Democrats on track to win Senate control, setting up Iran war showdown
Affordability concerns tied to the Iran war helped propel Democrats to victory in several battleground states.
WASHINGTON — Democrats are poised to win control of the US Senate in Tuesday’s midterm election, benefiting from voter frustration over a war with Iran that’s helped drive up fuel prices and inflation.
The Associated Press projected that Democrats will flip at least seven Republican-held seats, exceeding the four-seat gain needed to retake the Senate. Their party has also won a majority in the US House of Representatives, setting up a divided government during President Donald Trump’s final two years in office.
Voters in traditional Republican strongholds helped propel Democrats to victory on Tuesday. In South Carolina, Annie Andrews defeated Republican Sen. Darline Graham to become the state’s first Democratic senator since 1998. In Texas, Democratic state legislator James Talarico defeated Ken Paxton, the state’s Trump-backed Republican attorney general. In Ohio, Democrat Sherrod Brown will return to the Senate two years after losing reelection. In North Carolina, former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper flipped the seat held by retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis.
The midterms come as the United States and Iran continue negotiations, primarily mediated by Qatar, to end the war that Trump launched on Feb. 28. Hours after Vice President JD Vance said Monday he was optimistic the two sides could reach a negotiated settlement, the US military carried out limited strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island.
A new war powers resolution is likely to pass under a Democratic majority in the Senate, representing a symbolic rebuke of Trump’s war against Iran. The last attempt in September failed narrowly in the Republican-led Senate by a vote of 49 to 50.
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