Fallen bastions: Democrats win Kansas for the first time since 1932, Texas since 1988

In the November 3 elections, Democrats won Senate seats and governorships in states long regarded as impregnable Republican strongholds: Texas, Kansas, South Carolina and Georgia. In Kansas, no Democrat had won a Senate race since the Great Depression.

The deepest historical break came in Kansas. Adam Hamilton defeated Senator Roger Marshall to become the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in the state since 1932.

In Texas, James Talarico beat Ken Paxton, becoming the state's first Democratic senator since 1988. According to figures cited by SBS, Republicans spent more than $454 million defending the seat. "The people of Texas were my slingshot, and tonight we beat Goliath," Talarico said in his victory speech, adding that "all the money in the world is no match for the people of Texas."

The Texas upset did not stop at the Senate. Gina Hinojosa unseated Governor Greg Abbott to become the state's first Democratic governor since Ann Richards, elected in 1990. Democrat Jon Rosenthal also won a seat on the Railroad Commission of Texas, the regulator of the oil and gas industry, for the first time since 1990.

The South and the Midwest

In South Carolina, Annie Andrews defeated Senator Darline Graham, sister of the late Lindsey Graham, in a result CBS described as a major upset. The last Democratic Senate victory in the state was Fritz Hollings's in 1998. According to a New York Times analysis, South Carolina counties that Trump won in 2024 shifted left by an average of about 21 percentage points.

In Iowa, Josh Turek defeated Ashley Hinson for the Senate, and Rob Sand won the governorship. According to the Iowa Farm Bureau, voters in the state's rural areas shifted toward the Democrats. In Ohio, Sherrod Brown returned to the Senate by defeating Jon Husted, and Amy Acton beat Vivek Ramaswamy in the race for governor.

Where Republicans held on

Republicans held Florida, where Byron Donalds was elected governor, the first Black Republican elected to the office in US history, and Ashley Moody defended her Senate seat. According to projections, Republicans also held Mississippi and Louisiana, but with sharply reduced margins. At the time of publication, Alaska remained too close to call.

Why the strongholds fell

According to exit polls cited by CBS, Trump's approval rating on election day stood at 38 percent, the lowest for a president in a midterm election, below his own 2018 figure and George W. Bush's in 2006. About six in ten voters said Trump was a factor in their House vote, and about three quarters are dissatisfied with the direction of the country.

The average price of a gallon of gasoline on election day was $4.15, the highest for any election day in US history, after eight months of war with Iran and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. We published a detailed analysis of that mechanism in Referendum at the gas pump.

Results are based on US media projections as of November 4, 2026. Some races are still being counted.