Reuters US Domestic News Summary

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Democrat Josh Turek flips Republican-held US Senate seat in Iowa

Democrat Josh Turek won Iowa’s US Senate race on Tuesday, according to media projections, defeating Trump-backed Republican Ashley Hinson to become the state’s first Democratic senator in more than a decade and scoring a key pickup in the battle for Senate control. President Donald Trump carried Iowa in three straight presidential elections, but Turek’s victory underscored Democratic gains in a state that had initially ​been expected to remain safely Republican.

Hakeem Jeffries poised to become speaker of US House of Representatives

The Democrats' midterm election win puts Hakeem Jeffries in line to become the first Black speaker of the US House of Representatives, with the dual challenge of opposing President Donald Trump while bridging the gap between ​his party's moderates and its more vocal progressives. As speaker, Jeffries, representing a New York City congressional district, would preside over a majority that will be sworn in the first week of January, taking the reins from ‌Republicans who controlled the House for ​the past four years.

With US midterms underway, courts rebuff Trump's pressure on state election officials

In the hours before polls opened for the US midterm elections on Tuesday, federal judges issued a series of rulings restricting the Trump administration's unprecedented efforts to pressure state election officials over alleged noncitizen voting. Over the past several months, as President Donald Trump's fellow Republicans geared up to defend their majorities in both houses of Congress, the administration ramped up a crackdown on noncitizen voting, which Trump allies say is a major problem even though evidence suggests it is exceedingly rare.

As Americans vote, Trump says US will stop $4 billion in aid to Israel

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he had made a deal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Washington would stop $4 billion in annual funding to Israel after this year, but will still sell weapons to its close Middle East ally.

In a surprise announcement as US voters headed to the polls for midterm elections that will decide whether Trump's Republicans will lose control of Congress, he cast the ‌move as partly meant to take away a "bad talking point" he said left-wing Democrats had used against Republicans over support for military assistance to Israel.

Democrats flip US Representative Tom Kean's New Jersey district

Democrat Rebecca Bennett defeated US Representative Tom Kean of New Jersey on Tuesday, according to US media, flipping a Republican-held seat. Bennett is a former US Navy helicopter pilot.

Trump acknowledges role of Iran war in Democratic sweep in midterm elections

President Donald Trump acknowledged on Wednesday that the US-Israeli war on Iran played a role in his party's sweeping defeat in the midterm elections, as Democrats won control of the House of Representatives and the Senate. "I think a part of it was Iran," Trump told Fox News in an interview; "Iran was a piece of it," he separately told The Wall Street Journal.

Democrats capture Congress in sweeping setback for Trump

Democrats captured majorities in both the Senate and House on Tuesday, scoring sweeping victories that reached deep into Republican strongholds as tens of millions of voters delivered a scathing rebuke to President Donald Trump. The size and breadth of the Democratic wave were still coming into focus, but the party prevailed in states long thought to be out of reach, including conservative bastions like South Carolina, Texas and Iowa.

Betting on US midterms brings rush, stress as serious money goes on the line

When polls close in the US midterm elections on Tuesday night, Noah Poser will be glued to his phone tracking dozens of large wagers he placed on prediction ‌markets. Poser, 28, who works in financial technology and has written about betting strategies in such markets, plans to track every change in the vote count from a friend's watch party in New York City.

Democrats take US Congress in sweeping midterm repudiation of Trump

Democrats seized control of both the Senate and House of Representatives on Tuesday, scoring sweeping victories in Republican strongholds for the first time in generations as tens of millions of voters delivered a scathing rebuke to President Donald Trump. Voters in conservative bastions who had propelled the president to his second term in office just two years ago swung dramatically toward Democrats, fueled by deep frustration over the unpopular war with Iran, ‌anxiety over the high cost of living and anger at Trump's stewardship of the country.

Democrat Acton defeats Republican Ramaswamy in Ohio governor race

Democratic candidate Amy Acton defeated Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in the race to become Ohio's next governor, a seat currently held by a Republican, US media projected on Tuesday.

