Ken Paxton

Democrats won control of Congress in the US midterm elections, with both the Senate and the House flipping in their favour. Vice President JD Vance said the war with Iran was the main reason voters moved towards the Democrats, and President Donald Trump agreed that rising fuel prices linked to the conflict had hurt his party. Trump said the war was necessary to stop Tehran getting a nuclear weapon and that he would make the same decision again. Trump also announced Washington would end about $4 billion in annual aid to Israel by the end of this year. The war began at the end of February.

Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeats incumbent Greg Abbott to become Texas governor, while former teacher James Talarico wins the U.S. Senate seat. In Ohio, Democrat Amy Acton beats Republican billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy, and in Iowa, Rob Sand secures the governorship for Democrats. The victories mark the first Democratic win in a Texas statewide office since 1994 and the first Democratic governor in Texas since 1990.

The Democratic Party now holds 54 seats in the Senate and 228 seats in the House, giving it clear control of both chambers. Voters flipped four Senate seats previously held by Republicans, including a win in Texas that made James Talarico the state's first Democratic senator since 1988 and a victory in South Carolina. In Texas, Gina Hinojosa also became the first Latina governor. The Justice Department deployed about 1,000 monitors to polling places nationwide, citing election integrity as a top priority.