What a historic ‘blue wave’ midterm means for climate action

The Democratic Party appeared set to win a commanding victory in Tuesday’s midterm elections. As of 11 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday night, the party was on track to gain control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, as well as several state governments. The party’s strong performance, driven in part by voters’ anger over inflation and the war in Iran, reached into traditional Republican strongholds like Ohio and South Carolina. A sweep would have profound consequences for climate action in the United States, even with President Donald Trump still in the White House. Flipping control of Congress would allow the Democrats to hinder Trump’s numerous attempts to roll back federal climate policy. In the first two years of Trump’s term, party leaders could do little more than write strongly worded statements to administration officials. They were powerless to stop the suspension of clean energy funding, the elimination of climate rules for power plants and motor vehicles, and the hollowing-out of agencies like the U.S. Forest Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. If Tuesday’s results hold, the party will have a lot more leverage. Democratic senators and members of Congress can issue subpoenas to force administration officials to testify before Congress, and could impeach Trump administration figures over funding clawbacks and staff reductions that Democrats have called unlawful. Democrats would also have control over must-pass funding bills, and Trump would have to negotiate with them in order to avoid a government shutdown. This could even lead to the restoration of some funding for energy and climate resilience programs that Republicans have been trying to whittle down. Turnover at the state level, where officials are still counting votes, may be even more significant. Democrats could gain control of the state government in purple states, ending in some cases decades of Republican or divided government. This could allow them to pass meaningful climate policy for the first time — in Pennsylvania, for instance, state house Democrats have said they intend to pass bills making it easier to build community solar, warehouse solar, and battery energy storage, as well as preventing local governments from banning renewables. In Georgia, Democrats flipped both the governor’s mansion and control of the public service commission, which regulates electric utilities. While Trump’s approval ratings are underwater on almost every major issue, energy prices were among the most salient issues in many races. The gasoline price hike caused by Trump’s invasion of Iran was perhaps the most consequential, but voters in many places were also concerned about their heating bills (Maine) and homeowner’s insurance premiums (Florida). In places like Texas and Ohio, skepticism over the AI boom may also have driven voters to oust incumbents who supported data centers. Here are some of the most consequential outcomes for climate change and the environment. We’ll continue to update this post as more results and analysis come in. Supporters watch election results during a midterm election night watch party for Texas Democratic Senate candidate, State Rep. James Talarico at the Long Center on November 3, 2026 in Austin, Texas. Brandon Bell / Getty Images Texas elects Democratic senator for the first time in nearly 40 years Texas joined other Southern states in flipping blue for the first time in decades. Senator-elect James Talarico, a Democrat, supports an all-of-the-above energy strategy, which includes protecting oil and gas jobs while also growing renewable energy. This moderate approach proved important in a state that provides over 40 percent of the nation’s oil and gas. As a state representative, Talarico authored and introduced the Texas Climate Action Act in 2021. While the bill did not advance, it aimed to establish targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and set energy efficiency standards, with an emphasis on local resiliency. Talarico beat out Republican Ken Paxton, the state’s attorney general, who is widely considered friendly to the oil and gas industry. He’s been embroiled in scandal for years and was impeached in 2023 by the Texas House. Paxton’s track record likely helped Democrats obtain this victory. — Celeste Guajardo Representative Kathy Castor holds a hearing for a committee in the House of Representatives. Castor, a leading Democrat climate hawk, survived a tough re-election challenge in a district drawn to eliminate her. Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images A climate hawk survives Republican redlining Her district was redrawn to eliminate her, but voters in Florida’s 14th congressional district reelected Democratic Representative Kathy Castor anyway.Castor — referred to as a “climate hawk” by E&E News — has spent much of her long career in Congress raising the alarm about climate change. Between 2019 and 2022 she chaired the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, and has otherwise made reducing carbon pollution and preparing communities for climate impacts central to her legislative agenda. In March, she backed the Energy Bills Relief Act, which proposed restoring energy upgrade tax credits and connecting more clean energy to the grid. She has also strongly opposed data centers in the Tampa area that she serves, warning that the facilities could drive up her constituents’ utility costs while straining local water supplies. — Sachi Kitajima Mulkey Democrats flip control of Georgia utility commission for first time in decades Democrats secured both Public Service Commission seats on the Georgia ballot, giving the party majority control of the powerful utility regulation board for the first time in 30 years. Democrat Peter Hubbard successfully defended his District 3 seat against a challenge from former commissioner Fitz Johnson, while Democrat Shelia Edwards defeated Republican Josh Tolbert to take the District 5 seat. The commission regulates utilities, including the behemoth Georgia Power, meaning commissioners have final say over how the state’s largest utility makes energy and how much customers pay for it. The board has drawn increased scrutiny in recent years because of a series of rate hikes and the scramble to produce enough energy for the massive spike in demand that Georgia Power predicts will result from the data center boom. The utility’s plans to meet that demand rely heavily on fossil fuels. Georgia is one of 10 states where utility regulators are elected rather than appointed. — Emily Jones Read Next A flip in an area devastated by Helene In western North Carolina, where Hurricane Helene caused billions of dollars of damage two years ago, Democrat Jamie Ager defeated Republican Jennifer Balkcom for an open seat in the House of Representatives. Ager, a longtime farmer, made the area’s slow hurricane recovery a centerpiece of his