Analysis-Trump's midterm drubbing demonstrates the power of data-centre opponents

Opponents of data centres were among the biggest winners of the Democrats' landslide wins in the US midterm elections, pointing to a shifting public mood on AI and, investors said, a possible slowdown of the boom that has propelled US economic growth and stock markets. The size and breadth of the Democratic wave were still coming into focus. But in gubernatorial races in Texas and Georgia, Democrats who campaigned in part on a moratorium on data centre development won offices that the party had not held for decades.

Trump says he is willing to accept midterm election results, NYT reports

US President Donald Trump said in an interview with the New York Times on Tuesday that he was willing to accept the results of the midterm elections in which his Republican Party was projected to lose control of the US House. "We'll work with the Democrats, and we’ll, you know, look forward to working with them. We’ll probably work something out," Trump was quoted as saying by the Times.

Elon Musk's business empire braces for Democratic wave as Texas flips blue

As Republicans suffered a landslide defeat and Texas elected its first Democratic governor in more than three decades, one of the biggest losers of the US midterms was not on the ballot: billionaire Elon Musk. The world's richest man spent nearly half a billion dollars to back Republican candidates and keep Texas red - a state home to his automaker Tesla, rocket-to-AI company SpaceX and a planned ⁠chipmaking venture between the two.

US Marine dies ​after training incident in Japan's Okinawa, ABC News reports

A US Marine died following a training incident in Japan's Okinawa, ABC News reported on Wednesday, citing the US Marine Corps. "It is with heavy ⁠hearts that 3rd Marine Division announces the death of a Marine following a training incident at Camp Schwab, Okinawa, Japan, on Nov. 3, 2026," the 3rd Marine Division said in the statement quoted by the report.

Democrat Troy Jackson ousts Republican Senator Susan Collins in Maine

Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins conceded to Democrat Troy Jackson on Tuesday, scoring a major pickup for Democrats in one of the midterms’ most competitive races. First elected in 1996, Collins had repeatedly survived as a moderate Republican in a state that has not backed her party for president since 1988. But this year she faced economic headwinds that helped Jackson overcome his late entry into the race.

Top takeaways from the US midterm elections

Democrats took control of Congress in Tuesday's US midterm elections, making extraordinary gains deep in Republican territory with voters delivering a sharp rebuke to President Donald Trump and ⁠his agenda. Here are some takeaways.

James Talarico becomes first Democrat to win statewide in Texas since 1994

State Representative James Talarico won the US Senate race in Texas on Tuesday, according to media projections, defeating President Donald Trump-backed Republican Ken Paxton to end Democrats’ 32-year statewide losing streak and give his party a major boost in the battle for Senate control. It was a striking Democratic breakthrough in a state Republicans have long dominated. Trump carried the state by 14 percentage points in 2024. Paxton, the Texas attorney general, has been at the center of controversies that include a 2023 impeachment and a securities fraud case.

Democrat Annie Andrews wins US Senate seat in South Carolina upset

Democrat Annie Andrews won a US Senate seat in conservative South Carolina on Tuesday, according to media projections, ousting Republican Darline Graham in a ​state President Donald Trump carried by 18 percentage points just two years ago. Andrews, a pediatrician, is the first Democrat to win a Senate seat in South Carolina in 28 years, a striking gain for a party that needed a net four seats to overturn Republicans' 53-47 majority.

Democrat Rob Sand wins Iowa governor race, projections show

Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand defeated Republican businessman Zach Lahn to become the first Democratic governor elected in the state since 2006, according to US media projections. He will replace outgoing Governor Kim Reynolds.

Democrat Sherrod Brown wins back US Senate seat in Ohio

Democrat Sherrod Brown won Ohio’s special US ⁠Senate election on Tuesday, according to US media projections, ousting Republican incumbent Jon Husted and boosting his party's chances of winning a majority in the chamber. Brown’s victory marked a comeback two years after losing his Senate seat and showed that Democrats could still win statewide in Ohio, where Republicans have become dominant since Trump’s political rise in 2016.

Democrat Andrews' South Carolina midterm victory defies prediction markets odds

Prediction markets notched their first high-profile miss of Tuesday's US midterm elections, as Democrat Annie Andrews ousted Republican Darline Graham to unexpectedly win a US Senate seat in conservative South Carolina. Prediction markets Kalshi and Polymarket had implied a 70% chance of Graham, the sister of the late US Senator Lindsey Graham, winning that race as of late afternoon Tuesday.

