Fox News Voter Poll: How Democrats took control of the Senate
Fox News Voter Poll: How Democrats took control of the Senate
The much-touted "blue wave" came to fruition as Democrats won a stunning run of victories in both red and blue states.
They also came out ahead in key governors races.
The Fox News Voter Poll, a survey of more than 100,000 voters nationwide, highlights the central themes and demographic groups that defined these important races.
STATE OF PLAY: BLUE WAVE SWEEPS DEMOCRATS INTO POWER, WITH KEY RACES STILL HANGING IN BALANCE
Democrat Annie Andrews won a close-run race against incumbent Republican Darline Graham to flip a Senate seat that had been in the hands of Grahams brother Lindsey for more than 20 years.
Appointed to the seat after her brothers death in July, Graham underperformed his electoral strength; he won re-election to the Senate in 2020 by 11 percentage points. She also underperformed President Donald Trumps strength among key groups from two years ago.
Rural voters, for instance, backed Trump with 63% in 2024 – Graham this year garnered only 51%. Former Vice President Kamala Harris received 36% of the rural vote in 2024; Andrews bested that by about 10 points.
Graham did manage to hang on to non-MAGA Republican voters, amid concerns that they would defect. But again, she got 70% of their vote, while Trump pulled in 79% two years ago.
Independents: Andrews ran away among these voters, getting about 7 in 10. Trump received 39%, while Graham managed less than 20%.
Andrews did well with women, college graduates and urban voters.
She also benefited from Democrats being more unified behind her than Republicans were for Graham. Almost all Democrats backed Andrews, while just about 8 in 10 Republicans voted for Graham. More than 10% of Republicans crossed party lines to support Andrews.
The economy was by far the top issue in the state, with more than four in 10 putting it in the top spot. Andrews received the majority of those voters.
THE ECONOMY IS ON THE BALLOT. 3 CHARTS REVEAL THE REALITY VOTERS FACE AS THEY HEAD TO THE POLLS
Three-quarters said inflation caused their family hardship in the past year, and more than half are very concerned about the cost of gas, food, utilities and healthcare.
And voters blame Trump for their economic woes: six in 10 say his policies have made things worse, and more than half blame him for inflation.
AMERICA SAW THE BLUE WAVE COMING — BUT DRASTICALLY UNDERESTIMATED THE EXTENT OF THE DEM TSUNAMI
Graham was also found lacking as far as having the right experience to serve as senator. More than six in 10 said she did not.
Democrat Sherrod Brown won back his seat in the Senate, flipping it into the "D" column. He was ahead in the polls throughout the race and pulled off a win against Republican Jon Husted, who had been appointed to JD Vance's seat when he became vice president.
Husted tried to play the "extreme" card on Brown, which didnt quite play among an electorate that was familiar with him after serving three terms in the Senate. More than half said he wasnt.
Brown did, on the other hand, wield the too-close-to-Trump card on Husted – and quite effectively at that, with close to six in 10 voters saying the Republican was too supportive of the president.
