04.11.2026 10:31
In the US midterm elections, President Donald Trump, who lost both chambers of Congress to the Democrats, shared the fate of George W. Bush, who faced a similar picture 20 years ago. Bush had lost both chambers in 2006 under the shadow of the Iraq War. Trump’s defeat was associated with high prices and voter backlash against the war in Iran. Trump became the second Republican president to experience this since 1954.
In the US midterm elections held on November 3, the House of Representatives and the Senate passing to the Democrats brought the elections of 20 years ago back onto the agenda in Washington. According to NBC News, it was the first time since 2006 that the minority party captured both chambers of Congress in a single night.
SAME RESULT 20 YEARS APART
According to Reason magazine’s assessment, Trump became the second Republican president since 1954 to lose both chambers of Congress in a single midterm election. The other name on this list is George W. Bush, who faced the same result in 2006. Another similarity between the two presidents is timing. Bush also lost Congress less than two years after his re-election.
BUSH’S 2006 DEFEAT
In the midterm elections of November 7, 2006, Republicans lost 30 seats in the House of Representatives and 6 in the Senate. With this result, control of both chambers of Congress also passed to the Democrats. After the elections, Nancy Pelosi became the first woman to become Speaker of the House in US history. Bush, evaluating the result, interpreted what happened with the words “a thumping,” that is, “a heavy blow.”
IRAQ UNDER BUSH, IRAN UNDER TRUMP
The similarities in the background of the two elections also drew attention. During Bush’s era, the Republicans’ defeat was explained by public reaction to the Iraq War and criticism that the government was late after Hurricane Katrina. According to The Washington Post, the Democrats this time drew strength from voter dissatisfaction over high prices and the war in Iran, and also won seats in traditionally Republican areas such as Texas and Kansas. NBC News noted that the Democrats achieved this result despite a difficult map running through states that Trump won in all three presidential elections.
SIMILARITY IN APPROVAL RATINGS
In an analysis published by Newsweek a week before the elections, it was stated that Trump’s approval ratings resembled Bush’s trajectory before his 2006 defeat. Bush entered the midterm elections with a 37 percent approval rating. The same analysis also emphasized that the two situations were not exactly the same. Trump’s second term began after a four-year gap. The country’s political alliances and electoral districts have also changed significantly since 2006.
OTHER EXAMPLES IN HISTORY
In US political history, it is rare for presidents to lose both chambers of Congress in midterm elections. Democratic President Bill Clinton lost control of both chambers in 1994, in the middle of his first term, and could not regain a congressional majority for the rest of his term. Barack Obama, meanwhile, lost Congress in two separate elections. Obama lost the House of Representatives in 2010, and the Senate in the 2014 midterm elections during his second term.
THE PICTURE WAS DIFFERENT IN TRUMP’S FIRST TERM
In the 2018 midterm elections held during his first term, Trump lost 41 seats in the House of Representatives but gained 2 seats in the Senate. In the 2022 elections held during Joe Biden’s term, the Democrats lost the House of Representatives but retained the Senate.
“IF I HAD BEEN ON THE BALLOT, WE WOULD HAVE WON”
Trump, in a statement to CBS News on election night, congratulated the Democrats. Attributing the defeat to not being on the ballot himself, Trump said, “If I had been on the ballot, we would have won.”