WASHINGTON — Democrats notched a string of victories in US elections on Tuesday, flipping two Republican-held Senate seats and making inroads in conservative House districts as President Donald Trump faced the prospect of a bruising election setback.The opposition party also retained key Senate seats, while victory in Georgia’s governor race added to mounting signs that Republicans face a difficult night.The vote was a nationwide judgment on Trump’s turbulent second term, with discontent over living costs, tariffs and the US war against Iran — which has driven fuel prices sharply higher — weighing on the president and his party.Democrats captured a Republican-held House seat in North Carolina, in a district Trump won comfortably in 2024, while several contests in Florida suggested that redrawn electoral boundaries might not deliver the gains Republicans had hoped for.Democrat Annie Andrews has won an upset victory over Republican Darline Graham for a Senate seat in South Carolina, a sign that dissatisfaction with Trump has seeped into even some of the most conservative states.Andrews’ victory is a defeat for Trump, who backed Graham despite doubts within his party, and it puts Democrats one seat closer to the four they need to retake control of the chamber. Democrats have also flipped a seat in North Carolina and won key races in Georgia and New Hampshire on Tuesday as they tried to recapture majorities in Congress and break Republicans’ unified hold on power in Washington.Graham was appointed to the Senate in July after her brother, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, died unexpectedly, and she decided to run for a full term of her own. Andrews, a doctor, will be the first woman elected to the Senate from South Carolina. She’s the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in the state in more than 20 years.Democrats who once saw the political map as an almost impossible lift are now hopeful that a Senate majority is within reach, even though their path runs through several more conservative states.Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff won reelection in Georgia, defeating Rep. Mike Collins and denying Republicans a seat they had once seen as a top pickup opportunity. Rep. Chris Pappas won a Senate race in New Hampshire, defeating former Sen. John Sununu to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.The elections could drastically shift power in Washington. Democrats were cautiously optimistic as they watched Republicans spend the campaign’s final stretch pumping tens of millions of dollars into states and districts that Trump won handily two years ago. They’re betting that discontent over Trump’s failure to stop inflation and perceptions that he’s focused more on gilding the nation’s capital than easing their pain at the pump will turn the tide in their favor.In a further blow to Republicans, former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms was projected to win Georgia’s governorship, becoming the nation’s first Black woman governor and ending 24 years of Republican rule.There were important Republican victories, however.In Florida, Trump-backed Byron Donalds won the governor’s race, becoming the state’s first Black governor, while Republican Ashley Moody retained a US Senate seat.Democrat Roy Cooper, a popular former North Carolina governor, delivered one of the night’s most consequential results by defeating Michael Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chairman handpicked by Trump.North Carolina has voted for Trump three times, but Cooper campaigned on a pledge to lower living costs and will replace retiring Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who had clashed with the president.Democrats also held an open Senate seat in New Hampshire, where Chris Pappas won election to become the first openly gay man to serve in the chamber.Republicans began the night with 53 of the Senate’s 100 seats, leaving Democrats needing a net gain of four for control. All 435 House seats were contested, with Democrats needing to flip just three.House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters the country was “on the brink of a dramatic change of direction.”If Democrats capture the House, they could block Trump’s legislative plans and use congressional committees to investigate his administration over the Iran war, deportations and alleged corruption.A Senate takeover would go further, allowing them to block judicial nominees and senior administration appointments, fundamentally changing Trump’s ability to govern during the final two years of his presidency.For voters, the fight was often about the cost of everyday life.“Rent, groceries, utility bills, and property taxes keep climbing, and I want people in Congress who will actually do something about costs,” 24-year-old Los Angeles voter Taylor Cook told AFP.Trump defended his record in a final television appearance Tuesday, praising his tariffs, immigration crackdown and military campaign against Iran.“We have to keep America great. We’re great now. We were terrible two years ago,” the 80-year-old told Fox News.Reflecting Trump’s rhetoric, Republican voter Maru Restrepo, 70, told AFP in Miami that Democrats had become “very socialist,” reflecting the fierce ideological divisions of the campaign.Uncertainty remained over whether Trump would accept an unfavorable result. He has repeatedly made unsubstantiated claims of election fraud and tried to overturn his 2020 presidential defeat.“I veto everything,” Trump said in a podcast released Monday, contemplating the possibility of a Democratic Congress before adding that he might eventually negotiate deals.
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