# Trump's Senate picks lost. Democrats took the chamber.

> Trump-backed Republican candidates lost key Senate races on November 3, handing Democrats control and exposing limits to his political power.
- Title: Trump's Senate picks lost. Democrats took the chamber.
- Summary: Trump-backed Republican candidates lost key Senate races on November 3, handing Democrats control and exposing limits to his political power. Trump-backed…
- Keywords: donald trump, 2026 midterm elections, senate elections, republicans, democrats, south carolina, north carolina, texas, michigan, abdul el-sayed, Daily Maverick
- Source: Daily Maverick — https://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-11-04-trump-hand-picked-senate-candidates-republicans-paid-the-price
- Author: Reuters
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:35:23+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: donald trump, 2026 midterm elections, senate elections, republicans, democrats, south carolina, north carolina, texas, michigan, abdul el-sayed, news, politics
## Trump's hand-picked candidates lost
Trump-backed Republican candidates lost Senate races in South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas and Michigan on Tuesday, November 3. Democrats now control the chamber.
## Trump reshaped the party around his choices
For more than a decade, Trump has reshaped the Republican Party around his Maga movement, dictating primary matchups and pushing aside conservative figures he felt insufficiently loyal or misaligned with his vision.
## South Carolina: Trump's stunning loss
South Carolina had not elected a Democratic senator since 1998 and Trump won it by 18 percentage points in 2024.Trump backed Darline Graham, sister of late Senator Lindsey Graham.
## North Carolina: Trump's primary interference
Trump endorsed former national Republican campaign official Michael Whatley in North Carolina.Whatley lost in a rout to former Democratic Governor Roy Cooper.
## Texas: Trump backed the scandal-plagued choice
Trump intervened in the Republican primary to promote scandal-plagued Attorney-General Ken Paxton over Senator John Cornyn, a Trump ally considered a safer general election pick.Democrat James Talarico won, delivering Democrats a seat unelected since 1988.
## Michigan: First Muslim elected to Senate
Former US Representative Mike Rogers, Trump's choice in Michigan, was defeated by Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who will be the first Muslim to serve in the Senate.
## Trump's popularity at historic low
Trump's popularity heading into Tuesday's vote was lower than in the aftermath of the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, according to Reuters/Ipsos polls.
## Analysts: Trump gave away winnable seats
Thomas Kahn, a professor at American University, said Trump's intervention in the Texas primary cost Republicans a safe seat.In North Carolina, Kahn said Trump essentially gave the seat away by forcing out incumbent Thom Tillis.

> He essentially gave that seat away to Democrats.
## Key takeaway

Trump-backed Senate candidates lost in South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas and Michigan on November 3, giving Democrats control of the chamber and revealing the limits of Trump's electoral influence.