The Guardian view on the US midterms: joy for Democrats, a rout for Republicans and a reprieve for democracy

Voters have delivered a damning verdict on Donald Trump’s presidency with this Congressional landslide

Bitter experience made Democrats wary of believing that the blue wave predicted by polls would materialise. What arrived was not just victory but a rout: control of Congress and a Republican wipeout. It was an astounding humiliation for a president whose political brand is power. Donald Trump won it back in 2024 by promising voters lower prices and no foreign wars. He lost it by launching an illegal conflict that hit them in the pocket and imposing hefty tariffs too. He urged voters to pretend that he was on the ticket and they delivered a verdict that could not have been more damning.

Two years ago, retaking the House looked like a genuine fight for Democrats, and the Senate a long shot. On Tuesday, they needed to flip four more seats to gain a 51-seat Senate majority. Within hours of polls closing, they had 54, with two more races in the balance, and had easily passed the 218 seats needed for a House majority. This appears to be the biggest congressional landslide since 1976, in Watergate’s aftermath.

What was stunning was not only that Democrats claimed deep red states like Kansas, but that they did it so decisively. Mr Trump carried South Carolina by 18 points in 2024; Annie Andrews beat her rival for the Senate by almost five points. James Talarico won by 12 points in Texas, which the president carried by nearly 14 points. Democrats also flipped governorships, winning their first gubernatorial majority for two decades.

Two years after Kamala Harris’s crushing defeat by Mr Trump – and having watched even greater chaos and cruelty wreaked in his second term – Democrats are rightly rejoicing. Tuesday night delivered abundant new talent and a generational shift too. The first black and native American women and first out gay man will take their seats in the Senate. Yet the party remains unpopular and the battles over its future are just beginning. For progressives, Abdul el-Sayed’s senate win in Michigan is proof that they can win in purple states. But the scale of Democratic victory gives Hakeem Jeffries – poised to become the first black House speaker – a greater cushion against justified and necessary pressure from the left.

Simultaneously, a Republican faultline over whether to embrace Trumpism or move away from it is yawning. Mr Trump picked candidates (disastrously) and campaigned vigorously – yet seemed strangely detached. Republicans have genuflected to him because he wins. A growing number now believe that they can only win by facing him down – but fear being crushed in the process.

Strikingly, Democrats – notably the senator Jon Ossoff who was easily re-elected in Georgia – successfully tied the affordability crisis to corruption. They will use their newly gained power in Congress to pursue accountability, though Mr Trump’s executive overreach and refusal to accept legislative constraints are unlikely to shift. A vengeful and erratic president who is now wounded and wants to change the narrative may in some ways be more dangerous at home and abroad – notably on Iran.

At least, faced with results “too big to rig”, Mr Trump had to say that he would accept them. The Republican campaign hit new lows, but election officials (including Republicans) pushed back against voter-suppression efforts. Gerrymandering proved ineffective – with black voters turning out in response, and Latino voters whom Republicans counted on swinging back towards the Democrats. So did culture war attacks, vile bigotry and personal smears and a huge spending advantage. This was a bad election for Elon Musk and other big tech donors, with a voter revolt against datacentres and cronyism. It was not just a defeat for Republicans and a good day for Democrats, but a critical victory for democracy itself.