11/4/2026

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Live updates: 2026 midterm election results and what they mean for education

by Molly Steur, Ben Humphries and Hannah Vinueza McClellan | November 3, 2026

Editor’s note: This article will be updated as races are called and results come in. As of 2:30 a.m., the EdNC team is signing off for the night. This page will be updated further later in the morning. Tuesday was...

The Editor’s Notes

Headlines in The New York Times called the night a “rout,” a “stunning rebuke to Trump,” and a “red wipeout” — all stronger than the predictions of a “blue wave” leading up to the election.

An email sent out by NCAE at 12:33 a.m. said simply, “We won, y’all.”

Thank you to those of you who were glued to EdNC’s live updates. We will continue updating our article throughout the day.

Here is what you need to know for now.

Democrats will control Congress. In an exclusive interview with The New York Times, “President Trump said on Tuesday night that he was ‘absolutely willing’ to accept the results of the midterm elections, and was prepared to work with Democrats.”

Democrats flipped the N.C. House, and Speaker Destin Hall conceded the loss.

According to the NC Tribune, “The result means Democrats will hold 70 House seats — two short of a supermajority — in the 2027-28 General Assembly. It’s a near-complete reversal: Republicans currently hold 71 seats and can usually count on help from two unaffiliated former Democrats.”

NC Insider is reporting that “When House Minority Leader Robert Reives went on stage at the Democratic Party’s election night watch party about two hours after statewide results began coming in, he was introduced as the next speaker of the House.”

Rep. Tricia Cotham, a former educator who switched parties in 2023, lost her seat.

The election broke the Republican supermajority in the N.C. Senate, and Sen. Mike Lee, a contender to be the next President Pro Tem, lost his race.

Justice Anita Earls, a Democrat, kept her seat on the N.C. Supreme Court.

All three amendments to the N.C. Constitution passed.

Please note that these election results have not been certified. Stay tuned.

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