Why Democrats didn't take the Senate despite winning 11 million more votes than Republicans


Although Republicans retained control of the Senate during this year's midterm elections, Democrats actually earned about 11 million more votes.
Reported vote counts show that Democratic Senate candidates this year thus far have won roughly 44 million votes, whereas Republican Senate candidates have earned 33 million, per The Washington Post. That means about 57 percent of the total votes cast went for Senate Democrats. Despite those stats, Republicans managed to flip three seats, bolstering their majority.
Although it might initially sound galling that Democrats earned more votes but didn't get the majority, there's a reason for that: 35 Senate seats were on the ballot this year, and of those, 26 of them were held by Democrats, while only nine were held by Republicans. The fact that most of the seats up for re-election were Democratic made the party more vulnerable to suffer losses, which Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) did.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Democrats did, in fact, win the vast majority of the Senate seats that were up this year; they just didn't gain enough to gain a majority, with the party losing a net of at least two seats and the Republicans gaining at least two. Some races still have not been called. In fact, Bloomberg's Justin Fox points out that Democrats actually gained a larger majority of seats than their popular vote margin; he also observes that this statistic is skewed by the fact that in California, multiple Democrats ran in the general election, and there wasn't even a Republican on the ballot. Still, The Washington Post reports that some onlookers see statistics like these as examples of America's "underdeveloped electoral system."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
July 30 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Wednesday’s political cartoons include a beast under the surface, new unemployment officers, and more
-
The Miami Showband massacre, 50 years on
The Explainer Unanswered questions remain over Troubles terror attack that killed three members of one of Ireland's most popular music acts
-
Tea app hack: user data stolen from women's dating safety app
In The Spotlight Data leak has led to fears users could be targeted by men angered by the app's premise
-
Judge halts GOP defunding of Planned Parenthood
Speed Read The Trump administration can't withhold Medicaid funds from Planned Parenthood, said the ruling
-
Trump contradicts Israel, says 'starvation' in Gaza
Speed Read The president suggests Israel could be doing more to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians
-
Democrats: The 2028 race has begun
Feature Democratic primaries have already kicked off in South Carolina
-
Trump executive order targets homeless
Speed Read It will now be easier for states and cities to remove homeless people from the streets
-
Columbia pays $200M to settle with White House
Speed Read The Trump administration accused the school of failing to protect its Jewish students amid pro-Palestinian protests
-
Florida judge and DOJ make Epstein trouble for Trump
Speed Read The Trump administration's request to release grand jury transcripts from the Epstein investigation was denied
-
Trump attacks Obama as Epstein furor mounts
Speed Read The Trump administration accused the Obama administration of 'treasonous' behavior during the 2016 election
-
Trump administration releases MLK files
Speed Read Newly released documents on the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did not hold any new revelations, King historians said