2026 US Midterm Elections Live: Democrats Take Both the House and Senate
Follow the latest developments from the 2026 US midterm elections, from pivotal congressional contests and candidates backed by the cryptocurrency industry to the possible implications of the results for digital asset policy.
The crypto sector is starting to see whether President Donald Trump’s Republican Party has retained control of Congress. The outcome will determine how much scope Trump has to pursue his legislative agenda during the final two years of his presidency.
What the crypto industry needs to know now:
• Democrats have taken control of the US Senate, winning 53 seats compared with 42 for Republicans.
• Democrats have secured 220 seats in the House of Representatives, while Republicans have won 128.
• A party needs 51 Senate seats and 218 House seats to hold majorities in both chambers.
• The Blockchain Association’s election dashboard tracks 62 priority congressional contests: 18 Senate races and 44 House races.
• The outcome may shape the future of cryptocurrency regulation in the United States, including the stalled CLARITY Act. If Democrats take control of either chamber, scrutiny of Trump’s crypto-related ventures could also increase.
Live election updates
Follow developments in congressional races that have drawn spending from the crypto industry, along with election results and responses from prediction markets. Cointelegraph is relying on live election data and race calls from the Associated Press. The updates below are listed in reverse chronological order.
Democrats capture the House and take control of both chambers of Congress
The Associated Press reports that Democrats have won control of the US House of Representatives, taking the chamber from Republicans, who had held it since 2023. Representative Hakeem Jeffries is positioned to become Speaker of the House.
With control of the House, Democrats will hold committee chairmanships and subpoena authority. NBC reports that this oversight power includes the ability to scrutinize Trump’s family and business interests.
Democrat Troy Jackson defeats Susan Collins in Maine Senate race
According to the Associated Press, Democrat Troy Jackson has defeated Republican Senator Susan Collins in Maine.
In September, Collins was among four Republicans who opposed moving the CLARITY Act forward, citing concerns about the legislation’s effects on bank deposits.
Jackson, by contrast, voiced support for clear cryptocurrency laws during the campaign. Stand with Crypto, which describes him as “very pro crypto,” said Jackson had called for an end to the debanking of “lawful crypto businesses, and ensure Americans’ right to self-custody digital assets.”
Trump congratulates Democrats after Senate victory
President Donald Trump told CBS News senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang: “My message is congratulations to the Democrats, and I look forward to working with you for the good of our country.”
Democrats secure a majority in the US Senate
The Associated Press says Democrats have won control of the US Senate.
The majority was established when Democrat Josh Turek won Iowa’s Senate race, taking the number of seats held by Democrats and independents who caucus with them to 51.
The result changes the prospects for the stalled CLARITY Act and determines which lawmakers will head the committees responsible for overseeing the industry.
A Democratic majority could also lead to increased congressional scrutiny of crypto businesses linked to Trump and of decisions made by regulators. Senate control may also influence the confirmation of future presidential nominees for regulatory positions.
“It’s too early to say exactly what this means for crypto, but one thing is clear: nothing will pass without cross-partisan support,” Jerome de Tychey, president of Ethereum France and co-founder of EthCC, told Cointelegraph.
Democrats move to the edge of taking control of Congress
Democrats now hold 50 Senate seats, one fewer than the number required for a majority, after flipping five seats in states previously held by Republicans. Some of those states had gone decades without a Democratic senator.
Earlier, Decision Desk HQ projected that Democrats would win a majority in the US House of Representatives.
Sherrod Brown wins in Ohio, turning a Senate seat Democratic
In Ohio, Democrat Sherrod Brown, a longtime critic of crypto, defeated Republican incumbent Senator Jon Husted. The contest attracted about $63 million in spending from the cryptocurrency industry.
Approximately $56 million came from Fairshake and another $7 million from the Winklevoss-backed Digital Freedom Fund. Both organizations spent money to support Husted or campaign against Brown.
The crypto advocacy organization Stand With Crypto describes Brown as strongly opposed to cryptocurrency. It points to 17 statements and his 2024 vote against overturning the SEC’s SAB 121 guidance on accounting for crypto custody.
