Republicans’ post-Trump future and Democratic leadership remained unsettled
Historic firsts accompanied Democratic victories in the 2026 United States midterms: Peggy Flanagan became the first Native American U.S. senator, David Crowley won Wisconsin’s gubernatorial race to become the state’s first Black governor, and Hakeem Jeffries was poised to become the first Black House speaker. The Guardian said Republicans needed to define what their party would look like after Donald Trump, while Chris Stein, the Guardian’s senior US politics reporter in Washington, said Democrats faced questions about leadership, popularity and governing promises. Stein said the midterm was “fundamentally a test of whether Americans are still behind Trump”; The Guardian wrote, “By all accounts, they aren’t.”
Voting in Alaska and Hawaii had wrapped up only hours earlier, and The Guardian said early results streaming in from across the country were “making history for the Democrats.” The Guardian reported that Democrats had taken control of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It said the scale of the Democratic successes was larger than expected and that the victories materialized faster than expected, with some of the most hotly contested races already called. In the preceding couple of hours, results had come in “thick and fast.” Democrats had flipped Republican-held seats in Texas, Ohio and Kansas, and The Guardian projected historic Senate victories in Texas, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Ohio and South Carolina. The Guardian reported at least 53 Senate seats for Democrats, a clear majority in the 100-member Senate, with more victories expected. It wrote, “But these wins are massive.” The Guardian contrasted those gains with a pattern in which the president’s party had lost House seats in 90% of midterm elections over the previous 80 years.
The Guardian reported that Annie Andrews “made a shock win” in South Carolina, where no Democrat had been elected to the Senate since 1998. Adam Hamilton’s Kansas victory made him the first Democrat to win a U.S. Senate seat in the state in nearly a century. The House was poised to have its first Black speaker in Hakeem Jeffries, who declared that “America is back”. He continued: “Today begins the great American comeback. The American people have spoken all across the land.”
The Guardian said the consequences of Democratic control could prove pivotal. Control of the Senate would allow Democrats to reject Trump’s nominees for cabinet positions, ambassador posts and judicial appointments, including to the Supreme Court, just as two conservative justices were thought to be considering retirement. The Guardian wrote that taking the House “will stymie the Republican agenda.” Legislation would require Democratic support, and Democrats would gain authority to launch investigations into the Trump administration and impeach federal officials. Jeffries had promised to “hold the crooks accountable”.
The Guardian described the Republican House majority as “wafer thin” and said it was widely expected to flip blue. Stein said, “A good night for Democrats would have been a House majority in the double digits,” alongside a Senate majority of any size, and The Guardian said both outcomes looked increasingly likely. Republicans had controlled both chambers since the start of Trump’s second term, and The Guardian said that control, together with the conservative Supreme Court majority, had given “the right free rein over all three branches of the US federal government.” Two years earlier, Democrats had appeared to have no clear route back to power in Washington, DC.
The Guardian said results from states on U.S. Eastern Time were already making headlines. In Georgia, Democrat Jon Ossoff, cited as a potential 2028 presidential contender, defeated Trump-backed Congressman Mike Collins. In Ohio, Sherrod Brown returned to the Senate after representing the state for 18 years before losing in 2024. In Maine, Republican Susan Collins, in office since 1997 despite the state often turning blue in presidential races, lost her seat to Democrat Troy Jackson; The Guardian said the result came an hour earlier. The Guardian reported that the Mississippi Senate race was “on a knife’s edge” with 97% of votes counted, in a seat even the most optimistic Democrats had not expected to be in reach.
The Guardian described Michigan as a swing state and one of the most fiercely contested in the election cycle; projections favored a Democratic shift. Michigan had two key races: the Senate contest and the 7th congressional district race. The Senate seat was already in Democratic control, though the state had narrowly backed Trump in 2024. The Guardian described former public health official Abdul El-Sayed as “firmly on the left of the Democratic party” while he sought the seat against former Congressman Mike Rogers and efforts by his former Democratic primary opponent, Haley Stevens, to secure a Republican victory.
