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DETROIT — A blue wave crashed over the American political system in Tuesday’s midterm elections as voters sent a message rebuking President Donald Trump’s chaotic and controversial second term.
Democrats took control of the House and the Senate during the election that will reorder control of Congress and bring a check on Trump’s unprecedented use of executive power over the remainder of his time in office.
Key races in Maine and Michigan, where Trump’s trade war with Canada has soured voters, solidified the Democrats’ triumph.
“I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!” Trump posted on social media just before 11 p.m. ET.
Republicans were on the defensive throughout the turbulent midterm campaign season, with polls showing Trump’s approval plummeting due to rising gas and diesel prices, high inflation and the unpopular war with Iran.
Trump’s closing arguments Monday did little to shore up enthusiasm.
He defended his administration’s policies and claimed his second term had seen the “best” economy ever, despite widespread voter disapproval of his handling of pocketbook issues.
Voters in some of the most Republican-safe areas showed their frustration with the president and the GOP, including in Texas, where James Talarico broke a decades-long Democrat losing streak by trouncing Trump-aligned Ken Paxton.
In Michigan, Democrats faced a key test during a shocking eleventh-hour party fracture in a tight Senate race when Democrat candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s former opponent in the U.S. Senate primary, Haley Stevens, stunned party officials Sunday by endorsing Republican candidate Mike Rogers.
Alan Latham, a 44-year-old attorney and lifelong Michigander, said he worried about affordability but was more motivated to back a candidate who promised progress over polarization.
“For me the candidate that’s going to push us forward in a positive direction as a country, as a people, unify us, is what really brought me out to the polls and what really is important to me as a voter and as a citizen,” Latham said after casting a ballot in White Lake for El-Sayed.
At the same polling station, Mark Pospisil, 43, said he’s pretty neutral on political issues. He said he voted for Rogers because the Republican would “honour and fear God and be best to implement good laws for our community.”
Michigan’s economy is tightly integrated with Canada and has been hit hard by tariffs. Rogers last month broke ranks with Trump over the tariffs slapped on Canada, and El-Sayed has long called the trade war nonsensical.
As counts slowly came in late Tuesday, Rogers and El-Sayed’s chances remained close. At a Republican event in Detroit, Rogers’ wife Kristi told supporters to “stick with us.”
“It’s going to be good,” she said.
Some spectators whispered concerns when Democrat Roy Cooper won North Carolina’s Senate race and Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff was re-elected in Georgia, even as GOP staffers encouraged supporters to stay optimistic.
Rogers’ defeat was solidified early Wednesday with El-Sayed set to become the nation’s first Muslim Senator.
The tight race in Maine saw Democrat Troy Jackson end the nearly 30-year run of Republican Susan Collins.
Trump last month attempted to give Collins a boost in the tough contest by making changes to 50 per cent tariffs on an array of Canadian goods to offer a reprieve to industries hit hard in Maine. The move was not enough to stop the blue wave from sweeping the state in response to high energy prices and a plummet in Canadian tourism.
“We have to stand up to Donald Trump. We have to stand up for our democracy,” Jackson told supporters early Wednesday.
Tyler Levesque, who cast his ballot in Bangor, said: “Canada is our partner.”
“It’s not fair to us as Mainers, as a community, to suffer because of failed economic policy,” Levesque said Tuesday.
Many Americans were angered by Trump’s policies, which have driven up costs at gas stations and grocery stores.
Trump returned to the White House after promising to boost the economy, reduce inflation and keep the United States out of foreign wars. He made gains among young men, the Hispanic community and Black men based on those pledges.
Halfway through his second term, many of those same voters said they feel duped.
Dylan Raford supported Trump in 2024 — though he was too young to vote at the time — and hyped up the president to family and friends. The 19-year-old from South Carolina described himself as a business owner, entrepreneur and “big free market type of guy.”
Raford said he felt betrayed.
“I did like Trump. I did. As a Black person, I got so much hate for it,” Raford said.
“He made me a fool. He made all those people right.”
Like many voters who turned out for Trump in 2024, Raford said he had no party affiliation. He said he was voting Democrat because he wanted Trump to face restraints.
Democrat Annie Andrews flipped Lindsey Graham’s old seat in the historically red South Carolina Senate race.
It was a sharp rejection of Trump’s hand-picked candidate, Darline Graham Nordone, who was criticized for her lack of experience and multiple fumbles on the campaign trail as she sought to take her late brother’s seat.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 3, 2026.
— With files from Eli Ridder in Bangor and The Associated Press
Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press
