Democrats won at least 54 Senate races during Tuesday’s midterm elections, with two more races still waiting to be called in Alaska and Mississippi. The dominant romp has some Republicans worried that Democrats could remain in control of the upper chamber beyond the 2028 presidential election and potentially as long as 2032.
Democrats unseated Republican incumbent Sens. Roger Marshall in Kansas, Susan Collins in Maine, John Husted in Ohio and Darline Graham in South Carolina.
In three open-seat races, Iowa Democrat Josh Turek defeated Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA); North Carolina Democrat Roy Cooper defeated Republican Michael Whatley; and Democrat James Talarico beat Texas attorney general Ken Paxton.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, likely to become majority leader in 2027, boasted on social media over party members flipping the upper chamber.
“54 seats and counting,” he wrote on X. “And I learned how to grill…these burgers and dogs are fully cooked.”
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis took to social media to bemoan Democrats likely winning “250+ House seats” as well as the fact that with six-year terms, Senate Democrats will be hard to beat until 2032.
“Looking at the Senate map and considering such a massive House margin, it is very unlikely Republicans will recapture the Congress in 2028. Might not have a shot at Senate control until 2032,” he wrote on X.
According to the Associated Press, Democrats won control of at least 228 House seats while Republicans control 139, with more expected to be called in favor of Democrats. The Democratic total could rise above 250 House seats when all ballots are counted.
In the 2028 presidential election, 34 Senate seats will be up for election: 19 held by Republicans and 15 by Democrats. Some of the potentially vulnerable incumbents include Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV), Ted Budd (R-NC), and Ron Johnson (R-WI)
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But the GOP has few pickup opportunities. Democrats prevailed in North Carolina and Georgia this cycle along with red-leaning seats in Kansas, South Carolina, Ohio, and Iowa, making Republicans face a difficult path to winning Senate control in 2028. Republicans will also be defending toss-up seats in Wisconsin and North Carolina in 2028.
A Republican president who wins in 2028 would still have to govern over a divided Congress or a completely Democratic-controlled Congress, which could affect whether GOP lawmakers decide to launch a White House bid.