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Why it matters
Control of both chambers gives Democrats more power to scrutinise Donald Trump's administration and challenge his agenda in the final two years of his term, reports said, and Trump has said he would veto bills if Democrats do not work with him. For India, the Indian Express analysis expects the result to bear on the pending trade deal talks and on US visa curbs such as H-1B.
The US midterm results gave Democrats control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, as votes counted overnight were called through the morning of Wednesday, 4 November 2026, India time. The party won Republican-held Senate seats in states such as Texas, Kansas and North Carolina, according to reports in the Times of India, Scroll and Indian Express. Several Indian-American candidates won too, among them Pia Dandiya, who took a redrawn Florida House seat.
Counting was still going on when this was written, and the final number of seats each party holds was not in any of the reports NewsPlainly read. Official certification takes a few days, the Indian Express noted.
US midterm results: how Democrats took the House and Senate
Before polling day, Republicans held the 100-member Senate 53 to 47 and the 435-member House 219 to 214, Scroll reported. By 12.15 pm IST on Wednesday, Associated Press (AP) data cited by Scroll showed Democrats had won 53 Senate seats to the Republicans’ 42, with five still uncalled. In the House, Democrats had won 220 seats and Republicans 129, with 86 not yet called. A party needs 218 seats for a House majority.
The Senate seats that changed hands drew the most attention. Former governor Roy Cooper won in North Carolina, and James Talarico beat Ken Paxton in Texas, the first Democratic Senate win in that state since 1988, the Times of India reported. Sherrod Brown returned to the Senate from Ohio by beating Jon Husted. In Kansas, Adam Hamilton defeated Senator Roger Marshall, the first time since 1932 that the state elected a Democrat to the Senate. Democrats also won in South Carolina and Iowa, and Troy Jackson defeated Senator Susan Collins in Maine, who conceded.
Democrats also won four governorships held by Republicans, in Georgia, Iowa, Ohio and Texas. Gina Hinojosa beat Governor Greg Abbott in Texas, and Keisha Lance Bottoms won in Georgia, becoming the first Black woman elected governor of a US state, the Times of India reported. In Ohio, Amy Acton beat Vivek Ramaswamy, the Indian-origin Republican who had Donald Trump’s backing.
What Trump said after the Republican losses
President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that Republicans would have won in a landslide if he had been on the ballot, and posted an image of a red cap with the word veto printed on it in capital letters, the Times of India reported. A veto is the president’s power to block a bill passed by Congress.
He also congratulated Democrats. “I think they’re gonna want to work with me,” he told the US broadcaster CBS News, according to the same report. “Otherwise I’d just veto everything, and they’re not gonna want that.” Trump told The New York Times he was “absolutely willing” to accept the results, Scroll and Indian Express reported.
In a Fox News interview cited by the Times of India, Trump linked some of the losses to voters’ worries about fuel prices during the war with Iran. NewsPlainly reported earlier on Trump’s warning to Iran as Brent crude neared $115. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Republicans would take back the House in 2028.
Indian-American candidates: who won and who lost
At least 57 Indian-American candidates ran this year, for Congress, statewide offices, state legislatures and local posts, according to a tally by the Indo-American News Service cited by Scroll. The tally counted only candidates whose Indian heritage could be confirmed, and included one Senate candidate and 11 House candidates. Many ran as Democrats, and at least nine were Republicans.
The table below brings together the results for Indian-American candidates that had been settled in the reports we read, with the outlet behind each one. Results that were still being counted are left out.
