Democrats took the House, Senate and a good deal of Republican pride: So who are the real winners and losers?

Two years ago, Hakeem Jeffries was a minority leader watching Republicans run the table in Washington. He is now the presumptive Speaker of the House, the most powerful member of Congress, and is expected to take the gavel in January.By Tuesday, projections showed Democrats winning 254 seats to the Republicans’ 165, with 16 races still to be called. NBC News projects they will finish with 259, which would be the party's biggest majority in more than three decades.A narrow one would have handed a dozen or so left-wing members a veto over his speakership and his agenda, and several incoming Democrats are still withholding their support. He can now afford at least three dozen defections.The same arithmetic works on legislation: he can lose his party's fringe on a bill and still pass it. Jeffries is set to become the first Black speaker in American history, and he inherits the two things this White House fears most from a Democratic House: control of spending and the power to subpoena. Loser: Donald Trump For two months, Donald Trump told voters to “pretend I'm on the ballot.” He took that message to Texas, Iowa and Kansas, states where his party should never have needed the help. Voters did as they were asked. Trump won Texas by 13.6 points in 2024.