The Democratic wave of 2026 produced plenty of headline-making victories, but some of the most interesting results came from races that received little national attention.
In several states, Democrats defeated entrenched Republican incumbents despite enormous fundraising disadvantages. Others won districts that national political organizations had written off entirely.
Here are ten of the more surprising results, followed by a roundup of other Democratic victories worth celebrating.
1. Mississippi: Scott Colom defeats Cindy Hyde-Smith
Mississippi elected its first Democratic U.S. senator since 1982 when district attorney Scott Colom defeated Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith. Colom also becomes the state’s first Black senator since Reconstruction.
Colom won in a state Trump carried by 20 points in 2024. His campaign focused on healthcare, grocery prices, and everyday economic concerns. He even set up outside a Trump rally to talk directly with Republican voters.
Early town halls attracted fewer than ten people, and major donors initially dismissed his chances. His narrow victory is the biggest Senate surprise of the cycle in a cycle that had no shortage of surprises.
Sources: Mississippi Today, November 11 | Associated Press election results
2. Missouri: Fred Wellman unseats Ann Wagner
Army veteran Fred Wellman defeated seven-term Republican Ann Wagner in Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District, which Democrats hadn’t won since 1990.
Wagner’s campaign substantially outspent Wellman’s, but the Democrat performed strongly in suburban St. Louis County while cutting into Republican margins in neighboring St. Charles County.
The result was especially frustrating for Missouri Republicans, who had attempted to redraw congressional boundaries to protect their House seats. Wellman’s win adds to evidence that suburban voters are becoming increasingly difficult for the GOP to hold.
Sources: Ballotpedia election results and FEC spending data | St. Louis-area election reporting
3. North Carolina: Cyril Jefferson wins a district Democrats ignored
Former High Point Mayor Cyril Jefferson defeated Republican Addison McDowell in North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District, where Democrats hadn’t even fielded a candidate in 2024.
Jefferson spent approximately $224,000 against McDowell’s $1.3 million. National Democratic organizations largely ignored the race, and seven election forecasters rated the district safely Republican.
Jefferson won anyway, with roughly 51% of the vote. His campaign is likely to become a case study in whether national Democrats have been too quick to abandon districts considered unwinnable.
Source: Ballotpedia election results and FEC campaign-finance reports
4. North Carolina: LaKesha Womack defeats Tim Moore
LaKesha Womack, a minister and business consultant, defeated former North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore, one of the state’s most influential Republican politicians.
Moore helped engineer North Carolina’s Republican-friendly congressional maps. He also spent more than $1.9 million on his campaign, compared with approximately $56,000 spent by Womack.
Womack drew on her personal experiences with healthcare and housing insecurity to connect with voters. Her victory was part of a broader Democratic breakthrough that dramatically reshaped North Carolina’s congressional delegation.
Sources: WFAE/NPR campaign-finance reporting | North Carolina election results
5. Tennessee: Victoria Broderick’s remarkable comeback
In 2024, Republican Scott DesJarlais defeated Victoria Broderick by more than 40 percentage points in Tennessee’s 4th Congressional District. Two years later, Broderick finished just 280 votes ahead of him in an exceptionally close contest.
Broderick, a technology worker and rural county Democratic chair, ran a low-budget campaign focused on affordability and working-class concerns.
If her lead survives final certification and any recount, she’ll become Tennessee’s first openly queer member of Congress. The enormous swing from 2024 is already one of the most striking results of the election.
Sources: Tennessee congressional election results | WSMV local reporting
6. Texas: Leticia Gutierrez wins a Republican-drawn district
Texas Republicans redrew the 9th Congressional District to give their party a substantial advantage. Democrat Leticia Gutierrez defeated Republican Alex Mealer there anyway.
Gutierrez, an environmental advocate from Houston’s East End, campaigned on wages, healthcare, infrastructure, and the cost of living. Her grassroots operation faced a much better-funded Republican campaign.
The district’s new boundaries were designed to make a Democratic victory highly unlikely. Gutierrez’s win is a significant setback for Texas Republicans’ redistricting strategy and an encouraging result for Democrats organizing in traditionally Republican territory.
Source: 2026 Texas congressional election results, with AP race call
7. Alabama: Allison Montgomery makes history
Allison Montgomery defeated Republican incumbent Phillip Rigsby in Alabama’s 25th State House District, becoming the state’s first openly transgender legislator.
Montgomery, a 32-year-old Huntsville native and Eagle Scout, campaigned on public education, Medicaid, and raising the minimum wage. She emphasized her deep Alabama roots while facing attacks related to her gender identity.
