Democrats flip Senate seats in the South, reshaping the 2028 contest

State offices and legislative chambers shifted across the region

Democrats flipped U.S. Senate seats in North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas as Tuesday’s midterm results reshaped the Southern electoral map, NPR reported. Democrats also gained ground in state legislative chambers and statewide offices, while Republican-led redistricting efforts backfired and left Democrats poised to net several House seats. The changes put the South at the center of both parties’ preparations for the 2028 presidential election.

The Senate flips included Democrat Annie Andrews’ victory in South Carolina. Mississippi’s race remained too close to call: Democrat Scott Colom led incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith by less than 1,200 votes. NPR also highlighted Mississippi’s status as the state with the country’s highest share of Black voters.

Black voter turnout surged in Louisiana and Georgia, and participation in primaries held after the Supreme Court ruling had soared. South Carolina recorded its highest voting total for a gubernatorial election year, driven in part by elevated Black turnout. NPR reported that a Supreme Court ruling, the war in Iran, rising costs and concerns about corruption in the Trump administration appeared likely to motivate Black voters before Election Day.

Ashley Kennedy Shelton of the Louisiana-based Power Coalition for Equity and Justice said the court decision was “personal” for Black voters. “Everybody’s spending more money on their electricity bills, their gas bills, their food bills,” she said. “All of these different things are really personally impacting voters.”

In the Louisiana Senate race, Democrat Jamie Davis narrowly lost to Sen.-elect Julia Letlow by less than two percent in a state Trump won by more than 15 points in 2024. Democrats flipped Senate seats elsewhere in the South and gained ground in state and local offices.

The Republican redistricting push followed a Supreme Court ruling earlier in the year that NPR described as gutting part of the Voting Rights Act. Republican-led Southern states rushed to redraw House maps in places including Alabama, North Carolina, Texas and Florida, seeking additional seats that would better withstand a midterm environment in which voters punished the party in power.

The Tennessee changes split Memphis into three districts, with Democratic state Rep. Justin Pearson within a few thousand votes of winning. In Alabama, changes sought to unseat Rep. Shomari Figures, who won by nearly 8 points in the new Trump +14 configuration. Republicans targeted nine seats in Texas and Florida; as of Wednesday night, they had won one, according to a race call by the Associated Press.

Georgia’s top-of-ticket margin carried down the ballot. Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff’s 18-point victory helped former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms win the governor’s race. Democrats swept every statewide elected office, gained control of the state utility regulator and were set to win a majority in the state House.

In North Carolina, former Gov. Roy Cooper’s 20-point victory was enough to potentially flip multiple congressional seats and win control of the state House. Texas Democrats won a majority of state House seats. Republican House supermajorities in Florida and South Carolina ended, while NPR reported dozens of additional down-ballot pickups in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Even contests Democrats did not win drew millions of dollars in investment from both sides. NPR said the spending highlighted the region’s role in future congressional and White House contests and described the rejection of the Trump administration as wide-ranging across every demographic group.

Before Election Day, potential presidential contenders from both parties offered financial support or campaigned for nominees in tight races. Those efforts included appearances by former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, chair of the Democratic Governors Association. On the Republican side, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Vice President JD Vance focused on the region.

Republicans held Florida’s governor seat and U.S. Senate seat, but closer-than-expected margins in statewide and House races made the state an attractive investment for both parties seeking an edge in 2028. NPR compared that interest with Democrats’ strong performance in historically Republican Texas. Together, Texas, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina represent more than one-third of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House.

The majorities built on Southern swings carried implications beyond the next Congress, NPR said, as both parties looked toward the 2028 presidential election. The unresolved Mississippi Senate contest and narrow results in other states left parts of the new electoral landscape unsettled.