6 election night shockers that turned longtime Republican strongholds blue

The 2026 midterms have been dubbed a referendum on President Donald Trump, and voters have decided.

Republicans have lost their control of the House and Senate, with Democrats so far winning 54 Senate seats and flipping seven of those seats. Meanwhile, Republicans’ slim House majority was wiped away, as Democrats have won 228 seats, flipping 25 seats, and Republicans are at 139 seats.

Here are the top six surprises from Tuesday’s election night.

Sen. Susan Collins unseated

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, was ousted from her seat by Democratic candidate Troy Jackson, a fifth-generation logger, who campaigned on abolishing ICE and establishing Medicare for All.

Jackson’s victory marks the end of Collins’ nearly three-decade tenure as a bipartisan moderate. Collins previously broke ranks with Republicans on major votes such as Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, the effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act and Trump’s second impeachment trial.

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Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, departs the chamber at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on July 24, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

She is Maine’s longest-serving member of Congress and chaired the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, a position that gave her significant influence over federal spending and funding for Maine projects.

Meanwhile, Jackson, who has been involved in Maine politics since the 2000s, entered the campaign in July after former Democratic nominee Graham Platner dropped out of the race following allegations of sexual assault, which he denied. Platner’s campaign was riddled with controversy for months, following old Reddit posts from an account belonging to him in which he made disparaging remarks about poor White people and referred to himself as a «communist.» He also faced criticism for a tattoo that resembled a Nazi symbol.

El-Sayed wins U.S. Senate

Abdul El-Sayed won the swing state of Michigan, becoming the first Muslim to be elected to the Senate.

The former Detroit Health Department leader faced pushback from a coalition of Jewish voters and Democrats concerned about his rhetoric on Israel and his ties to controversial political streamer Hasan Piker.

In his victory speech, El-Sayed invoked the Arabic phrase «alhamdulillah,» which means «praise be to God.»

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The progressive candidate also issued a warning shot to his defeated opponent, former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers.

«Enjoy your retirement,» El-Sayed said of the Republican candidate. «You chose hate, and Michigan chose hope. May we never have to see the likes of you in this state again.»

El-Sayed ran his campaign on a two-point agenda, consisting of Medicare for All and getting corporate dollars out of politics. While not a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), El-Sayed campaigned with socialist heavyweights, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

Meanwhile, Rogers was joined by President Donald Trump on the campaign trail, who warned that an El-Sayed victory would be detrimental to the country.

«If Abdul and the Democrats win, they will open the floodgates and invite hordes of jihadis to our shores, creating a nightmare of violence and terror until you cannot even have a Christmas,» Trump said at a rally last month.

Abdul El-Sayed, Democratic Senate candidate from Michigan, leaves the stage after speaking during the Michigan Democratic Party’s 2026 nominating convention in Lansing, Mich., on Aug. 29, 2026. (Sarah Rice/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott out

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas lost his re-election bid to Democratic candidate Gina Hinojosa, a state representative, ending his more than a decade in office.

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«It has been the joy of my life to be the governor of the state of Texas,» Abbott said to a crowd of supporters.

His defeat followed years of delivering key conservative priorities, including the nation’s largest school voucher program, expansions of gun rights, stronger border enforcement, restrictions on abortion access and major property tax cuts. With affordability top of mind for voters, Abbott centered his re-election campaign on ensuring the cost of living remained low in Texas.

Meanwhile, Hinojosa framed the race as a fight against an affordability crisis being fueled by «the billionaires and the corporations,» a message that carried her to victory and ended 36 years of Republican control of the governor’s office.

Her key campaign promises included implementing moratoriums on data centers, rolling back the tax breaks Abbott gave to data centers and ending the school voucher program.

«Everything is bigger in Texas, including the shock of this win,» Hinojosa said to a crowd of supporters. «We shocked the world tonight. With a Texas chip on our shoulder, we show that anything is possible.» 

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump, who has been an ally of Abbott since 2016, blamed Abbott for losing his seat on X.

«If Greg Abbott, the Governor of Texas, hadn’t become a RINO in the last six months of his Political Life, he wouldn’t have lost,» Trump wrote. «He went back to his original formula, and it wasn’t pretty!»

Talarico defeats Trump-backed Paxton

James Talarico will become the first Democratic senator to represent the Lone Star State in close to 40 years, defeating Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, who was backed by Trump.

The upset comes as national Republicans and supporting PACs poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Paxton’s campaign.

Trump and Paxton sought to portray Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian, as a far-left candidate, targeting his support for transgender minors and labeling him a «communist.» Trump also dubbed him «Talafreako.»

Paxton’s defeat comes as Trump took a gamble in endorsing him a week before the May runoff race against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

Trump dubbed Paxton a «true MAGA Warrior,» and said Cornyn was a «good man,» but said the incumbent was not always behind him when «times were tough.»

Ruby-red South Carolina elects Democratic senator

South Carolina Democratic Senate candidate Annie Andrews greets supporters during a midterm campaign rally on Nov. 1, 2026, in Myrtle Beach, S.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Darline Graham, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., lost her election bid to Democratic challenger Annie Andrews, a pediatrician.

Andrews’ victory marks the first time a Democrat has been elected to represent South Carolina in the U.S. Senate since 1998.

The loss came despite two Trump campaign appearances and Graham’s name recognition as Lindsey Graham’s sister. Her brother has held the office since 2003.

«She’s smart and incredible. She’ll never let you down,» Trump said as he praised Darline at an Oct. 21 stop in Upstate South Carolina.

After Lindsey passed away in July, Gov. Henry McMaster appointed his sister to fill out the remainder of the late senator’s current term, which concludes at the end of this year.

Lindsey had already won his primary race, so Darline ran in the special election following encouragement from Trump.

Democratic strategist Mally Smith told Fox News Digital that «South Carolina bows to no king.»

«President Trump tried to handpick his successor in South Carolina, and the voters emphatically rejected his choice. Americans are sick of electing MAGA puppets to higher office who enable Trump’s erratic behavior and blatant corruption,» said Smith.

GOP’s nearly 100-year reign in Kansas toppled

A Democratic candidate won the U.S. Senate seat for Kansas for the first time in 94 years, as megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton defeated first-term Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan.

Prior to the election, Marshall shared with Fox News Digital that he predicted if he wasn’t able to win his re-election bid, then he believed Republicans wouldn’t be able to maintain control of the Senate.

«I think that, you know, I’m not a political expert, I’m a physician, but if we lose Kansas, I don’t see how we keep control of the Senate,» Marshall told Fox News Digital in an interview before the election.

And Marshall’s pre-election prediction came true as Democrats reclaimed control of the Senate.

Political strategists have said Hamilton’s name recognition as the leader of the largest United Methodist church helped him in the state, while Marshall remained closely aligned with Trump, who joined him twice on the campaign trail weeks before the election.

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«He was able to bring Republicans, independents and Democrats together to pull a stunning upset. The combination of a blue environment, a scandal-plagued incumbent and a strong Democrat like Hamilton made this upset possible,» Democratic strategist Mally Smith said of Hamilton to Fox News Digital.