Democrats Win Control of Congress
Democrats have won control of both chambers of the US Congress, reshaping the outlook for cryptocurrency legislation and giving the party greater power to scrutinize President Donald Trump’s crypto ventures during the final two years of his term.
What the crypto industry needs to know now:
Democrats have taken control of the US Senate, securing 54 seats to Republicans’ 44.Democrats have won 228 House seats to Republicans’ 139. Democrats need 51 Senate seats and 218 House seats to secure majorities in both chambers.The Blockchain Association’s election dashboard identifies 62 priority congressional races, including 18 Senate and 44 House contests.The results could influence the future of US cryptocurrency regulation, including the stalled CLARITY Act, and potentially intensify scrutiny of Trump’s crypto ventures if Democrats gain control of either chamber.
Election updates — coverage concluded
Live coverage has ended. Read our updates on key congressional races, crypto-backed candidates and election-night reactions below. Results and race calls are based on Associated Press reporting. Entries appear in reverse chronological order.
Nov. 4 at 03:35 ET:
Crypto-backed Republican Pete Ricketts wins Nebraska
Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts has defeated independent challenger Dan Osborn in Nebraska, where crypto political action committee Fairshake had reportedly spent nearly $11 million supporting Ricketts.
More recent spending data shows Fairshake-affiliated crypto super PAC Defend American Jobs spent approximately $13.5 million opposing Osborn, according to Federal Election Commission data compiled by Bankrolled as of Nov. 3.
Ricketts, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, has supported cryptocurrency legislation including the CLARITY Act and GENIUS Act. He voted to advance the CLARITY Act out of committee in May and supported an unsuccessful Senate procedural vote on the legislation in September, according to crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto.
Nov. 4 at 01:29 ET:
Democrats win US House, taking control of both chambers of Congress
Democrats have won control of the US House of Representatives, according to the Associated Press, flipping a chamber Republicans have held since 2023. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries is in line to become Speaker.
Control of the House gives Democrats the committee chairs and subpoena power. NBC says that includes oversight of Trump’s family and business ventures.
Nov. 4 at 01:02 ET:
Democrat Troy Jackson unseats Susan Collins in Maine Senate race
Democrat Troy Jackson defeated Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine, according to the Associated Press.
Collins was one of four Republicans to oppose advancing the CLARITY Act in September, expressing concerns over its impact on bank deposits.
Unlike Collins, Jackson has expressed support for clear cryptocurrency legislation in the run-up to the election. According to Stand with Crypto, which rates Jackson as “very pro crypto,” he called to end the debanking of “lawful crypto businesses, and ensure Americans’ right to self-custody digital assets.”
Nov. 3 at 23:51 ET:
Trump congratulates Democrats on Senate win
“My message is congratulations to the Democrats, and I look forward to working with you for the good of our country,” President Donald Trump told CBS News’ senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang.
Nov. 3 at 23:37 ET:
Democrats win US Senate majority
Democrats have won control of the US Senate, according to the Associated Press.
The majority was secured after Democrat Josh Turek won the Senate race in Iowa, bringing Democrats and independents who caucus with them to 51 seats.
The result reshapes the outlook for the stalled CLARITY Act and determines which lawmakers lead committees overseeing the industry.
Democratic control could also bring more congressional scrutiny of Trump-linked crypto businesses and regulators’ decisions. Control of the Senate could also affect confirmation of future presidential nominees to regulatory posts.
“It’s too early to say exactly what this means for crypto, but one thing is clear: nothing will pass without cross-partisan support,” Jerome de Tychey, president of Ethereum France and co-founder of EthCC, told Cointelegraph.
Nov. 3 at 23:28 ET:
Democrats on brink of controlling Congress
Democrats are now in control of 50 Senate seats — one short of a majority — after flipping five seats in GOP states, some that hadn’t seen a Democratic senator in power for decades.
Earlier, Decision Desk HQ projected the Democratic Party to win a majority in the US House of Representatives.
