Democrats unleash a Blue Tsunami on Trumpism in the midterm elections, perhaps marking a return to competent government that can actually govern in the U.S.

(Getty Images, The Week)

When reports early this week (including here at Legal Schnauzer) showed that Democrats -- according to the final poll of the 2026 cycle -- were leading U.S. Senate races in seven swing states, many Americans who yearn to be free from the chaos of our nightmarish experience under the narcissistic reign of Donald Trump likely started seeing reason to hope. Perhaps they even started forming headlines in their heads that signaled a possible escape from a distinctly ugly and corrupt form of Republicanism that has controlled much of our government over the past 10 years.

If hopeful headlines were to become a reality, they likely would begin to appear this morning, on the day after the midterm elections. Well, that day is here and so are the headlines, such as this one at Raw Story -- "Breaking: Shocker as a red-state revolt hands Democrats the Senate and full control of Congress." For good measure, a similar story, published jointly at Rolling Stone and Yahoo! News, carried this headline: "Democrats win total control of Congress." It includes this passage about what lies ahead:

With a majority in the Senate and House, Democrats are now free to pursue an ambitious legislative agenda during Trump's final two years in office. Trump is entering his lame-duck period as a deeply unpopular president beset by scandal and crises of his own making. While he will likely use his presidential veto to keep many of a Democratic Congress' bills from passing, control over both Houses will give the Democrats a powerful platform to both investigate Trump's actions in the first half of his second term and set the tone for their agenda going into the next open presidential election in 2028.

The Republicans are well aware of this.

"They will turn every committee of Congress into an investigative body, and they'll go after the president's family, the Cabinet, his donors and friends," Speaker of the House Mike Johnson told a room of Christian conservatives earlier this year. "Half of you in this room will be targeted. I run the protection program. I'll take care of you," he added.

Johnson probably never dreamed a Blue Wave would cost him his speakership. But come January, he will turn over the gravel to Democrat Hakeem Jeffries. That might mean Johnson won't be able to protect anyone. The Republican indignities, after tying their fortunes almost 100 percent to Trump, probably will not end there. How dominating were the Democrats on election day? A look at a scorecard from our preview story shows the leads Dems held in the final New York Times/Siena poll:

• Michigan: Abdul El-Sayed +11 (53–42)

• Texas: James Talarico +7 (50–43)

• Maine: Troy Jackson +6 (51–45)

• Ohio: Sherrod Brown +5 (49–44)

• Kansas: Adam Hamilton +5 (49–44)

•  Alaska: Mary Peltola +2 (48–46)

• Iowa: Josh Turek +1 (48–47)

Now, let's look at how things turned out last night:

* In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed led Republican Mike Rogers 51.9% to 46.1% when Associated Press (AP) called the race;

* In Texas, James Talarico, at 59.4%, led Republican Ken Paxton when AP called the race;

* In Maine, Troy Jackson, led 53.9% to 46.0% when Republican Susan Collins conceded;

* In Ohio, Sherrod Brown defeated Republican Jon Husted, 49.6% to 45.5%;

* In Kansas, Adam Hamilton defeated Republican Roger Marshall, 51.1% to 45.9%;

* In Alaska, Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan led Democrat Mary Peltola, 48.7% to 47.5%. That was at 2:20 a.m. CT, and the race had not been called;

*In Iowa, Josh Turek defeated Republican Ashley Hinson, 50.5% to 46.4%

Significant Senate races that did not make the Times/Siena top seven also were held yesterday. Here is how they turned out:

* In Georgia, Jon Ossoff handily defeated Republican Mike Collins, 58.9% to 41.1%

* In South Carolina, Dr. Annie Andrews pulled perhaps the biggest surprise of the day, defeating Republican Darline Graham, 51.1% to 46.7%

* In North Carolina, Roy Cooper defeated Republican Michael Whatley, 58.7 % to 39.1%

* Mississippi produced the closest Senate race of the day, with Scott Colom leading Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith, 48.95% to 48.94%. AP had not called the race as of 2;50 a.m. CT.

How do the final poll numbers compare to yesterday's results? The poll had Democrats leading in seven races, and they won six of them, with no losses -- and the Alaska race too close to call. In the other four races we spotlighted, -- in traditionally deep red territory across the South (stretching from North Carolina to Mississippi) -- Democrats performed remarkably well. They won handily in North Carolina and Georgia, pulled a stunning upset in South Carolina, and hanging tight in a Mississippi race that was too close to call. Raw Story, in an article posted at 10:38 CT,  provides an overview of what yesterday's results mean, so let's take a look:

Democrats have won control of the U.S. Senate, ending the Republican majority and dealing a major blow to President Donald Trump’s agenda.

NBC News and Decision Desk HQ projected Tuesday night that Democrats will hold at least 51 seats, enough to overturn the GOP’s 53-47 majority. Democrats needed a net gain of four seats and have flipped six so far. Because Vice President JD Vance breaks ties, Democrats needed 51 seats rather than 50 to take control.

Democrats flipped Republican-held seats in Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas, according to NBC’s results tracker, several of them in states Trump carried by double digits in 2024.

The win hands Democrats both chambers of Congress, after they were projected to take the House earlier Tuesday. When the new Congress convenes in January, they’ll control the Senate agenda and committee gavels, along with the power to block Trump’s judicial and executive branch nominees. Trump still holds a veto, which he has promised to use against Democratic legislation.