US intelligence sharing has fractured under Trump, officials say

US intelligence sharing on Iran and other global threats with Congress and across the federal government has slowed and, in some cases, temporarily ⁠stopped during ​President Donald Trump's second term, according to eight current and former officials and people briefed on the matter. Former officials and outside experts said the disruptions risk leaving policymakers with an incomplete picture of threats facing the country, echoing intelligence failures exposed after the Sept. 11, 2001, al Qaeda attacks. The slowdown comes as the administration weighs whether to resume strikes on Iran after the midterm elections on Tuesday.

'A mandate for change': Democrats remake Texas politics in election rout

Texas Democrats, shut out of every statewide office for more than three decades, have toppled Republicans from the top of the ballot to the bottom, remaking the political landscape of the nation’s largest conservative state in a single earth-shattering night. While James Talarico’s victory in the US Senate race and Gina Hinojosa’s defeat of three-term Governor Greg Abbott stole the headlines, Democratic candidates also triumphed in a series of lower-profile races on Tuesday, giving them the power to reshape the state's economic and political future.

Chris Pappas holds New Hampshire US Senate seat for Democrats

Democrat Chris Pappas won New Hampshire’s open US Senate seat on Tuesday, according to media projections, defeating Republican John Sununu and preserving a crucial Democratic seat as the party fights to take control of the chamber. Pappas’ victory denied Republicans a pickup in the cold-weather state, where high energy prices had become a major issue amid President Donald Trump’s war with Iran. He will succeed Democrat Jeanne Shaheen, who is retiring after 18 ⁠years.

Democrat Roy Cooper flips Republican-held US Senate seat in North Carolina

Democrat Roy Cooper won North Carolina’s US Senate race on Tuesday, according to media projections, defeating Trump-backed Republican Michael Whatley and giving Democrats a crucial pickup in their battle for Senate control. Cooper, a well-known former two-term governor, defeated a hand-picked candidate of President Donald Trump after campaigning on the high cost of food and energy as Trump’s approval ratings fell.

Adam Hamilton becomes first Democrat elected to US Senate from Kansas in 94 years

Adam Hamilton won the US Senate race in Kansas on Tuesday, according to media projections, ousting Trump-backed Republican Roger Marshall to become the state’s first Democrat elected senator in ⁠94 years and helping Democrats cement control of the chamber. It was a striking Democratic gain in a state President Donald Trump carried by more than 16 percentage points in 2024 and where the race ⁠had initially been expected to be safely Republican.

Trump hand-picked Senate candidates. Republicans paid the price

President Donald Trump asked voters to pretend he was on the ballot in the midterm elections and handpicked Republican candidates in some of the country's most consequential Senate races. By Tuesday night, voters had rejected them. Trump-backed candidates in South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas and Michigan all lost, handing Democrats control of the chamber and exposing the limits of Trump's political power.

Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeats Texas Governor Abbott in a stunning upset

Three-term Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott lost to Democratic state Representative Gina Hinojosa in a stunning upset that ends the Republican Party's three-decade hold on the governor's office, US media projected on Tuesday. Hinojosa makes history as the first Hispanic elected to lead the state. No Democrat has won statewide office in Texas since 1994, the longest drought in the nation.It was another surprising result during a strong night for Democrats, who were projected to win control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate with victories in conservative states ‌such as South Carolina and Kansas.

US Democratic win unlikely to ease firms' cost, tariff woes in near term, executives say

Global companies said ‌on Wednesday that Democrats' capture of the United States Congress is unlikely to change their near-term outlook, as businesses struggle with higher costs of energy and raw materials and a stretched US consumer. Some though welcomed the prospect of political stability.

Democrat Flanagan holds Minnesota Senate seat

Democrat Peggy Flanagan won Minnesota's US Senate race on Tuesday, US media outlets projected. Flanagan, the ​state's lieutenant governor, defeated Republican Michele Tafoya, a former NFL television journalist, extending Democrats' Senate winning streak in a state that has not elected a Republican senator since 2002.