ousted Republican incumbent Marrianette Miller-Meeks for Democrat Christina Bohannon, while voters in the 2nd Congressional District chose to fill the formerly Republican-held seat with Democrat Lindsay James. The 3rd Congressional District replaced incumbent Rep. Zach Nunn with Sarah Trone Garriott by over 30,000 votes.

In Texas' 15th Congressional District, Republican incumbent Monica De La Cruz overwhelmingly lost to Democratic challenger Bobby Pulido, capturing just 38.4% of the vote compared to his 61.6% when the race was called.

Utah's 1st Congressional District flipped blue, with the race called for Democrat Ben McAdams.

Missouri's 2nd Congressional District chose Democrat Fred Wellman over incumbent Ann Wagner by 5 percentage points.

Kentucky's 6th Congressional District flipped blue after Democrat Zach Dembo received 52.9% of the vote with 83% of votes counted.

Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District also flipped blue, with voters choosing to elect Democrat Denise Powell to the vacant seat, formerly held by Republicans, over Republican hopeful Brinker Harding.

Notably, Republicans lost seats in swing states that voted for Trump in 2024, such as Wisconsin, where voters in Congressional Districts ousting respective Republican incumbents Bryan Steil and Derrick Van Orden in favor of Democratic challengers Mitchell Berman and Rebecca Cooke.

Ohio's 15th Congressional District chose Democrat Don Leonard over Republican incumbent Mike Carey, 52% to 45%.

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Democrats also picked up New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, with incumbent Tom Kean Jr. losing to Democrat Rebecca Bennett. With 65% of votes counted, Kean received 37.9% and Bennett received over 60%. National media outlets called the race for Bennett.

Colorado’s 8th Congressional District ousted its Republican incumbent as well, Gabe Evans, by 15 percentage points in favor of Democrat Manny Rutinel. 

Republican incumbent James Gallagher of California's 1st Congressional District lost to Democrat Mike McGuire.

The Tuesday losses for Republicans follow months of dire polling numbers.

Republicans had noticeably trailed Democrats in the polls since the summer, as American voters continued to struggle with rising costs of gas and groceries that are largely due to Trump’s tariffs and the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and nearly all other House Republicans have shied away from challenging the administration’s unauthorized and ongoing conflict with Iran, which caused rising gas prices. That’s despite almost two-thirds of Americans disapproving of how Trump is handling Iran, according to current Real Clear Polling averages.

Republicans in their campaigns mostly leaned on the sweeping income tax cuts and domestic manufacturing rebates within their signature “One Big Beautiful Bill” as evidence of addressing voters’ affordability concerns.

They also highlighted some bills cracking down on migrant crime – a top concern for voters during the 2024 presidential race – as well as efforts to root out waste, fraud and abuse in government programs.

But Democrats' hammering of Republicans over cost of living via election campaign messages proved far more successful. Democrats also blamed their opponents for rising healthcare plan costs, which they claim are due to Republicans’ refusal to renew the expansion of certain Obamacare subsidies.

The Premium Tax Credit, temporarily boosted during the COVID-19 pandemic, reverted to original levels last year after a grueling government shutdown, where Democrats refused to fund the government for 43 days over demands that Republicans renew the sunsetting pandemic extension.

That shutdown and subsequent Democrat-triggered shutdowns, paired with Republican infighting in both the House and Senate over the past 18 months, has led to legislative backlogs in the House of critical policy issues.

Having spent a meager 72 days in session during the past year, House lawmakers have repeatedly punted the deadlines for the annual government funding process, an overdue transportation infrastructure spending bill, government spy authority reauthorization and other major issues.

Democratic leaders have promised to fight as many of the Trump administration's policies as possible once they assume power in January.