Democrats Win Early Senate Races and Georgia Governorship on 2026 Midterm Election Night

Democrats won three early Senate races on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, as polls closed in midterm elections covering all 435 House seats, 35 Senate seats and 36 governorships. Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff beat Rep. Mike Collins, Rep. Chris Pappas defeated former Sen. John Sununu in New Hampshire, and former Gov. Roy Cooper flipped a Republican-held seat in North Carolina. In Georgia's governor's race, the Associated Press called the contest for Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms over Republican Rick Jackson, with Bottoms at 55.4 percent and 75 percent of the vote counted. She would be the first Black female governor in U.S. history and take office January 11. In Florida, Democrats won three House seats redrawn to favor Republicans, all of which backed Trump in 2024. Republicans control both chambers; Democrats hold 212 House seats and need 218. In Alaska, a federal judge on Sunday dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit seeking to block certification if Sen. Dan Sullivan gets fewer votes than Democrat Mary Peltola.

Left-leaning CBS News leads with Alaska, featuring Peltola's claim that Republican fraud accusations backfired, her criticism of Sullivan's Iran war votes, the dismissed lawsuit and a New York Times report on an alleged effort to recruit a second Dan Sullivan, which she denied. The Guardian US offers live results and Cook Political Report ratings: seven Senate tossups, of which Democrats need four, and 18 House tossups. Right-leaning Daily Caller leads with Georgia, citing AP and NBC calls for Bottoms and Ossoff and contrasting Bottoms' and Jackson's platforms. It says only that House seats may split. Breitbart instead covers commentator Cenk Uygur's forecast of 55 Senate and 242 House Democratic seats, set against Decision Desk HQ's lower projections and questions about Michigan candidate Abdul El-Sayed. Both sides report Democratic strength in Georgia, but they differ on focus. Semafor adds a distinct angle: Republican underperformance in Florida's redrawn districts, with DeSantis blaming voter anger over the Iran war.