This article was compiled and organized by BlockWeeks
The results of the US midterm elections are now settled, with the Democratic Party winning both the House and Senate of Congress by a clear margin, meaning that the second half of President Trump's second term will enter a divided government state. The Democrats flipped 7 Senate seats (as of writing, 2 seats remain undecided), 35 House seats, 5 governorships, and up to 12 state legislative chambers. This election not only reshaped Washington's power structure, but also directly rewrote the policy path for the crypto industry and the artificial intelligence industry over the next two years.
A historic-level comeback: only the third time since 1986
In terms of the House, the Democrats are expected to gain 35 to 41 seats (previously 214 seats), which would be the fourth-best midterm performance since 1986, second only to the major losses suffered by the ruling party in 2010 (-64 seats) and 1994 (-54 seats), roughly on par with 2018 (-42 seats), and better than 2006 (-30 seats). In the Senate, the Democrats' +7 seat performance is close to the top of the past 10 midterm elections, and except for 1986 and 1994 (both -8 seats) and 2014 (-9 seats), it is comprehensively better than the ruling party's results in previous elections. Ballotpedia has characterized the Senate result as a "wave," although the House's margin of advantage has not yet reached the organization's threshold for defining a "wave."
This is the third time since 1986 that the opposition party has flipped both chambers simultaneously in a midterm election. More notably, the Democrats' momentum extended all the way down the ballot: after winning 5 governorships, the party now controls a total of 21 "trifecta" states (where the governor and both chambers of the state legislature belong to the same party), the most since 1992.
The crypto camp's win-loss table: Ohio becomes the biggest pain point
For digital asset supporters, the most glaring defeat occurred in Ohio. Jon Husted (Republican), who had previously filled J.D. Vance's vacant seat, lost to former Senator Sherrod Brown (Democrat). Brown once served as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and was defeated in 2024 by Senator Bernie Moreno (Republican)—the latter a former car dealer who founded a technology company that used blockchain to track vehicle title registration and received heavy financial support from crypto advocates in 2024. According to reports, crypto political action committees spent about $40 million to support Husted and about $24 million to oppose Brown.
Other crypto supporters who lost include: Bryan Steil (Wisconsin), chairman of the Digital Assets Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee, Zach Nunn (Iowa), Ann Wagner (Missouri), Bill Huizenga (Michigan), and Mike Lawler (New York, who has conceded but the Associated Press has not yet called the race). As of writing, House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill (Arkansas) leads by only 4,400 votes, and the race remains too close to call.
Many others had a good night: Josh Gottheimer (New Jersey), Ritchie Torres (New York), and House Agriculture Committee Chairman GT Thompson (Pennsylvania) all won reelection. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (New York), as the Democrats' leading voice on crypto issues and simultaneously chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, helped the Democrats secure an unexpectedly large Senate majority, which may further consolidate her position within the party caucus.
According to Stand With Crypto, this election produced a total of 19 pro-crypto senators and 226 pro-crypto representatives, versus 8 anti-crypto senators and 106 anti-crypto representatives. Tracking data from industry critic Molly White shows that in the 12 competitive elections so far, the side supported by crypto and AI political action committees lost 9; while in safe seats, industry-endorsed candidates achieved a 40-for-40 record.
Committee leadership changes: Warren and Waters return
The change of control in both chambers means committee leadership flips as well. Senator Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts) will most likely become chair of the Senate Banking Committee, while Representative Maxine Waters (California) is expected to once again lead the House Financial Services Committee. These two senior lawmakers, who have long been critical of the crypto industry, returning to key positions will significantly change the agenda-setting for digital asset legislation and regulatory hearings.
AI and data centers: local referendums almost universally opposed
The artificial intelligence camp also suffered setbacks. The AI industry's "biggest bet in a competitive general election" was placed on Darline Graham in South Carolina, but she ultimately lost to Annie Andrews.
The data center fight was most critical in Texas. The Democrats won all statewide executive offices in the state for the first time in thirty years, although Republicans still control the state Senate 19 to 12. Gina Hinojosa defeated Governor Greg Abbott 53% to 46%, and the Democrats also won the positions of lieutenant governor, attorney general, comptroller, and railroad commissioner.
At the local level, the voting results were even more direct: there were no statewide data center referendum measures this year; an Ohio proposal to ban data centers above 25 megawatts in the state constitution failed to qualify for the ballot, while a similar initiative in Massachusetts is aimed at 2028. But in local referendums, opposition to data centers was overwhelmingly dominant—of 41 related measures across 10 states, voters sided against data centers on 40. Of 28 restrictive measures, 27 passed, and all 13 measures aimed at easing development failed. Ohio alone accounted for 21 of them, including 11 bans. The only exception was Harwood, North Dakota, a city with a population of only 794.
Although Georgia had no related referendums, the Democrats won majority control of the Public Service Commission for the first time in decades, and that commission is precisely the body that approves Georgia Power's large load expansion projects.
However, Hinojosa's actual policy stance on the data center issue is more moderate than her campaign rhetoric: her "moratorium" is a temporary measure while waiting for future legislation to pass, not a permanent ban. Her policy agenda is primarily rule-based—requiring the use of union labor, protecting water sources, and ending confidentiality agreements that make projects difficult to track. Like Abbott, she emphasizes ensuring that Texas residents will not bear higher electricity prices because of data centers, and wants to eliminate tax subsidies that cause billions of dollars in sales tax losses each year. The Texas data center moratorium is not the product of a "blue victory"—Abbott had already implemented one. Hinojosa's plan overlaps with Abbott's on cost allocation and tax incentives, but goes further on the length of the moratorium and subsequent conditions.
Market reaction: rise first, then fall
After the election results came out, the market initially performed strongly: Bitcoin recovered above $80,000, and both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose more than 1% on Wednesday. But by Thursday morning the market reversed, with tech stocks, AI concepts, the data center sector, and crypto assets all falling in tandem. As of writing, the S&P 500 was down 3.7% on the day and the Nasdaq 100 down 5.5%; Bitcoin was at $75,888, just above its 50-week moving average ($75,838); Ethereum fell 6.8% to $2,249. The dollar was roughly flat, while gold and crude oil rose.
Historical coordinates and intra-party reactions
Tuesday's election results are already the largest Senate loss for the president's party since 2014, while the House is expected to record its fourth-largest midterm loss since 1986—if the Democrats' seat gains exceed the 42 seats of 2018, it will rise to third. If the Democrats ultimately win 260 seats, it will be the largest majority since 1991 to 1993 (267 seats). This victory is especially rare in 2026: in 1994 and 2010, the losing side held dozens of districts leaning toward the opposing party, with many easy flip opportunities; today's House districts, by contrast, have been highly polarized and reorganized, with the number of competitive districts greatly reduced.
Vice President JD Vance posted on X that "the reason we lost the election is the war with Iran," and offered four corrective suggestions to the Republican Party: end the war, focus on the cost of living and inflation, adhere to America First, and adjust the US relationship with Israel. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said at a press conference that this election was "close to an extinction-level event for Republicans in many parts of the United States."
