Democrats control Congress as Republicans blame Iran war for rout

Democrats have won control of both houses of Congress in the US midterm elections, a sweeping defeat for Donald Trump that his party is still trying to explain. The latest count cited by ITV puts the Democrats on 253 House seats against 155 for the Republicans, comfortably above the 218 needed for a majority. In the Senate, Democrats hold 54 seats to the Republicans' 44, three more than the 51 needed for control, with Alaska and Mississippi still too close to call. Earlier projections varied as counting continued.

Democrats flipped Senate seats in Texas, Kansas, Ohio, Iowa, North Carolina, South Carolina and Maine. In Texas, James Talarico became the first Democratic senator from the state since 1988. In Kansas, Adam Hamilton became the first Democratic senator since 1932. In Maine, Troy Jackson unseated five-term Republican Susan Collins. Jon Ossoff was comfortably re-elected in Georgia. In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed became the first Muslim elected to the US Senate.

Democrats also made historic firsts lower down the ballot. Keisha Lance Bottoms became the first African American woman elected governor of any US state, in Georgia. Chris Pappas became the first openly gay man elected to the Senate, in New Hampshire. The party also won the Texas governorship.

Trump acknowledged that the war in Iran was largely to blame for the scale of the losses because it drove up petrol prices, but said he would do it again. He also said Republicans lost because he was not on the ballot, and that he would work with Democrats unless they were destructive while retaining the veto. The White House issued a public service announcement reminding Americans that Trump is still president.

J.D. Vance, the vice president, wrote on X that "the reason we lost is the war" and that any honest conversation must start there. BBC News reported that Donald Trump Jr said every word of Vance's comment was true. Ron DeSantis, the outgoing Florida governor, called the result "close to an extinction level event for Republicans" and said the party had lost Texas as an anchor.

Democrats are preparing to use their control of Congress to investigate the administration and challenge Trump's war powers. BBC News reported that Hakeem Jeffries announced his candidacy for Speaker. Sky News reported that Chuck Schumer said Democrats would focus on "costs, costs, costs". Channel 4 reported that Robert Garcia, chair of the House oversight committee, said the administration should lawyer up. John Bolton, former national security adviser, told Sky News that Pete Hegseth, the secretary of war, was the number one target after Trump. ITV reported that moves had already begun to impeach Hegseth. The State Department denied reports that Marco Rubio was considering resigning.

Two Senate races remain uncalled. In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom leads Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith by a very narrow margin, with provisional ballots still being counted. If he wins, he would become the first Black senator elected in Mississippi since Reconstruction. In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola is in a close race with Republican Dan Sullivan. BBC News reported that Iran's supreme leader said Americans had rejected war and warned of wider retaliation if Trump resumed the conflict. The UK prime minister, Andy Burnham, said the result offered an opportunity to resolve the conflict and ease the cost of living.

Oil markets reacted to the Democratic win by knocking more than $20 a barrel off crude prices, Channel 5 reported, on hopes that Congress would pressure Trump to end the Iran war. The result has reshaped the political map, with Democrats winning in Republican strongholds including Texas, Kansas, Ohio, Iowa and South Carolina. Republicans now face a blame game over the cost of living, the Iran war and Trump's focus on projects such as the White House ballroom.