| Candidate | Party | Race | Result | Reported by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pia Dandiya | Democrat | US House, Florida 22nd | Won, beat Casey Askar | India Today, Scroll (AP) |
| Suhas Subramanyam | Democrat | US House, Virginia 10th | Re-elected, beat Dave Beckwith | Indian Express (NBC), Scroll (AP) |
| Ami Bera | Democrat | US House, California 3rd | Re-elected for an eighth term, beat Robb Tucker | Press Trust of India |
| Ro Khanna | Democrat | US House, California 17th | Re-elected | Times of India |
| Pramila Jayapal | Democrat | US House, Washington | Re-elected | Scroll (AP) |
| Aruna Miller | Democrat | Maryland lieutenant governor | Re-elected with Governor Wes Moore | Indian Express (NBC) |
| Vivek Ramaswamy | Republican | Ohio governor | Lost to Amy Acton | Indian Express (AP, NBC) |
| Saritha Komatireddy | Republican | New York attorney general | Conceded to Letitia James | PTI |
| Shiva Ayyadurai | Independent | US Senate, Massachusetts | Lost, Ed Markey projected to keep seat | Scroll |
By NewsPlainly’s count, six of these nine settled races for Indian-American candidates were wins, all for Democrats. The three losses were two Republicans and one independent. Other contests with Indian-American candidates, including Pooja Sethi’s race for Texas House District 47 and Amish Shah’s congressional race in Arizona, had not been reported as settled in the material we read.
Pia Dandiya wins a seat drawn to favour Republicans
Pia Dandiya, a 39-year-old educator born in Palm Beach County to parents who came from India, polled 1,52,723 votes against Askar’s 1,41,627, India Today reported, citing AP data. That is a margin of 11,096 votes, with about 51.9% of the votes counted going to her. She becomes the first Indian-American to represent a Florida district in Congress.
Her district was redrawn under a plan Governor Ron DeSantis signed in May 2026, which could raise the Republican share of Florida’s 28 House seats from 20 to 24, India Today reported, citing The Washington Post. Of the four Democratic-held districts the plan redrew, Democrats won three, and the fourth was still too close to call when India Today filed its report.
Other results with an India link
Ami Bera, 61, is the longest-serving Indian American in Congress, the news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) reported. Saritha Komatireddy, the Republican who ran for New York attorney general with Trump’s endorsement, conceded on X and said public service “means serving people, not celebrity or personal gain”, PTI reported.
In Texas, Democrat Jon Rosenthal defeated Republican Bo French for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the state’s oil and gas industry, the Times of India reported. French had drawn criticism in September for a social media post about South Asian students at the University of Texas at Austin, some of whom were of Indian origin.
Among the US midterm results still open, Michigan’s Senate race, between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers, had not been settled in the full reports we read, and they did not agree. One Times of India report said El-Sayed had won, while the paper’s round-up said an earlier projection of his win had been corrected and the race was too close to call. Scroll reported at 12.15 pm IST that he was leading. El-Sayed’s wife, Dr Sarah Jukaku, has family roots in Bhatkal in Karnataka, the Times of India reported.
What a Democratic Congress could mean for India
In its analysis, the Indian Express said the US midterm results would have an impact on India’s pending trade deal talks with the US, as Washington would be seen to be in a weaker position. It listed curbs on H-1B work visas, student visas and Optional Practical Training (OPT), the work period allowed to foreign students after graduation, as areas of interest for India. The paper also expected closer scrutiny of India’s human rights record from Democrats in Congress. These are the paper’s assessments, not decisions anyone has taken.
Frequently asked questions
Who won the US midterm elections 2026?
Democrats won control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. By 12.15 pm IST on 4 November, AP data cited by Scroll showed Democrats with 53 Senate seats and 220 House seats, with counting still going on.
Which Indian-American candidates won in the US midterms?
Pia Dandiya (Florida), Suhas Subramanyam (Virginia), Ami Bera and Ro Khanna (California) and Pramila Jayapal (Washington) won House races, and Aruna Miller was re-elected Maryland's lieutenant governor.
Did Vivek Ramaswamy win in Ohio?
No. Democrat Amy Acton beat Ramaswamy in the Ohio governor's race, AP and NBC News projected, according to the Indian Express.
How many votes did Pia Dandiya get?
She polled 1,52,723 votes against Republican Casey Askar's 1,41,627, a margin of 11,096, India Today reported, citing AP data.