Democrats seize dozens of House seats
Voters in Tuesday's midterms ousted long-time Republican incumbents across the Midwest, Northeast, and Texas, reshaping the congressional map.
By Jack Weber ·
Democrats captured dozens of U.S. House districts on Tuesday, including seats in deep-red areas of Texas and suburban regions of the Northeast. The party won back control of chambers in states that had shifted heavily toward Republicans in the 2024 cycle. These victories followed a wave of redistricting changes enacted in Texas and California last year.
Several upsets occurred in districts where Democrats defeated GOP lawmakers who won by double-digit margins in 2024. Fred Wellman unseated Ann Wagner in Missouri’s 2nd District. Wagner had won by 12 points two years prior. J.D. Ford defeated Victoria Spartz in Indiana’s 5th District. Spartz had secured reelection by more than 18 points in 2024.
Zach Dembo won Kentucky’s 6th District in a race forecasters had recently moved toward Democrats. The seat had been held by Andy Barr, who won by 26 points in 2024. Mitchell Berman defeated Bryan Steil in Wisconsin’s 1st District. A Democrat has not represented that area in over 30 years. Teresa Benitez-Thompson won Nevada’s 2nd District, becoming the first Democrat to represent Northern Nevada in decades.
Rematches played out in several states. Janelle Stelson defeated Scott Perry in Pennsylvania’s 10th District. Elaine Luria beat Jen Kiggans in Virginia’s 2nd District. Luria had lost that seat in 2022 after redistricting favored Republicans. Rebecca Cooke unseated Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin’s 3rd District. A third consecutive rematch in Iowa’s 1st District ended with Mariannette Miller-Meeks losing her seat.
The Midwest saw major shifts in congressional delegations. Sean McCann defeated Bill Huizenga in Michigan’s 4th District. William Lawrence won Michigan’s 7th District, and Christina Hines took Michigan’s 10th District. Brian Poindexter defeated Max Miller in Ohio’s 7th District. Lindsay James and Sarah Trone Garriott won Iowa’s 2nd and 3rd Districts respectively. These results mean Iowa will have three Democrats and one Republican in its House delegation starting next year.
Texas Republicans redrew maps last year to target five Democratic seats. They flipped only one, the 32nd District, where Jace Yarbrough defeated Dan Barrios. Democrats captured two red districts. Bobby Pulido won Texas’ 15th District, and Katy Padilla Stout defeated Brandon Herrera in the 23rd District. These wins coincided with Democratic victories for governor and senator in the state.
California Democrats secured all five seats they targeted under their new redistricting plan. Mike McGuire won the 1st District, and Richard Pan took the 6th District. Randy Villegas defeated David Valadao in the 22nd District. Linda Sánchez easily won the 41st District, and Marni von Wilpert captured the 48th District. In other states, Ben McAdams won Utah’s 1st District, and Manny Rutinel defeated Gabe Evans in Colorado’s 8th District.
