# Four key victories (and two surprises): A review of the Democratic wins in the elections

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/four-key-victories-and-two-surprises-a-review-of-the-democratic-wins-in-the-elections/
- Published: 2026-11-04T07:53:53+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-06T03:54:49+00:00
- Original publisher: El País (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://english.elpais.com/usa/2026-11-04/four-key-victories-and-two-surprises-a-review-of-the-democratic-wins-in-the-elections.html
- Topics: Elections, Politics, World

## Key points

- Democrats took control of both chambers of Congress.
- They won unexpected Senate races in South Carolina and Kansas.
- James Talarico won Texas’s Senate contest against Ken Paxton.

## Summary

Democrats gained enough seats to take control of both chambers of Congress, exceeding the four-seat gains they had needed in the Senate and House. They also scored unexpected victories in conservative states, delivering a setback to President Donald Trump, who had backed several Republican candidates.

In South Carolina, physician Annie Andrews defeated Darline Graham, whose campaign had Trump’s support. Kansas elected Democrat Adam Hamilton to the Senate for the first time in nearly a century; his Republican opponent faced criticism over his former medical clinic’s debt-collection practices. In Texas, James Talarico beat Ken Paxton in a statewide race, with 59.4% of the vote counted for Talarico when the article reported the result; the article also names Gina Hinojosa as Texas’s next governor. Some results were still pending.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.