Democrats celebrate historic midterm gains as key US races remain close

Developed over time first seen 1 day ago

The Guardian · 1 day ago

Donald Trump suffered a major setback in the 2026 US midterms as Democrats made historic gains, with several key races still too close to call. Iranian officials celebrated the results as a rebuke to Trump, while Iran’s supreme leader cautioned that a change in US political parties would not alter Washington’s policy towards Iran.

In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom led Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith by 1,138 votes with 96% of the count complete. In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola was 626 votes ahead of Republican Dan Sullivan; if neither candidate passes 50%, ranked-choice voting will determine the result. Los Angeles’s mayoral contest also remained unresolved, with Nithya Raman narrowly ahead of incumbent Karen Bass on 63% counted.

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In short

Democrats made historic gains in the US midterms.
Three closely watched races remained unresolved.
Iranian officials hailed the results as a rebuke to Trump.

How this story developed

17 hours ago Republican leaders publicly disputed the cause of their losses, as Trump blamed his absence from the ballot and JD Vance pointed to the unpopular Iran war; the close counts in Mississippi, Alaska and Los Angeles remained unresolved.
24 hours ago Iranian officials hailed the Republican losses as a rebuke to Trump, while Iran’s supreme leader said a change of party in Washington would not alter US policy; Colom’s lead widened to 1,138 votes and Peltola moved 626 votes ahead.
24 hours ago The latest count left those three races unsettled, with Colom still 65 votes ahead, Peltola leading by less than a percentage point and Raman narrowly ahead with 63% counted.
1 day ago Attention shifted to unresolved contests in Mississippi, Alaska and Los Angeles, where Scott Colom led Cindy Hyde-Smith by 65 votes, Mary Peltola was narrowly ahead of Dan Sullivan, and Nithya Raman edged Karen Bass.
1 day ago Donald Trump said he would again launch the Iran war to stop Tehran obtaining a nuclear weapon, while acknowledging its short-term impact on petrol prices and blaming Republican midterm losses partly on his absence from the ballot.

4 Nov, 21:10New York Post Iran gloats over Trump’s midterm blowout: ‘US collapse has accelerated’
4 Nov, 21:12Washington Examiner Trump’s foreign foes bask in Republican midterm defeat
4 Nov, 22:11Al Jazeera US midterm election results live: Trump blames Iran war after losses
5 Nov, 01:08Al Jazeera Historic firsts redraw US political map in 2026 midterm elections
5 Nov, 01:08Al Jazeera Iran war live: Trump says war caused election wipeout but he ‘had to do it’
5 Nov, 01:33The Guardian Democrats celebrate historic midterm gains as key US races remain close

Full account

Several contests remained unresolved as vote counting continued. In Mississippi’s Senate race, Democrat Scott Colom held a lead of 65 votes over Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith, with 96% of ballots counted. A Colom victory would be a rare Democratic gain in a state that has not sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1982 and which Donald Trump won by 22 percentage points in 2024.

Alaska’s Senate contest was also too close to call. With 74% of the vote counted, Democrat Mary Peltola was ahead of Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan by less than one percentage point. The state’s ranked-choice system may delay a result: if no candidate has a majority of first-choice votes, the last-placed candidate is eliminated and their voters’ next preferences are redistributed, a process that continues until someone reaches a majority.

In Los Angeles, progressive city councillor Nithya Raman had a narrow lead over Democratic Mayor Karen Bass, with 63% of the vote counted. The remaining ballots meant the mayoral race, like the two Senate contests, was still unsettled.

Iranian officials used the Republican losses to criticise Trump and the war, while warning that Tehran would respond with different weapons and tactics if the United States or Israel resumed attacks. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf framed the results as a public rejection of war and living costs. An adviser to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said the country was prepared to respond to renewed action. Mojtaba Khamenei, whose whereabouts remain unclear, issued a written statement asserting that the United States was in decline and that Iran would not surrender. Iranian state broadcasters also mocked Trump over the election results. The reports describe Tehran as publicly celebrating the Republican setbacks while remaining alert to the possibility that Trump could escalate military action. Trump has said he will let diplomacy continue and would attack only if he concludes Iran is not negotiating seriously.

Where outlets differ

From the full account, which is AI-written from the sources:

The first report focuses on outstanding US races and gives vote-count percentages and candidate margins in Mississippi, Alaska and Los Angeles. The second centres on Iranian reactions to the Republican losses, including warnings about renewed conflict, criticism of Trump and the possibility that he might intensify plans for strikes. The supplied reports do not provide a shared account of the overall midterm results or a direct statement from Trump about the losses or the war’s unpopularity.

Left-leaning outlets 4

Only here: historic, election, democrats, celebrate, gains

Right-leaning outlets 2

Iran gloats over Trump’s midterm blowout: ‘US collapse has accelerated’New York Post
Trump’s foreign foes bask in Republican midterm defeatWashington Examiner

Only here: gloats, blowout, collapse, accelerated, foreign

Every side used: midterm, trump, iran

Headline columns compared word for word; nothing in them is AI-written.

Steelman: both sides, in good faith

The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.

The case for

Supporters can argue that military action was necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, a risk they see as serious enough to justify short-term costs such as higher petrol prices and electoral losses. They may also regard Trump’s willingness to accept those costs as evidence that national security, rather than political advantage, drove the decision.

The case against

Critics can argue that starting the war brought foreseeable harm, including higher petrol prices and damage to the party’s electoral prospects, without the reported account establishing that force was the only effective way to prevent Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon. They may see the losses as a warning that leaders should weigh the human and economic costs of conflict alongside its stated security aims and seek public support for such decisions.

Explained simply

US midterm elections take place halfway through a president’s four-year term. Voters choose all 435 members of the House of Representatives and about a third of the Senate, as well as state and local officials; these elections can change which party controls Congress.

The Senate has 100 seats, with each state represented by two senators. Mississippi has long been strongly Republican in presidential elections, while Alaska uses ranked-choice voting, in which voters rank candidates and later counts can affect who wins; this can make results take longer to confirm.

Los Angeles elects its mayor separately from national races, and both candidates in this contest are Democrats. Senate control affects which legislation and appointments can advance in Congress, while a mayor oversees city services and local policy.

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Originally published by The Guardian as “US midterm elections 2026 live updates: Trump defiant about brutal Republican losses and acknowledges Iran war’s unpopularity”.

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