Supporters cheer while watching early results during a watch party for Democratic US Senate candidate Troy Jackson in Portland, Maine, on 3 November 2026Image source, Reuters
ByAnthony ZurcherNorth America correspondent
  • Published26 minutes ago

This is already shaping up to be a very good night for Democrats, with much of the vote counted in the eastern United States and polls closing in key Midwestern battleground states.

Two Senate races that a year ago were thought to be battlegrounds have turned out to be slam dunks for the Democrats - Jon Ossoff's re-election race in Georgia and the open Republican-held seat in North Carolina.

That North Carolina contest, where former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper bested Republican Party insider Michael Whatley, was the first of the four pick-ups Democrats need in order to wrest control of the Senate.