Democrats Flip Senate Seats in North Carolina and South Carolina as Midterm Results Come In

Democrats flipped Republican-held seats in North Carolina and South Carolina on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, as they sought the net gain of four seats needed to end the Republicans' 53-47 Senate majority. Media projections showed former Gov. Roy Cooper beating Republican Michael Whatley, a former Republican National Committee chair backed by President Donald Trump, to succeed retiring Sen. Thom Tillis. In South Carolina, Democrat Annie Andrews defeated Sen. Darline Graham, appointed after her brother Lindsey Graham died July 11, and is the first Democrat to win a Senate race there since 1998. The Associated Press also called Georgia for Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. In North Carolina's 11th House district, Democrat Jamie Ager beat Republican Jennifer Balkcom. She replaced Rep. Chuck Edwards after ethics findings of inappropriate conduct toward two staffers.

Left-leaning outlets zoom out or down. The Guardian leads with the national contest, Ossoff's early call, and what a Democratic Senate could do: block bills, issue subpoenas and reject judicial nominees. Mother Jones covers Ager's House flip, citing his $2.3 million third-quarter haul against Balkcom's roughly $350,000 and the Edwards ethics findings. The right-leaning Blaze stresses Cooper's unbeaten record, his partial-count lead of 64.6% to 33.7%, and Tillis's clashes with Trump. The New York Post leads with Andrews' upset, stressing Graham's thin national experience and her break with Trump over a sanctions waiver. Both sides report Democratic gains and Trump-related tensions. The left frames them around Trump's standing and Senate control; the right centers on individual candidates. Al Jazeera and The Hindu largely match the Cooper coverage.