campaign. He criticized Representative Chuck Edwards, who dropped out of the race after a sexual harassment scandal, for doing too little to deliver aid for Asheville and its surrounding counties. Grist reported last month that at least some voters blamed Republicans for the slow recovery. In a rally held on the eve of the election, President Trump promised to deliver more hurricane aid money, but only if North Carolina elected Republicans. The district around Asheville did not take the bait — not only did Ager win the state’s 11th House district, but Democrat Roy Cooper, the state’s former governor, easily won a Senate race, flipping a seat that had been held by Republicans. — Jake Bittle Read Next North Carolina Democratic congressional candidate Jamie Ager greets a supporter at a “Trunk or Treat” Halloween campaign event. Ager prevailed in a race for a seat in an area devastated by Hurricane Helene. Allison Joyce / Getty Images Democrats win after attacking Republicans on data centers At least three legislative seats flipped blue after Democrats aggressively criticized Republican incumbents for being too friendly to data centers. Democrat Sherrod Brown defeated Republican Senator Jon Husted in Ohio’s special Senate election after state Democrats put up billboards stating: “See that data center? Jon Husted did that.” Likewise, Democrat Paige Cognetti beat Republican Representative Rob Bresnahan in Pennsylvania’s 8th congressional district after she ran television ads associating Bresnahan with data centers and comparing tech companies to polluting mining corporations. Bresnahan has been revealed to have owned stock in data center companies. And in South Carolina’s Senate race, voters pushed Annie Andrews to a surprise win over Senator Darline Graham after she highlighted that a new pro-data center super PAC spent $1.5 million dollars on ads for her opponent, whom she nicknamed “Data Center Darline.” Both Husted and Bresnahan had previously welcomed data centers to their regions, but later attempted unsuccessfully to pass regulations constraining them once the facilities became a hot-button issue. Data centers are massively unpopular with voters across the political spectrum, polls have shown. The facilities have become a growing source of demand for electricity from fossil fuels. — Austin Corona and Sachi Kitajima Mulkey A FEMA defender sails to victory in Florida Representative Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat, easily hung onto his seat in Congress, surviving a challenge from Scott Singer, a Trump-backed Republican, in Florida’s redrawn 25th congressional district. His third-term victory defies the right-wing effort to make his district significantly redder with new boundaries, and keeps one of America’s most vocal FEMA reformers in Congress. Moskowitz, once appointed Florida’s emergency management director by Governor Ron DeSantis, championed bipartisan legislation to pull FEMA out of the Department of Homeland Security and make it an independent, cabinet-level agency — just as the Trump administration seeks to cut its funding and shift more responsibility onto states. He has also introduced bills that would let states voluntarily administer federal disaster housing and public assistance, and proposed a reinsurance backstop that would help cover catastrophic losses after disasters like hurricanes. — Sachi Kitajima Mulkey Detroit, Michigan – Climate protesters demonstrate against DTE Energy’s request to hike electricity rates to pay for more fossil fuel plants. Voters in Michigan passed an amendment that would restrict uitilities’ political campaign contributions. Jim West/ UCG / Universal Images Group via Getty Images Michigan gets utility money out of politics Voters in Michigan passed a measure to limit corporate spending in elections, and in a nationwide first, successfully went after the state’s electric and gas utilities. Supporters of Proposal 2 leveraged ratepayers’ growing dissatisfaction with utilities around power bills, unreliable service, and data centers. The measure is one of the most ambitious attempts in the country to limit corporate influence in politics, which it will do by preventing utility-funded political action groups and utility executives from contributing to state political campaigns. Groups that oppose the measure have contended that Prop 2 will stifle corporations’ speech protections under the 2010 Citizens United case. And while experts are fairly confident the measure will face legal challenges and won’t get all utility money out of politics, Prop 2 advocates maintain it’s a step toward accountability. — Vivian La Read Next A governor who at least acknowledges climate change in Florida Republican Byron Donalds has defeated Democrat David Jolly for occupancy of Florida’s governor’s mansion. Donalds, who currently represents Florida’s 19th congressional district, will be the state’s first Black governor. He doesn’t believe humans play any role in global warming, but he’s more willing to discuss the issue than the current governor, Ron DeSantis, who signed the state’s infamous “don’t say climate change” law. That matters in a state especially battered by sea level rise, coastal erosion, and storms. The skyrocketing costs of home insurance were a central issue in this race, and Donalds promised to bring them down by increasing competition in the state’s private market. In 2025, Donalds notably co-introduced bipartisan legislation with Democrat Jared Moskowitz to reform federal disaster aid by making FEMA an independent cabinet-level agency. In the weeks before voters went to the polls, he also pledged investment in restoring coastal habitats. Donalds seems likely to carry on DeSantis’ other environmental policies, such as supporting data center development and attacking wind and solar projects. — Sachi Kitajima Mulkey A campaign sign for Florida Republican Senate candidate, Ashley Moody outside a polling station on November 3, 2026 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Saul Martinez / Getty Images A MAGA loyalist who says no to drilling in Florida Republican Senator Ashley Moody defeated the progressive Democrat Angie Nixon to retain her seat, which Governor DeSantis appointed her to last year. Moody’s brief stint in Washington hints at what’s to come: She introduced a resolution to overturn Biden-era efficiency standards and supported the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which ended federal tax credits for clean energy installations, like rooftop solar and batteries. Previously, as Florida’s attorney general, she joined a lawsuit challenging emissions reduction targets on highways. But in Florida, a state grappling with coastal erosion and rising sea levels, some environmental protections are popular across party lines: Last year, even as Trump pushed to open offshore drilling in other states, Moody introduced the American Shores Protection Act to ban the practice off Florida’s coast through 2032. — Sachi Kitajima Mulkey