Bottoms and Pappas projected as historic firsts in Georgia and New Hampshire
BBC News reported that early results in the 2026 U.S. midterms delivered significant gains for Democrats. The party was projected to take control of Congress before all polls had closed across the United States. BBC News also projected that Democrats would win control of the House and reported that they had taken their first Texas Senate seat in decades.
BBC News said the night had provided some historic results and scenes of celebration even before all polls closed. A BBC News video featured Sarah Smith discussing the projected House result, while Anthony Zurcher characterized the developments as Democrats pushing deep into Republican territory with historic wins.
In Georgia, BBC News projected former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to defeat Republican candidate Rick Jackson for governor. The projected victory would make Bottoms the state’s first Black governor and the first woman elected to Georgia’s highest office. Jackson was a billionaire businessman and healthcare executive endorsed by outgoing Governor Brian Kemp and President Trump, who spent $200 million of his own money on the race.
Georgia had not had a Democratic governor in more than 20 years. BBC’s Carl Nasman described ecstatic scenes as the race was projected blue. That projection came after an unnamed former Georgia senator said the party was “nauseously optimistic” about its chances that year.
Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff was projected to win Georgia’s Senate race for a second term over Republican challenger Mike Collins, a member of the lower House chamber. BBC News said the result was not unexpected because Ossoff had a comfortable lead in the polls.
Following the projected outcome, Ossoff told supporters that, for those who had “doubted whether our republic would survive” over the last two years, the “first light of dawn is on the horizon”.
Republicans had hoped the Senate contest would be more competitive because Georgia had been reliably Republican for decades, BBC News reported. Trump won the state in the 2024 presidential election, after Joe Biden eked out a narrow victory there in 2020. A BBC News image caption described Ossoff as a potential future Democratic contender for the presidency. BBC News said Ossoff’s projected reelection would likely increase speculation about his plans for the 2028 presidential election and described him as a potential leading contender if he ran.
A BBC News image caption said Roy Cooper had been expected to have a tough fight in North Carolina. Cheers rang out among supporters as Democrats secured the night’s first flip of a Senate seat. Roy Cooper, the state’s former Democratic governor, defeated Republican candidate Michael Whatley. Cooper addressed supporters on Tuesday, saying, “Tonight we show the country that when everyday people come together, we can make change.” The last time Democrats won a Senate race there was 2008, despite the party’s enormous investment of time and money behind candidates in more recent contests.
In New Hampshire, Democrat Chris Pappas was projected to defeat former Republican Senator John Sununu and become the first openly gay man elected to the Senate. Sununu’s father and brother had both served as governor of the state. BBC News described the contest as well-natured, and Pappas thanked Sununu on Tuesday, saying, “We all owe John Sununu a big debt of gratitude for his public service for the people of New Hampshire.”
The 46-year-old had represented New Hampshire in the House since 2019 but chose not to seek re-election so he could launch his Senate campaign. In a BBC News video celebrating his projected New Hampshire victory, Pappas said, “I am ready to fight.”
Several of the outcomes described above were projections based on early results, with polls still open across the United States.