Democrats Flip Senate Seats in North and South Carolina as Ramaswamy Falls

Georgia has a new governor, and both Carolinas sent Democrats to the Senate. The results marked a sharp setback for President Donald Trump’s Republicans. Indian-American Republican Vivek Ramaswamy lost Ohio’s governor race to Democrat Amy Acton by more than 200,000 votes. Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms also made history as Georgia’s first Black governor. ^1,3

That Ohio defeat came alongside wins for Indian-American Democrats Suhas Subramanyam in Virginia, Aruna Miller in Maryland and Pia Dandiya in Florida. Subramanyam and Miller won re-election. Dandiya defeated Republican Casey Askar in Florida’s 22nd Congressional District. Democrat Roy Cooper flipped North Carolina’s Senate seat, and South Carolina elected Democrat Annie Andrews, its first Democratic senator in more than two decades. ^3,5

Those victories matter because midterm elections decide who controls Congress during the second half of a president’s term. All 435 House seats and 37 Senate seats were on the ballot. Republicans began with narrow majorities in both chambers. Democrats’ gains could give them more power to challenge Trump’s agenda. Early results also showed Indian-American candidates competing across party lines: Ramaswamy lost, while Democratic incumbents and newcomers won. Other races, including the contest for Los Angeles mayor between Nithya Raman and Karen Bass, were still unresolved in the reports. ^5,6,10

The results were still coming in Wednesday morning, so the final balance of power had not yet settled. Democrats had also gained Senate seats in Georgia and New Hampshire. Meanwhile, Texas Democrat James Talarico led Republican Ken Paxton in a closely watched race. The next concrete measure is the final count for the House and Senate, which will determine whether Democrats take control of either chamber. ^3,12