Crypto industry spending also targeted Brown in 2024. That year, Fairshake affiliate Defend American Jobs spent more than $40 million backing Republican Bernie Moreno, who defeated Brown in that year’s Senate election.
Another Republican stronghold falls as Democrats win Texas Senate contest
The Associated Press reports that Democrat James Talarico has won the Texas US Senate race against Republican Ken Paxton, flipping another seat previously held by the GOP.
Talarico is the first Democrat to win a statewide election in Texas since 1994. At 11 pm ET, Decision Desk HQ data showed him ahead of Paxton by approximately 1.09 million votes, with 56.1% against Paxton’s 42.2%. Vote counting was still underway.
Paxton had the backing of the Winklevoss-supported Digital Freedom Fund. Both candidates, however, received A ratings from the crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto.
Paxton has urged lawmakers to pass the CLARITY Act, saying clear rules are needed to keep the United States competitive in digital assets. In a statement in June, he said the country should become the “crypto capital of the world” and encourage innovation and growth.
Talarico has also called for clear rules that protect consumers while leaving room for innovation. In his role as a Texas state representative, he voted in 2025 to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the state, according to legislative records cited by Stand With Crypto.
Democrats pull off major upset to win South Carolina Senate seat
The Associated Press reports that Democrat Annie Andrews defeated Republican Senator Darline Graham in South Carolina, delivering another seat to Democrats.
Andrews’ win brings more than 20 years of Republican control of the seat to an end. South Carolina last elected a Democrat to the Senate in 1998.
After their win in North Carolina, Democrats would need to capture two more Republican-held seats to reach a majority, assuming they kept every seat they already held.
Democrats projected to take control of the House of Representatives
Decision Desk HQ has projected that the Democratic Party will win a majority in the US House of Representatives.
Democrats six seats away from a Senate majority
At 10:02 pm ET, Democrats and independent senators aligned with them held 45 Senate seats, six short of the 51 required for a majority.
Their route to a majority involved holding Democratic seats in Oregon, Michigan and Minnesota while flipping three more seats held by Republicans. Democrats had already gained a seat in North Carolina.
NBC News projected that Democrat Annie Andrews would defeat sitting Republican Senator Darline Graham in South Carolina in a major upset. The Associated Press had not yet declared a winner in that contest.
Crypto-backed Republican Andy Barr wins Kentucky Senate race
Republican Representative Andy Barr has won the US Senate race in Kentucky, sending a supporter of the CLARITY and GENIUS Acts to the upper chamber.
Political action committees affiliated with Fairshake spent more than $7 million supporting Barr during the Republican primary. Barr has also put forward legislation intended to protect lawful businesses, including crypto companies, from being debanked.
Democrat Juliana Stratton wins Illinois Senate race
Democrat Juliana Stratton has won the Illinois US Senate race, taking the seat of retiring Democratic Senator Dick Durbin.
Stratton won the Democratic primary despite significant opposition from Fairshake, a crypto-backed political action committee. By early March, the group had spent more than $5.5 million campaigning against her.
Republican Hageman wins Wyoming Senate race
Republican Representative Harriet Hageman has won the Wyoming US Senate race against Democrat James Byrd. She will succeed retiring Senator Cynthia Lummis, a supporter of the cryptocurrency industry.
Lummis chairs the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Digital Assets. She sponsored the 2025 BITCOIN Act, which would establish a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the United States, and has supported both the CLARITY and GENIUS Acts.
Hageman has also supported cryptocurrency legislation. In 2025, she voted for the CLARITY and GENIUS Acts, and in 2024 she backed the FIT21 market structure bill. Stand With Crypto also says she cosponsored legislation intended to prevent the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency. The advocacy group says it has no documented position on cryptocurrency for Byrd.
Prediction markets put Democratic control of both chambers near certainty
Traders on Kalshi and Polymarket now assign Democrats a 99% probability of taking control of the Senate, while the odds of Democratic control of the House are close to 100%. The shift followed Democratic victories in North Carolina’s Senate race and their holds in Georgia and New Hampshire.
