Democrats projected to win U.S. Congress in midterm elections

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Democrats projected to win U.S. Congress in midterm elections

2026-11-04 20:06 Last Updated At：21:44

Democrats are projected to flip control of the U.S. Senate after winning several key races in battleground states, securing control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections, election forecasting agency Decision Desk HQ reported late Tuesday.

Before the midterms, Republicans held 218 seats in the House of Representatives, compared with 214 for Democrats. The chamber also had one independent member and two vacancies, one in a Republican-held district and the other in a Democratic-held district, following the resignations of their respective representatives in 2026.

With 218 seats required for a majority, Democrats needed a net gain of just three seats to regain control of the House.

The latest projections from NBC indicated that Democrats could win more than 250 seats, marking a major political turnaround in the House. Several media outlets described the outcome as a "blue wave" or even a "blue tsunami."

Before the Senate elections, Republicans held a 53-47 majority over Democrats. Democrats needed a net gain of four seats to reach the 51-seat threshold for a majority.

As votes were counted throughout election night, U.S. media outlets projected Democratic victories in several states, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Kansas, Ohio and Maine.

Notably, South Carolina, Texas and Kansas are all traditionally Republican strongholds, having voted for Donald Trump in each of the past three presidential elections.

Texas Democratic Senate candidate and state Representative James Talarico is projected to defeat Republican candidate and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, becoming the first Democrat since 1988 to win a U.S. Senate seat in the state. Democrat Gina Hinojosa is also projected to win the Texas governor's race and become the state's first Democratic governor in more than 30 years.

In Kansas, Democratic Senate candidate Adam Hamilton is projected to defeat Republican incumbent Senator Roger Marshall, becoming the first Democrat since 1932 to win a Senate election in the midwestern state.

The emergence of these "blue sprouts" in traditionally Republican strongholds has attracted widespread attention.

2026 WIC Wuzhen Summit puts AI governance, digital cooperation in focus

AI governance, open-source development and digital cooperation are taking center stage at the ongoing 2026 World Internet Conference (WIC) Wuzhen Summit, which opened on Tuesday in Wuzhen, east China's Zhejiang Province.

Held under the theme "Open Source and Openness, Joint Contribution and Shared Benefits -- Jointly Building a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace," the summit has brought together global participants as AI reshapes industries and economies, prompting debate over the rules and cooperation needed to guide AI development.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote address. He called for a people-centered approach to internet development, while stressing open innovation, digital security and the sharing of digital dividends.

"This requires robust, multi-stakeholder internet governance to ensure a global digital ecosystem that is safe, secure, and fundamentally designed to serve all nations and drive global development," said Li Junhua, U.N. under-secretary-general for economic and social affairs, in his speech at the event.

Joe Tsai, co-founder and chairman of Chinese multinational conglomerate Alibaba Group, said open-source models could broaden access to AI.

"Open-source models can foster a global developer ecosystem, cut R and D costs for small and medium-sized enterprises, and bring particular value to less widely spoken languages and developing countries. They also allow developers in emerging economies to build local AI applications and innovation ecosystems without starting from scratch," he said.

Nii Narku Quaynor, chairman of Ghana Dot Com and an Internet Hall of Fame inductee, stressed the importance of inclusion.

"Openness is a simple word, but it carries a powerful message about how we develop technology, share knowledge, and shape our common future in cyberspace. We highlight three dimensions of openness: open documents, open standards, and meaningful participation, particularly from Africa and the Global South," he said.

The summit will run until Thursday.