Her victory brings transgender representation to a legislature that has passed several laws targeting transgender residents. It also flips a district Republicans had previously won by comfortable margins.
Sources: Alabama Reflector | Alabama Secretary of State results via Alabama Political Reporter
8. Arizona: Sebastian Matta wins countywide office at 19
Arizona State University student Sebastian Matta, 19, defeated former Republican state lawmaker Jeff Dial to become Maricopa County’s clerk of the Superior Court.
Democrats had gone years without seriously contesting the position. Matta entered the race with a focus on improving court services and making the system more accessible to residents, including people who speak languages other than English.
His victory gives Democrats control of an often-overlooked county office and makes him one of Arizona’s youngest elected officials.
Sources: Arizona State University News | Arizona’s Family reporting
9. Kansas: Chris Mann defeats Kris Kobach
Democrat Chris Mann defeated Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach after a close race that took additional ballot counting to resolve.
Kobach has been a prominent national advocate for restrictive voting laws and has played an influential role in Republican election policy.
Mann’s victory gives Democrats control of an office responsible for representing Kansas in major legal disputes involving elections, civil rights, and federal policy. It also removes one of the country’s most recognizable conservative attorneys general from office.
Source: Kansas attorney general election results, with AP race call
10. Georgia: Benjamin Culberson flips Gwinnett County’s last GOP seat
Benjamin Culberson, a 22-year-old Georgia Gwinnett College student, won a seat on the Gwinnett County Commission by more than ten percentage points.
His victory flipped the commission’s last Republican-held seat, completing the Democratic takeover of a county that was once a reliable GOP stronghold.
Gwinnett’s changing demographics and increasingly Democratic electorate have reshaped suburban Atlanta politics over the past two decades. Culberson’s win is the latest example of that shift, with a college student now helping govern one of Georgia’s largest counties.
Sources: Official Gwinnett County election results | WSB-TV reporting
Other Democratic victories worth knowing about
Congressional upsets
Paul Barringer, North Carolina: A former Republican and healthcare consultant who defeated Rep. Brad Knott in the 13th District.
Raymond Smith, North Carolina: Defeated Republican Rep. Greg Murphy in the state’s 3rd District.
J.D. Ford, Indiana: Defeated Rep. Victoria Spartz, becoming Indiana’s first openly gay member of Congress.
Kristina Knickerbocker, Ohio: An Air Force veteran and nurse practitioner who ended Rep. Mike Turner’s 24-year congressional career.
Don Leonard, Ohio: A former Ohio State professor who defeated Rep. Mike Carey in the 15th District.
Nancy Lacore, South Carolina: A retired Navy vice admiral and former military leader who challenged Republicans in the 1st District.
Richard Ojeda, North Carolina: An Army veteran who defeated Rep. Richard Hudson, chairman of the NRCC.
Zack Mullock, New Jersey: The Cape May mayor defeated Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew, who switched parties during Trump’s first impeachment.
Katy Padilla Stout, Texas: An attorney and former teacher who won the state’s 23rd Congressional District.
Darren Soto, Florida: Successfully defended his seat despite Republican efforts to redraw the district in their favor.
Statewide and legislative victories
Nathan Johnson, Texas: Defeated Republican Mayes Middleton to become Texas attorney general.
David Chappell, Utah: At 27, defeated a longtime Republican state legislator in heavily conservative Provo.
Daniel Darris-O’Connor, Massachusetts: The 19-year-old UMass Lowell student defeated longtime state Rep. Marc Lombardo.
Christopher Russo, New Jersey: Became the first Democrat elected to countywide office in Morris County since 1973.
What Democrats can learn from these races
The 2026 election results raise questions about how Democrats decide where to compete.
National party organizations understandably concentrate their resources on races they believe they can win. But several candidates in this roundup succeeded with minimal institutional support, limited fundraising, and unfavorable district boundaries.
That doesn’t mean every Republican district is suddenly competitive, but it does suggest that some of the assumptions behind Democratic campaign spending and recruitment deserve another look.
Many of these candidates also emphasized issues that cross partisan lines: healthcare, housing, wages, and the cost of groceries. They understood their communities and found ways to reach voters who might not ordinarily support Democrats.
The challenge now is to build on these victories. The 2028 elections will provide an important test of whether the party can sustain these gains, recruit strong local candidates, and compete seriously in places it once considered out of reach.
In the main races, support the democrats who are running even if they aren’t centrists and/or aren’t on the aipac dole. Blue no matter who - remember? Hold your nose if you must but Florida could have gone blue too, with just a little help.
Wow, that is such great news.