Democrats take control of Congress as anti-Trump sentiment leads to blue wave wins

(The Center Square) – Democrats will take control of both chambers of Congress early next year as voters overwhelmingly on Tuesday rejected President Donald Trump's policies that led to rising energy and other costs.

Democrats flipped more than 20 seats in the U.S. House and six in the U.S. Senate – in Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas – on their way to make Trump's final two years of his second term of office contentious. Democrats also won victories in contentious Senate races in Michigan, where Democratic socialist Abdul El-Sayed defeated Republican Mike Rogers to become the first Muslim to be elected to the U.S.. Senate.

"They might have been pointing at my name and my faith, but we all know my name and my faith aren't the reason you can't afford your gas or afford your groceries," El-Sayed said.

Al-Sayed, who was heavily criticized during the campaign for aligning with individuals who spewed anti-semitic rhetoric, vowed to fight to stop funding Israel.

Some Democrats have vowed to begin impeachment proceedings if they won majorities in Congress after the House voted to impeach Trump twice during his first term. The Senate acquitted him both times.

Polling consistently showed Americans raising cost of living concerns as the top issue heading into Tuesday's midterms, with the conflict in Iraq leading to higher gasoline and grocery prices and Trump's tariffs opposed by most voters.

In the latest The Center Square Voters' Voice Poll conducted in October, inflation ranked among the top three issues for 46% of registered voters, a nine-point climb since March

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Democrats hammered Republicans over voters' cost of living concerns in their campaign messages.

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

In the red state of Texas, three-term Republican Gov. Greg Abbott lost to Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa by double digits after previously winning all of his prior races by double digits, the first time a Democrat won a governor's race in the state since 1990. Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also lost his race for U.S. Senate to Democrat state Rep. James Talarico also by double digits. The last Texas Democrat elected to the U.S. Senate was Lloyd Bentsen from Houston in 1988.

Republicans also lost key congressional races in the traditional red states of South Carolina, Iowa and Kansas.

Trump admitted in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that his decision to bomb Iran that led to higher gas prices contributed to the blue wave.

“I think we’ll work with the Democrats, and we’ll get along very well with them," the president told the outlet. "If we don’t, we’ll be very tough on them, they’ll be very tough on us."