Midterms: Ossoff holds Georgia according to projections, Trump at 38% in exit polls
Democrat Jon Ossoff keeps his Senate seat in Georgia, according to projections by CBS News and NBC News. Control of Congress is still undecided: counting has only just begun and the most contested states have yet to be called.
Update: this article describes the situation at 1.43am. The Democrats have since won Congress, according to projections. Read our article on the results.
The first big result of the American night. Jon Ossoff wins the Georgia Senate seat against Republican Mike Collins, according to projections by CBS News and NBC News. The seat therefore stays with the Democrats. In Virginia, Mark Warner also secures a new term, according to CBS News projections. At 1.43am Paris time, NBC News's results page was not yet showing a projection for that seat.
Both seats were already Democratic: at this stage, they do not change the balance of the Senate. Nor, on their own, do they say anything about the national result.
Why Georgia mattered
Ossoff's projected victory nonetheless carries weight. He was, CBS News points out, the only incumbent Democrat seeking re-election in a state won by Donald Trump in 2024, and the Republicans saw it as a major prize. Elected in 2021 in a run-off, the senator was given a slight lead before the vote. His opponent, weakened by a difficult primary and personal controversies, failed to break through, according to the network.
Trump heading for a record low
The first exit polls are bad news for the White House. According to CBS News, only 38% of voters surveyed approve of the president's performance, which would put him on course for a record low for a president at the midterms. Around three in four voters say they are at least dissatisfied with the direction the country is taking, and nearly six in ten say Donald Trump was a factor in their House vote.
ABC News is publishing state-by-state figures. In Georgia, around six in ten voters hold the president and his policies responsible for rising prices. In Maine, a comparable proportion consider incumbent Republican senator Susan Collins too close to him. These data remain preliminary.
Asked by CBS News, Donald Trump highlighted his veto power, which he presents as his ultimate power.
Congress still far from decided
The key figures: the Republicans hold 53 of the 100 seats in the Senate, according to CBS News. According to MS NOW, the Democrats need a net gain of four seats to flip it, and three to retake the House.
Yet the decisive contests remain open. NBC News still considered it too early to call in Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina. Maine, Michigan and Texas showed no ballots counted on its page. MS NOW also ranks Alaska among the most uncertain contests. In Georgia, the governor's race remains one to watch: CBS News rated it as undecided.
What next?
Polls had closed in nine states at the time of these first projections, according to CBS News, and voting continues from east to west. The network warns that the battle for Congress may not be resolved tonight: the closest races will also be the slowest to decide, and election expert David Becker doubts the winner will be known tonight, US time.