Nov. 3 at 23:12 ET:
Sherrod Brown wins in Ohio, flips Senate seat to the Democrats
In Ohio, Democrat Sherrod Brown, a longtime crypto critic, beat incumbent Republican Senator Jon Husted in a race that has attracted approximately $63 million in crypto industry spending.
That includes about $56 million from Fairshake and $7 million from the Winklevoss-backed Digital Freedom Fund, with both groups spending to support Husted or oppose Brown.
Crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto characterizes Brown as strongly opposed to cryptocurrency, citing 17 statements and his 2024 vote against overturning the SEC’s SAB 121 crypto custody accounting guidance.
Brown was also targeted by crypto industry spending in 2024, when Fairshake affiliate Defend American Jobs spent more than $40 million supporting Republican Bernie Moreno, who defeated Brown in that year’s Senate election.
Nov. 3 at 23:11 ET:
Another GOP stronghold falls: Democrats win Texas Senate race
Democrat James Talarico has won Texas’ US Senate race against Republican Ken Paxton, according to the Associated Press, flipping another Republican-held seat.
Talarico becomes the first Democrat to win a statewide election in Texas since 1994. As of 11 pm ET, he led Paxton by approximately 1.09 million votes, with 56.1% to Paxton’s 42.2%, according to Decision Desk HQ. Counting was continuing.
Paxton received support from the Winklevoss-backed Digital Freedom Fund, although both candidates earned A ratings from crypto advocacy group Stand With Crypto.
Paxton has called for the passage of the CLARITY Act, arguing that clear regulations are necessary to maintain US competitiveness in digital assets. In a June statement, he said the country must become the “crypto capital of the world” and support innovation and growth.
Talarico has similarly called for clear regulations that protect consumers while allowing innovation. As a Texas state representative, he also voted in 2025 to establish a state strategic Bitcoin reserve, according to legislative records cited by Stand With Crypto.
Nov. 3 at 22:38 ET:
Democrats win South Carolina Senate seat in major upset
Democrat Annie Andrews has defeated Republican Sen. Darline Graham in South Carolina, according to the Associated Press, giving Democrats another pickup.
Andrews’ victory ends more than two decades of Republican control of the seat. The last time South Carolina elected a Democrat to the Senate was in 1998.
Following their victory in North Carolina, Democrats would need two further Republican-held seats to reach a majority, provided they retain all their Democratic-held seats.
Nov. 3 at 22:25 ET:
Democrats projected to win House of Representatives
Decision Desk HQ has projected the Democratic Party to win a majority in the US House of Representatives.
Nov. 3 at 22:02 ET:
Democrats six seats short of Senate majority
Democrats and allied independents stood at 45 Senate seats as of 10:02 pm ET, six short of the 51 needed for a majority.
Their path includes retaining Democratic-held seats in Oregon, Michigan and Minnesota and flipping three additional Republican-held seats. Democrats have already picked up North Carolina.
NBC News has projected that Democrat Annie Andrews will defeat incumbent Republican Senator Darline Graham in South Carolina in a major upset. Associated Press has not yet called this race.
Nov. 3 at 21:21 ET:
Crypto-backed Republican Andy Barr wins Kentucky Senate seat
Republican Representative Andy Barr has won Kentucky’s US Senate race, sending a supporter of the CLARITY and GENIUS Acts to the upper chamber.
Fairshake-affiliated political action committees spent more than $7 million supporting Barr in the Republican primary. Barr has also introduced legislation aimed at protecting lawful businesses, including crypto firms, from debanking.
Nov. 3 at 21:17 ET:
Democrat Juliana Stratton wins Illinois Senate seat
Democrat Juliana Stratton has won Illinois’ US Senate race, succeeding retiring Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin.
Stratton advanced through the Democratic primary despite substantial opposition from crypto-backed PAC Fairshake, which had spent more than $5.5 million against her by early March.
Nov. 3 at 21:05 ET:
Republican Hageman wins Wyoming Senate seat
Republican Representative Harriet Hageman has won Wyoming’s US Senate race against Democrat James Byrd, succeeding retiring crypto advocate Senator Cynthia Lummis.