In Michigan’s 7th congressional district, The Guardian described William Lawrence, a co-founder of the climate-activist Sunrise Movement, as a “progressive candidate” facing a Republican incumbent. The Guardian said the seat had “oscillated red and blue by the finest of margins.” Stein said, “If they win, the left will argue that progressives and policies like Medicare for All can win in swing territory.” “If they fail, centrists will blame left-wingers and the Democratic Socialists of America for hurting the party.”
James Talarico’s Texas victory had been seen as crucial to determining which party controlled the Senate. The Guardian wrote: “In Texas Democratic state representative James Talarico executed an impressive campaign, and has beaten sleaze-and-scandal laden Trump-backed Republican Ken Paxton – giving a clear signal of American inclinations.” Talarico declared, “Every billionaire mega donor, every trillionaire mega donor … power belongs to the people.” Texas had 38 House seats contested and had been a focal point for gerrymandering in recent years, with district boundaries redrawn to benefit Republicans. Earlier predictions that redistricting would give Republicans five additional seats appeared not to materialize. Stein said, “It’s another sign Latino voters who broke Republican in 2024 won’t do so again.”
Iowa announced its results far sooner than the 22 days it had taken to finish its count in 2024. The Midwestern state had not elected a Democratic senator since 2008. This time, a Democrat running on centrist platforms won the Senate seat, while Democrats also won the governorship and three House districts. The Guardian said Iowa’s victories would be “central to the moderate Democrat narrative,” while success in Michigan would be “a progressive talking point.”
The Guardian described the West Coast as “solid ground for the Democrats.” Nevada in particular saw Democrats target House seats they viewed as ripe for flipping. In California, The Guardian described redrawn district boundaries as “a tit-for-tat response to Texas gerrymandering” and said they were expected to give Democrats additional seats.
Alaska’s Senate contest remained unsettled. Both seats were Republican, and Democratic candidate Mary Peltola was trying to end that. The Guardian said her chances had looked good entering the race as she sought to capitalize on anti-Trump sentiment, but in the final stretch of the race she faced allegations of mistreating staff and ballot stacking. Alaska accepts ballots for up to 15 days after polling day.
Trump was not on the ballot and blamed the result on his absence, saying if he had been, “we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!”. The Guardian said he had spent the campaign telling voters to pretend his name was on their paperwork and later appeared in a social-media post wearing a hat emblazoned “VETO”. The Guardian linked the Democratic advances to Trump’s “plummeting popularity”.
Stein said the midterm had been “fundamentally a test of whether Americans are still behind Trump”. The Guardian wrote, “By all accounts, they aren’t.” Stein added, “These results take the lustre off of his presidency. It’s a terrible night for him and the Republicans.” The Guardian wrote, “And that’s a reality no amount of Truth Social posting can hide.” For Republicans, the question was what the party would look like post-Trump as the president entered lame-duck territory.
The Guardian wrote, “With their wins stacking up, there’ll be spin aplenty from both left and right within the Democratic party looking to shape the narrative, as its identity crisis continues.” Stein said, “Their electoral coalition had fallen apart since the Obama years.” The Guardian said the party had “no clear leader,” remained unpopular and had low favourability ratings, while an ideological skirmish would continue into next year’s presidential primaries. Stein described the result this way: “this resounding victory shows how weak the Republicans are. For the Democrats, these wins are beyond their wildest dreams. Yes, they still have to find a leader, and yes, they have their unpopularity to deal with. Yes, they’ll have to deliver on their governing promises and it’s going to be a messy two years with Trump in the White House still.” He added, “this is proof Dems can still win even in the reddest places.”
Beyond the election, The Guardian’s 4 November front page carried the line “PM to reveal EU youth visa pact and trade deals worth billions.” Separately, the briefing said Andy Burnham was preparing to announce billions of pounds in trade deals with the EU, covering measures such as youth visas and pet passports under his plan for a closer relationship with the bloc.
