Democrats won control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2026 midterm elections, according to CBS News estimates, as several Republican efforts to redraw congressional districts failed to yield the gains the party sought. Despite Republican-led redistricting initiatives in states such as Texas, Ohio, and North Carolina, the GOP was on track to lose seats in many of the areas it attempted to remap.
The redistricting efforts followed a period of mid-decade map changes, a practice previously considered rare. In Texas, Republicans redrew maps after Donald Trump requested the state legislature target an additional five seats for the GOP. In Louisiana and Alabama, Republican-led legislatures adjusted boundaries following a June Supreme Court ruling concerning the Voting Rights Act and the use of race in district lines.
In Texas, Republicans entered Election Day with 24 seats but won 24, while Democrats gained one to reach 14. In Ohio, where a Republican-led commission sought to flip two Democratic seats, Democrats instead won seven districts with an eighth estimated as likely Democratic. In Missouri, court challenges blocked a new map, and Democrats flipped a district to move from two seats to three. Meanwhile, California Democrats successfully utilized a ballot measure to pick up seats, and Utah's map was replaced by a court-selected version that created a Democratic-leaning district in Salt Lake City.
This election outcome directly affects 435 congressional districts, determining which party sets the legislative agenda for the next two years. In Utah, the court-ordered map led to Democrat Ben McAdams winning the 1st District by 47 points.
CBS News estimates project Democrats will hold between 251 and 268 seats in the House. Furthermore, in Maryland, voters approved Question 3 by a 20-point margin, which will allow for the redrawing of maps.
The failure of several "gerrymandering" attempts—where one party draws lines to favor its own candidates—led to what is referred to as a "dummymander." In Alabama, Republican efforts to eliminate majority-Black districts saw both Democratic incumbents win reelection. What happens next includes the final certification of results in states with toss-up races, such as Florida and North Carolina, and the scheduled runoffs in Louisiana's 5th District and Tennessee's 9th District. Maryland lawmakers are expected to begin their map-redrawing process following the successful ballot initiative.