The Democratic party has won a majority in the House and Senate in the US midterm elections.
With Democrats capturing at least 237 seats in the House—well past the 218 needed for a majority—the balance of power has shifted dramatically.
Blame Shifts to the Iran Conflict and Gerrymandering
In the wake of the losses, President Trump acknowledged that the military conflict with Iran played a role in the Republican defeat, telling the Wall Street Journal that “Iran was a piece of it” when asked if the war contributed to the Republican losses, though he defended his decision to authorize strikes against the Islamic Republic, saying, “I don’t think about it. I did the right thing. I would have done it again.”
Trump also pointed to a failure to transfer his personal popularity to down-ballot candidates, saying that rallies featured incredible love that could not be successfully passed on to candidates. However, veteran Republican strategist Doug Heye told Reuters that the president spent the year telling voters what was important to him, not them, while Trump’s approval rating has sat below 40 per cent since April.
“I don’t want to be just sitting there for two years vetoing everything.” President Donald Trump picked up a call from @DashaBurns on POLITICO Elections Live and talked to us about the blue wave and how he’s willing to work with incoming congressional Democrats. Watch live… pic.twitter.com/5tEhxpdQvA
Trump had encouraged Republican states to redraw their electoral maps in a bid to give the party an advantage in House races, leading to a proverbial arms race between the two parties.
International Reactions and Triumphalism in Tehran
The fallout from the midterms resonated immediately in Tehran, where Iranian officials and state media openly celebrated the Republican losses. Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf declared on X that Americans had said “NO TO WAR” after projections confirmed the Democratic majorities, warning that any betrayal of the public will by Washington would be met with a severe response.
One of the things the data analysts on our side obsessed over was "composition"—whether the electorate looked close enough to 2024 for Republicans to win. And despite polls that showed a Democrat blowout, the data kept on telling us the same story: in some states turnout was…
Tehran this week unveiled a massive billboard and banners over Enqelab Square in central Tehran depicting Trump behind bars with his head bowed, with the English pledge, “We will kill Trump.” Iranian analysts and politicians framed the election results as a direct consequence of the military confrontation that began when the US and Israel launched joint strikes in February, which subsequently allowed the Strait of Hormuz to become an Iranian-controlled channel through which inflation and high diesel prices were transmitted to the US system, driving up domestic energy prices and cost of living concerns across the United States.
Despite the domestic rebuke, hawks within Trump’s orbit have urged renewed military action. Figures like Laura Loomer advocated on X for the president to strike Iran again while he has nothing left to lose. Meanwhile, Trump told Fox News that “Iran has very few missiles and drones left, and even less capacity to build any more,” and crowed: “We are dealing with total strength. We can end it any time,” leaving open the possibility of future strikes before his term concludes.
Congressional Oversight and the Road Ahead
The newly empowered Democratic majority is expected to use its new power to investigate Trump’s administration and family. Democrats may also pursue a War Powers Resolution, which would direct Trump to end the conflict with Iran should Congress not authorize it, echoing a non-binding concurrent resolution passed by both then-Republican-controlled chambers in June to end the conflict.
Despite concerns from Democrats that the president might seek to overturn the results of the election, as he did in 2020, Trump accepted the outcome and congratulated the party in an interview with Fox News.
The Tennessee Secretary of State's unofficial final results have Democrat Victoria Broderick is 200 votes ahead of GOP Rep. Scott DesJarlais in #TN04, which Trump won by *24 points* in 2024. This race wasn't on anyone's radar. Cook had it as solid R. pic.twitter.com/ZX5f3cj8UM
More on Iran
Gerrymandering isn't yielding the gains GOP hoped . . . IN A BLUE WAVE ENVIRONMENT. In a NEUTRAL environment, they'd be gaining around nine seats net. Even in this environment, their new maps will perform better than their old maps would have. https://t.co/a5dc79NHDI
🇺🇸 Trump's Iran war has become a political disaster, and now his own inner circle is acknowledging the damage JD Vance has pointed directly to the war with Iran as a major reason voters turned against the party: “If you'd like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate… pic.twitter.com/BApgxsPPPS”
Helima Croft, Head of Global Commodity Strategy and MENA Research, joined @SquawkBoxEurope to discuss the outlook for the Iran war following the U. S. midterms. https://t.co/nfWd5jidAS
Told @NBCNews: The midterms have clipped Trump’s political wings, but not his military ones. With the Iran war an albatross around his neck, he faces a choice: seek a face-saving exit or escalate to reclaim the initiative. The danger is that a lame duck at home could become a…
🇺🇸 Ana Kasparian is celebrating the Republican bloodbath, but she has a brutal warning for the Democrats who just won Following the stunning midterm election results, Ana joined me for a fiery conversation about the Iran war, Israel's influence in Washington, and what she… pic.twitter.com/tqKP1lROW5
