WASHINGTON — Democrats won the US House of Representatives Tuesday and closed in on control of the Senate after a stunning victory in deeply conservative Texas, inflicting a sweeping midterm defeat on President Donald Trump's Republicans.

 

A fourth Republican Senate seat fell to Democrats in Ohio, where former senator Sherrod Brown won his comeback bid. The party has now gained the four seats needed to overturn the Republicans' 53-47 majority, provided it holds all its own seats -- some of which remain uncalled.

 

The election amounted to a nationwide rebuke of Trump's turbulent second term, driven by anger over living costs, tariffs and the war he launched against Iran, which has driven fuel prices sharply higher.

 

US media projected a Democratic takeover of the House, giving the opposition the power to obstruct Trump's legislative agenda and launch far-reaching investigations of his administration.

 

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries declared Trump's MAGA movement "on the run from sea to shining sea."

 

In Texas, Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican attorney general Ken Paxton for a Senate seat, while Gina Hinojosa unseated veteran Republican Governor Greg Abbott, media projections showed.

 

The double upset shook a cornerstone of American conservatism where no Democrat had won statewide office since 1994. Hinojosa will become Texas's first Latina governor, ending three decades of Republican control.

 

Trump had made repeated campaign visits to Texas, including for the Republican midterm convention.

 

Republican strongholds breached

 

The other Senate gains came in South Carolina, where pediatrician Annie Andrews won a startling upset, and North Carolina, where former governor Roy Cooper defeated Trump's chosen candidate.

 

Democrats also defended their own seats in Georgia, where Jon Ossoff won reelection, and New Hampshire, where Chris Pappas became the first openly gay man elected to the Senate.

 

The House victory was underpinned by Democratic gains across Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Arizona, North Carolina and New Jersey, as even heavily Republican districts proved competitive.

 

In Indiana, Democrat J.D. Ford ousted Republican congresswoman Victoria Spartz in a district Trump carried by 17 points in 2024. Political analysts had identified the contest as an early bellwether for a possible Democratic wave.

 

Democrats also won Georgia's governorship, electing former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms as the first Black woman governor in US history.

 

Republicans retained Florida's Senate seat and governorship, however, with Trump ally Byron Donalds becoming the state's first Black governor.

 

George Washington University political scientist Todd Belt described the results to AFP as "a big wipeout and a strong repudiation of Donald Trump and his policies," citing anxiety over the economy, corruption and the Iran war.

 

'Lawyer up'

 

The Democratic House majority could block legislation and investigate the war, deportations and allegations of corruption, while Senate control would enable the party to thwart Trump's judicial and senior administration appointments.

 

Robert Garcia, expected to head the powerful House Oversight Committee, had a blunt warning on social media for Republicans: "LAWYER UP."

 

Ossoff accused Trump of "depravity, corruption and incompetence."

 

A White House official told AFP that the president's mood was "defiant" and warned he would fight the "radical left."

 

But Trump offered a more conciliatory response to the New York Times, saying he was "absolutely willing to accept those results" and expected to work out deals with Democrats.

 

His comments contrasted with years of unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud and his attempt to overturn his 2020 presidential defeat.

 

Yet he also insisted on Truth Social that Republicans would have won "IN A LANDSLIDE" if he had been running, despite spending the campaign repeatedly urging supporters to "pretend I'm on the ballot."

 

For voters, affordability was central. "Rent, groceries, utility bills, and property taxes keep climbing," 24-year-old Los Angeles voter Taylor Cook told AFP, calling for Congress to tackle the squeeze.