Democratic Senate-control odds rise above 90%
Prediction markets increasingly leaned toward Democrats taking control of both chambers of Congress on Tuesday evening.
At 8:05 pm ET, the Blockchain Association’s election dashboard put the probability of Democratic control of the Senate at 94% on Kalshi and 93% on Polymarket. Earlier in the day, the respective figures had been 75% and 75.5%. The odds of Democrats controlling the House stood at 98% on Kalshi and 99% on Polymarket.
At that point, Democrats and independent senators who caucus with them had won 42 Senate seats, compared with 31 for Republicans.
Democratic Senators Markey and Coons win reelection
The Associated Press reports that Democratic Senators Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Chris Coons of Delaware have both won reelection.
Markey voted against the GENIUS stablecoin bill in 2025. Coons has criticized President Donald Trump’s crypto ventures and described the president’s most recent event for holders of his memecoin as “corruption.”
Democrat Jon Ossoff holds Georgia Senate seat
Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff has won reelection in Georgia, defeating Republican Representative Mike Collins.
In April 2025, Ossoff voiced support for impeaching Trump over plans to hold a private dinner for major holders of the president’s TRUMP memecoin. Ossoff argued that the arrangement amounted to selling access to the presidency.
1inch expects government agencies to shape US crypto regulation
Maylea Ma, deputy general counsel at 1inch, said she expects federal agencies to lead the next stage of cryptocurrency regulation.
The election could change the legislative prospects of the stalled CLARITY Act. However, Ma said that “real movement” in US digital asset regulation over the next few years would come from the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Treasury, rather than from Congress.
Ma said those agencies were engaging more frequently with crypto projects. Even so, engagement by regulators does not offer the certainty that the industry had hoped legislation would provide.
“The long-term goal, of course, remains a statute that cannot be reversed every time a government changes,” Ma said.
CLARITY Act opponent Wasserman Schultz wins reelection
Democratic Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz has won Florida’s 20th Congressional District. She voted against the CLARITY cryptocurrency market structure bill when it passed the House in July 2025.
Democrat Warner retains Virginia Senate seat
Democratic Senator Mark Warner has won reelection in Virginia, defeating Republican challenger Bert Mizusawa. Warner had been widely expected to win.
In September, Warner voted against advancing the CLARITY Act. He argued that cryptocurrency legislation needed safeguards to prevent President Donald Trump from personally profiting from the industry. Warner supports creating federal rules for digital assets; his objection to the bill centered on its ethics provisions.
First polling stations close in the United States
The first polling stations in the US midterm elections closed at 6 pm ET in parts of Indiana and Kentucky. The remaining polling stations in both states were scheduled to close at 7 pm ET.
Polling stations also closed at 7 pm ET in Georgia and Virginia. Ohio followed at 7:30 pm ET, where Republican Senator Jon Husted faced Democrat Sherrod Brown in a contest that attracted substantial spending from the crypto industry.
Early voting exceeds 57 million ahead of midterms
More than 57 million Americans had voted by Monday, and early-voting totals had surpassed the levels recorded in 2022 in several closely watched states, according to the Associated Press.
Other crypto races to watch
Nebraska Senate: Pete Ricketts vs. Dan Osborn
Republican Senator Pete Ricketts is facing independent challenger Dan Osborn in Nebraska. According to an Oct. 27 report by the Washington Examiner, the crypto political action committee Fairshake had spent nearly $11 million supporting Ricketts.
More recent spending figures show that Fairshake-affiliated crypto super PAC Defend American Jobs spent approximately $13.5 million opposing Osborn, according to Federal Election Commission data compiled by Bankrolled as of Nov. 3.
Ricketts, who serves on the Senate Banking Committee, has backed cryptocurrency legislation, including the CLARITY Act and the GENIUS Act. He voted to advance the CLARITY Act out of committee in May and supported an unsuccessful Senate procedural vote on the measure in September, according to the crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto.