WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump repeatedly encouraged voters to pretend he’s on the ballot this Election Day. They appear to be taking his advice — and that’s not a good thing for the Republican president or his party.
Early returns suggest major swings away from the GOP, even in Trump’s adopted home state of Florida, and that the Trump-backed redistricting gamble was backfiring. In Georgia, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms was the first Black woman elected governor in U.S. history.
Indeed, voters nationwide were in the mood for change, according to The AP Voter Poll, which found that roughly three-quarters of voters feel “angry” or “dissatisfied” with the direction of the country.
Among the voters who had Trump in mind when they cast their vote, about twice as many wanted to express opposition to the Republican president as those who wanted to support him. Most also blamed the Trump administration for high costs: about 6 in 10 say higher than usual prices are “more because of Trump’s policies.”
Trump’s coalition was also fraying: Young voters and Hispanics appear to have shifted away from the GOP after warming to Trump in 2024.
With undeniable momentum, Democrats were looking to win majorities in the House and Senate, which would curb Trump’s power after he’s faced few limits from a compliant Republican-controlled Congress.
It could be a difficult night for Trump’s Republican Party, though the political map, not to mention a fresh round of gerrymandering, could limit Democratic gains.
Here are some takeaways from Tuesday’s midterms:
Trump said: ‘Pretend I’m on the ballot.’ It’s not going well
The Republican president was trying to defy history, which shows that in almost every modern midterm election the party in the White House has lost seats in Congress.
But it wasn’t only history working against Trump, who was saddled with dismal approval ratings and voter concerns about the war with Iran and the surging price of gas.
The AP Voter Poll suggests voters are deeply unhappy with the Republican president, with roughly 6 in 10 saying they disapprove of his job performance. About 70% of voters want Congress to provide more checks and balances on the presidency.
About 4 in 10 say the economy is the most important issue facing the country, while roughly 3 in 10 say the state of democracy is the top issue, according to the poll, well above the number who said the same about crime, healthcare and immigration.
At the same time, about 6 in 10 voters said Trump places a higher priority on his personal interests than the country’s interests.
Trump was betting that his base of white working-class voters — and an increased share of young people and voters of color — which fueled his presidential victory in 2024 could save his Republican allies if they show up in great numbers.
Things didn’t go as he hoped.
The AP Voter Poll indicates a substantial shift in young people and Latinos moving away from Republicans compared to Trump’s victory just two years ago.
Voters under 30 were about evenly split between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024. But in this election, about 7 in 10 voters in that same age nationally say they supported the Democratic House candidate in their area.
Young voters only make up about 10% of the electorate, according to the poll, which limits the impact of the shift. But it nonetheless makes it harder for the GOP to win.
Meanwhile, only about one-third of Hispanic voters say they backed the Republican in their local U.S. House race, while roughly 4 in 10 voted for Trump two years ago. About 6 in 10 Hispanic voters nationally say they voted for the Democratic candidate in their local House race. That’s as about 7 in 10 Hispanic voters say Trump’s policies have worsened economic conditions in the U.S.
Democrats gaining in bid to flip control of Congress
A party doesn’t flip both chambers of Congress very often.
Since World War II, the House and Senate have flipped from one party to the other in the same midterm just three times: 1946, 1994 and 2006. The common thread when it does happen is an electorate clamoring for change or broad frustration with the sitting president.
This year has both, and Democrats are trying to capitalize on the opportunity.
In the fight for Senate control, Democrats got a big boost early in the night when Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper won North Carolina’s Senate contest, giving his party one of the minimum four flips it needs.
At the same time, Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff and New Hampshire Democrat Chris Pappas won their respective states’ high-profile Senate contests. Ossoff was once viewed as Democrats’ most vulnerable incumbent and the only Democratic senator running in a state Trump won in 2024.
Republicans currently have a 53-47 advantage. To take control, Democrats must win states that Trump won. Among their targets beyond North Carolina: Ohio, Iowa, Kansas, Texas and Alaska.
Strategists in both parties believe Democrats are on track to win a majority in the House, where Republicans began the current Congress with a slim margin of 220-215.
Democrats are targeting more than 60 House districts, including many where Trump won by double digits. But between redistricting and the deep partisan divide between metropolitan and rural America, there simply aren’t as many competitive races as there were in some previous years when the House flipped, including 2018, when Democrats netted 40 more seats.
The Democratic brand still needs work
While Trump’s standing has cratered in 2026, Democrats’ brand as a whole isn’t much to brag about. That leaves the party’s major factions — the progressive left flank and the liberal-to-moderate establishment — parsing Tuesday’s outcomes to claim any advantage in Democrats’ tug-of-war over party identity.
The party’s moderate wing was having a good night early on as high-profile leaders like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore won reelection. Both are considered 2028 presidential prospects.
At the same time, Florida Democrat Angie Nixon, the only self-identified democratic socialist on a Senate ballot, was defeated, despite a much stronger-than-expected showing.
Still, the progressive movement would have a feather in its cap should Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed defeat Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan. El-Sayed is progressives’ highest-profile candidate, although he does not identify as a DSA member nor is he endorsed by the organization.
It’s one thing for New Yorkers to elect Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, as mayor. It’s quite another for an unabashed progressive like El-Sayed to carry a perennial battleground state that helped elect Trump twice.
The Democratic brand needs help no matter how well the party does on Tuesday.
The AP Voter Poll shows that about 6 in 10 voters have a “very” or “somewhat” unfavorable opinion of the Democratic Party, which is about the same as the Republican Party.
Trump’s gerrymandering may backfire
The Trump-backed gerrymandering push is not going as planned for Republicans.
In Florida, Rep. Jared Moskowitz won the state’s 25th District; Democrat Pia Dandiya, a first-time candidate, won the 22nd District and Rep. Kathy Castor won reelection in the 14th District. Republicans had redrawn all three districts this spring with the intent of ensuring GOP victories this fall.
That’s bad news for Republicans in other districts in Florida and potentially in Texas — states where the Republican plan counted on getting votes from Latino voters and other nonwhites who backed Trump in 2024. The early results show that has not happened.
Trump set off a tempest in Texas last year when he pushed the most populous Republican-run state to redraw congressional boundaries. California Gov. Gavin Newsom answered by persuading his state’s voters to respond in kind. Democratic and Republican states followed. Along the way, the U.S. Supreme Court gutted part of the Voting Rights Act, thus allowing several Southern states to redraw districts that had been majority or near-majority Black.
On paper, the results suggest a net shift of nine seats to Republicans. But the gerrymandering meant spreading conservative supporters across more districts. In Florida and Texas, especially, the Republican plan counted on getting help from Latinos and other nonwhite voters who backed Trump in 2024 — and that may not happen.