In its newsletter, The Guardian carried a recommendation from newsletters team writer Lysia Wright, who said she had not been to Kent, said she loved a hike and a pub trip to follow, and said she was tempted to try the Darent Valley Path walk from Shoreham to Eynsford. The newsletter also recommended a piece by newsletters alum Hannah J Davies on the real-life couple behind the French Homer and Marge Simpson, who first met in their casting of Springfield’s famous lovebirds. A separate note from Lysia read, “Christmas has to come early if you plan to make your gifts! (Although if somebody makes me a bee hotel I will be placing it somewhere far away from my house.)”
Sam Coare wrote of seeing Brian De Palma’s adaptation of Carrie for the first time, on TV. He said Jesse Hassenger’s celebration of 50 years of the iconic scream queen had him reliving the shock and horror of that first teenage viewing. Another newsletter note from Lysia said it was fun to read a John Lewis advertisement review that “managed to remember that it is a shop, and not simply a vessel for feelings of unfathomable sadness.”
In other UK news, the High Court ruled that a person described only as a “well-known individual” had failed to stop two media organisations from publishing allegations of inappropriate sexual activities. Reform UK’s leader on Hampshire County Council had been charged with 12 counts of rape and one count of distributing indecent images of a child.
King Charles said that a deeper understanding of the horrors of slavery had strengthened his determination to address its wrongs, as Caribbean leaders and campaigners intensified demands for an apology and reparations from Britain. The Times splashed “Slavery was evil but we helped end it, says King”. The Mail wrote “Britain has leading role in ending the slave trade, says Charles”. The i Paper ran “King says slavery was ‘monstrous’ – but stops short of offering apology”. The Express’s take was “Andy’s plan to say sorry for slave trade will cost us”.
Elsewhere, The Telegraph led on “Calls to scrap ‘chilling’ trans law” and the FT said “Nvidia demands cut in clients’ China dealing to protect American AI lead”. The Sun splashed “‘Sex pest’ loses gag big”. The Mirror wrote “Sex claim star loses bid to hide name”. On the fridge cyber-attack, Metro wrote “Even our spooks are spooked”.
In the climate brief, Brazil’s government said countries could begin reducing their dependence on fossil fuels without waiting for new technologies or economic changes, ahead of a global climate summit.
Supermarket fridges and freezers in several European countries had malfunctioned after a reported cyberattack remotely cranked up their thermostats. It was unclear who was behind the apparent attack. The EU condemned what it said was a “deliberate attempt to disrupt our food supply,” while the UK’s cybersecurity body warned that AI-powered malicious software was “highly likely” to be used in hacking attacks against UK power stations, airports and hospitals by 2028. Lucy Hough spoke with global tech reporter Aisha Down.
Sports briefs reported that Manchester United came back from 2-0 down at halftime to beat Roma 3-2 after a retaken penalty sparked the comeback, with Matheus Cunha scoring the winner in the second half, his right-foot shot beating the goalkeeper at his near post. Prem Rugby clubs’ collective losses and debt levels were continuing to increase despite growing interest from global companies and financiers. In Spain’s second division, Tenerife striker Jesús de Miguel died following a collision with Andorra goalkeeper Jesús Owono.
The briefing’s closing human-interest profile followed Patty Azzarello, whose life changed after one bike ride. She had spent years being terrified to move. At 10, she was diagnosed with scoliosis, severe lordosis, where the spine is excessively curved, and spondylolisthesis, meaning a vertebra was out of place. She was told that a simple bump or fall could sever her spinal cord and leave her paralyzed, which led to years of anxiety about exercising.
When Azzarello moved to Colorado in her 30s, a coworker invited her on a bike ride and she accepted without realizing it would cover 20 miles. Azzarello realized that her body was stronger than she thought. Since then, she had hiked the Alps and cycled for entire days. At 60, she remained active. A 2020 photograph of Azzarello in Carmel Valley, California, was captioned, “Before long, we were doing 100-mile rides.” She said, “I am no longer ashamed of my body.” “It has become my ally.”