by David Z. Bean
American voters swept Democrats into large majorities in the U.S. House of Representatives and the United States Senate on Election Day. The seismic wave – the size of which continues to grow – washed out some longstanding Senators and House Members across the map, including in deep red states.
At press time, House Democrats currently hold a 255-168 seat majority, with 12 races undecided. Democrats are on track to hold a 260 – 175 majority in the 120th Congress – which will be the largest House majority since the 1974 Watergate midterm elections. Democratic pickups were nationwide across 21 states from Arizona to Wisconsin. Senate Democrats will hold at least 55 seats, with one
Senate race still too close to call. Democrats won in deep red states that President Trump won by double digits in 2024, including South Carolina (Trump +18 in 2024), Texas (+14), Kansas (+16), Iowa (+13), and Ohio (+11). They also flipped or held seats by wide margins that Trump won in 2024 in Georgia (Ossoff +18), Michigan (El-Sayed +8), and North Carolina (Cooper +20). And finally, Maine Democrat Troy Jackson defeated long-time incumbent Senator Susan Collins by six points.
In Mississippi, Democratic candidate and former prosecutor Scott Colom was just declared the winner against Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, who has conceded.
In the Alaska Senate race, former Rep. Mary Peltola (Yup’ik) (D) currently leads incumbent Republican Senator Dan Sullivan. Alaska state law requires counting of eligible absentee ballots for 15 days. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, the election goes to ranked choice on November 18th.
Native Candidates Make History
Nine Native American candidates were on the ballot on Election Day – three Native women ran for the United States Senate, and six Native candidates ran to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.
On January 3, 2027, Minnesota Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan (White Earth Nation) will be the first Native American woman to be sworn in to serve in the United States Senate since the body first convened in March of 1787. Flanagan defeated her Republican challenger Michelle Tafoya by a solid 10-point margin.
Five Native Americans won their races to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. Rep. Sharice Davids (Ho Chunk) (D-KS-03) handily won with 60 percent of the vote in her purple district. Dean of the House Native American Caucus, Rep. Tom Cole (Chickasaw) (R-OK-04) and Rep. Josh Brecheen (Choctaw) (R-OK-02) won their races with 58% and 68% respectively.
Two new Native Members of Congress will join these veterans. Representative-elect Claire Valdez (Ysleta del Sur Pueblo) (D-NY-07) cruised to victory with 83% of the vote. And Rep.-elect Sean McCann (D-MI-04) defeated long-time incumbent Rep. Bill Huizenga (R) to serve Michigan’s Fourth District, winning a tough race by approximately 7,000 votes.
At the state level, former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) (D) handily won her race for Governor of New Mexico. She will be the first Native woman to serve as a state governor. TW Shannon (Chickasaw) (R) won his race for Lt. Governor of Oklahoma. Hundreds of other Native candidates won state-level races across the nation.
Key Factors in the Midterm Election
As expected, American voters were focused the high cost of living, the Iran war – which is tied to high gas, diesel, and heating oil prices, and corruption as their top issues.
Early exit polls showed significant swings from the 2024 Presidential Election, where young voters swung sharply back to favor Democrats, and Hispanic voters – especially in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas – rebuking Republicans.
The significant cash advantage that Republicans held over Democrats did not overcome the epic wave that favored Democrats.
And finally, the polls and polling averages were mostly correct. If anything, the pollsters over-adjusted to account for the reluctance of Republican voters to answer their polls.
What’s Next?
Congress has returned to Washington, D.C. for a lame duck session that opened on November 9th and extends into December.
The first item on the Senate agenda was a vote on a bill to drastically rewrite federal permitting laws. The Senate voted 73-25 to advance consideration of the legislation. The so-called “Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act” would gut decades-old environmental laws by significantly cutting time frames for tribal government comment, closing off any opportunity to challenge illegal actions in court.
The bill represents a betrayal to Indian Country and the American public that voted for more – not less – accountability of the administration. The bill would set back federal Indian affairs policy by nearly half a century. Tribal leaders nationwide are coming to D.C. to voice opposition to the bill during the lame duck session that will extend into December.
The remainder of the lame duck session is wide open. One must-do item on the list is finalizing negotiations and votes on the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which comes amid clear voter discontent with an unpopular war.
The other must-pass piece of legislation is the annual appropriations bill for FY’2027, which started on October 1, 2026. The current continuing resolution expires on December 11, 2026. Appropriations will require bipartisan support. Democrats are unlikely to agree to the current spending levels set by Republicans. Congressional leaders could reach a compromise to finalize funding during the lame duck or more likely pass another continuing resolution to February of 2027 when Democrats take control of both chambers.
Brief Look Ahead to the 120th Congress: Bring the CFTC to Account
Soon to be Speaker of the House Hakeem Jeffries will outline the Democrats’ top priorities for the 120th Congress in the coming weeks. That bill, H.R.1, will likely include a mix of measures to address the cost of living, reclaim Congress’ authority over tariffs, end the war in Iran, and address corruption.
At the same time, Democrats are expected to fill the void in congressional oversight by calling administrative officials to account for a wide variety of illegal actions. From Indian Country’s perspective, oversight and accountability of the lawless Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is long overdue.
The rogue agency recently doubled down on its efforts to promote illegal online gambling through prediction markets. In September, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that prediction markets violate IGRA by offering their event contracts on Indian lands. On November 5th, just two days after the midterm elections, the CFTC directed Kalshi and other prediction markets to ignore the court order.
The American people overwhelmingly rejected chaos, corruption, and these blatant violations of the rule of law. IGA and tribal leaders nationwide are working with incoming congressional and committee leaders to call the CFTC to account for its actions and, if necessary, work with tribal and state governments to amend the Commodity Exchange Act to bring this corruption to an end.
David Z. Bean is Chairman of the Indian Gaming Association. He can be reached by calling (202) 546-7711 or visit www.indiangaming.org.