Lummis, who chairs the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Digital Assets, sponsored the BITCOIN Act of 2025 to establish a US strategic Bitcoin reserve and has supported the CLARITY and GENIUS Acts.
Hageman has also backed cryptocurrency legislation, voting to pass the CLARITY and GENIUS Acts in 2025 and the FIT21 market structure bill in 2024. She also cosponsored legislation seeking to prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency, according to Stand With Crypto. The advocacy group lists no documented position on cryptocurrency for Byrd.
Nov. 3 at 21:05 ET:
Prediction markets price Democratic control of both chambers
Kalshi and Polymarket traders now give Democrats a 99% chance of winning Senate control and price House control at nearly 100%. It came as Democrats flipped North Carolina’s Senate seat, while holding Georgia and New Hampshire.
Nov. 3 at 20:08 ET:
Democratic Senate odds climb above 90%
Prediction markets increasingly favored Democrats taking control of both chambers of Congress on Tuesday evening.
As of 8:05 pm ET, the Blockchain Association’s election dashboard showed Democratic Senate-control odds at 94% on Kalshi and 93% on Polymarket, up from 75% and 75.5%, respectively, earlier in the day. Democratic House-control odds stood at 98% and 99%.
At the time, Democrats and allied independents have secured 42 Senate seats to Republicans’ 31.
Nov. 3 at 20:01 ET:
Democratic senators Markey and Coons win reelection
Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey and Delaware Senator Chris Coons, both Democrats, win reelection, according to the Associated Press.
Markey voted against the GENIUS stablecoin bill in 2025, while Coons has criticized President Donald Trump’s crypto ventures, calling his latest memecoin-holder event “corruption.”
Nov. 3 at 19:57 ET:
Democrat Jon Ossoff retains Georgia Senate seat
Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff has won reelection in Georgia, beating Republican Representative Mike Collins.
Ossoff expressed support for impeaching Trump in April 2025 over plans to host a private dinner for top holders of the president’s TRUMP memecoin, arguing that the arrangement amounted to selling access to the presidency.
Nov. 3 at 19:41 ET:
1inch sees agencies driving US crypto regulation
Maylea Ma, deputy general counsel at 1inch, said she expects federal agencies to drive the next phase of crypto regulation.
The election could reshape the path forward for the stalled CLARITY Act, but Ma said “real movement” in US digital-asset regulation over the next few years will come from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Treasury, rather than Congress.
Ma said those agencies were increasingly engaging with crypto projects. However, agency engagement does not provide the stability the industry had hoped to secure through legislation.
“The long-term goal, of course, remains a statute that cannot be reversed every time a government changes,” said Ma.
Nov. 3 at 19:09 ET:
CLARITY opponent Wasserman Schultz wins reelection
Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz wins Florida’s 20th Congressional District. Wasserman Schultz voted against the CLARITY crypto market structure bill when it passed the House in July 2025.
Nov. 3 at 19:05 ET:
Democrat Warner retains Virginia Senate seat
Democratic Senator Mark Warner has won reelection in Virginia, defeating Republican challenger Bert Mizusawa. Warner was widely favored to win.
Warner voted against advancing the CLARITY Act in September, arguing that crypto legislation needs safeguards against President Donald Trump personally benefiting from the industry. Warner supports establishing federal rules for digital assets, with his opposition to the bill focused on its ethics protections.
Nov. 3 at 18:00 ET:
First US polls close
The first polls in the US midterm elections closed at 6 pm ET in parts of Indiana and Kentucky. The remaining polls in both states close at 7 pm ET.
Polls also close at 7 pm ET in Georgia and Virginia, followed by Ohio at 7:30 pm ET, where Republican Sen. Jon Husted faces Democrat Sherrod Brown in a race drawing major crypto industry spending.
Nov. 3 at 11:37 ET:
Early voting surpasses 57 million ahead of midterms
More than 57 million Americans had cast ballots as of Monday, with early voting surpassing 2022 levels in several closely watched states, according to the Associated Press.
Current balance of power in the US House and Senate. Source: Blockchain Association
