Democrats lead U.S. midterms as Ossoff, Cooper win

Updated 11:01 p.m. ET.

Democrats won Senate races in Georgia, North Carolina, New Hampshire and South Carolina on Tuesday night, according to the Associated Press, and the NBC News Decision Desk projected that the party will win control of the U.S. House of Representatives and has also won the Texas Senate race. The AP had not called control of the House or the Senate as counting continued. Control of the Senate has not been decided. See our separate report on the House projection and what it means for Canada.

The AP reported that Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff won re-election in Georgia, defeating Republican Rep. Mike Collins. The AP also reported that former North Carolina governor Roy Cooper defeated Republican Michael Whatley in the state’s open Senate race, flipping a seat Republicans held. Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas won the New Hampshire Senate race over former senator John Sununu, the AP reported.

NBC News said at 10:11 p.m. ET that Democrats would win the House, based on its analysis that the party would take at least 248 of the 435 seats. Democrats needed a net gain of three seats for a majority. NBC said that estimate could still change by a few seats. The AP had published a note on when it expects to call House control, but had not announced a call at the time of this update.

In the Senate, Democrats need a net gain of four seats for control. The AP and NBC News both reported that Democrat Annie Andrews defeated Republican Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina, flipping a Republican-held seat. NBC News projected at 10:53 p.m. ET that Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican Ken Paxton in Texas, another flip; the AP had not reported a Texas result in its 10:51 p.m. ET update. NBC said earlier that races in Ohio and Kansas lean toward the Democratic candidates, meaning the network is at least 75 per cent confident but has not made a projection, and the AP and NBC had not called them. Alaska, where polls close at 1 a.m. ET, remains to be decided.

In governors’ races, the AP reported that Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms won in Georgia, defeating Republican Rick Jackson, and became the first Black woman elected governor in any state. The AP also reported that Republican Rep. Byron Donalds won in Florida, Democrat Amy Acton won in Ohio over Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, and Democrat Deb Haaland won in New Mexico.

All figures are preliminary. Vote totals differ between outlets because they reflect different snapshots, and close races can take days to call.

Canadian search interest in the results spiked on Tuesday night, with Google Trends showing “midterm elections results” among the most searched terms in Canada. The outcome matters north of the border because the U.S. Congress can shape trade, tariffs and cross-border policy. Canada News Media explained what is at stake for Canada in its midterms preview and covered the opening of the polls in Tuesday’s earlier report.

Canada News Media will update this story as the AP and other major networks confirm more results.

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