# Kansas, South Carolina, Texas: The Upsets That Stunned Republicans, and the Races Decided by Votes You Can Count on a Page

A Kansas Senate seat flipped for the first time in nearly a century, Trump's pick lost South Carolina, and Mississippi's Senate race sits 43 votes apart. The biggest upsets and the tightest finishes, with the margins, from the AP count.

- Section: [Politics](https://rightnewsrightnow.com/politics/)
- Published: 2026-11-04
- By: RightNewsRightNow Staff
- Canonical page: https://rightnewsrightnow.com/articles/biggest-upsets-closest-races-midterms-kansas-south-carolina-texas-mississippi-43-votes-nc-5-99-votes/

Some races were upsets. Others are still too close to name. All counts are unofficial and come from the Associated Press.

THE UPSETS

Kansas Senate. Democrat Adam Hamilton, a first-time candidate who leads the largest United Methodist church in the country, beat Sen. Roger Marshall, 50.9% to 46.1%, a gap of 53,184 votes. The AP says it is the first time a Democrat has won a Senate seat in Kansas in nearly a century.

South Carolina Senate. Democrat Annie Andrews, a pediatrician, beat Trump's pick Darline Graham, 51.1% to 46.7%, by 91,197 votes. The AP says the most painful blow for Trump may have come here. Graham was running for the seat of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham.

Texas Senate and governor. Democrat James Talarico, 37, beat Ken Paxton 55.2% to 42.9%, a margin of 1,205,627 votes. In the governor's race, Democrat Gina Hinojosa leads three-term Gov. Greg Abbott 52.9% to 45.6%, a margin of 721,881 votes. The AP has called both. Counts there are about 96% in.

Maine Senate. Democrat Troy Jackson beat Sen. Susan Collins, 53.8% to 46.1%, by 49,032 votes with about 86% counted. The AP says Collins' loss leaves Republicans with no members of Congress in New England.

Ohio. Sherrod Brown beat Sen. Jon Husted in the Senate special, 50.01% to 45.15%. Democrat Amy Acton beat Vivek Ramaswamy for governor, 52.3% to 44.4%.

Iowa Senate. Democrat Josh Turek beat Ashley Hinson, 50.5% to 46.4%. The AP called this race at about 10:35 p.m. Central and used it to declare Democratic control of the Senate.

THE CLOSEST

Called, and close:
- Florida governor: Byron Donalds (R) 50.0%, David Jolly (D) 48.7%. A 107,932-vote gap, 1.3 points.
- Louisiana Senate: Julia Letlow (R) 50.9%, Jamie Davis (D) 49.1%. A 25,857-vote gap, 1.8 points.
- Florida 4: Rep. Aaron Bean (R) won by 2.1 points. Georgia 1: James Kingston (R) by 2.8.
- Tennessee governor: Marsha Blackburn (R) 45.5%, Jerri Green (D) 43.0%, a 2.5-point gap.

Not called, and razor thin:
- Mississippi Senate: Scott Colom (D) 462,821, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) 462,778. Forty-three votes.
- North Carolina 5: Chuck Hubbard (D) 139,034, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R) 138,935. Ninety-nine votes.
- Tennessee 4: Victoria Broderick (D) leads Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R) by 280 votes.
- Minnesota 1: Jake Johnson (D) leads Rep. Brad Finstad (R) by 321 votes.
- North Carolina 3: Rep. Greg Murphy (R) leads by 233 votes.
- Alaska Senate: Mary Peltola (D) leads Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) by 626 votes, with about 74% counted.
- Kansas governor: Cindy Holscher (D) leads Ty Masterson (R) by 5,557 votes, about 98% counted.

Our read. Several Republican-held seats came down to a few points. A swing of that size is the kind a party can win back. And where the margin is a few dozen votes, every ballot matters, so watch for late counts and for recounts, which vary by state. We have not confirmed any state's recount rules.

What we could not check. Margins are our arithmetic from AP counts at about 8 a.m. Central Wednesday. No state has certified.

## Source

Original reporting: [Associated Press](https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/)