Democrats Win Senate Races Across the South as Black Voters Help Deliver Historic Victories

Democrats won Senate races in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia in the midterm elections, according to The New York Times. In a report by Patricia Mazzei, the Times said a Mississippi race was still too close to call. The paper also reported that the Democratic wins lifted down-ballot candidates, meaning candidates for offices below the top of the ballot.

Axios reported that President Trump won historic levels of support from Black men in 2024, and that two years later those gains appeared to evaporate as Republicans suffered what the outlet described as their "worst midterm defeat in 50 years."

The Axios report, written by Russell Contreras, said Democrats had feared that a Supreme Court decision weakening the Voting Rights Act would threaten their political future in the South. Instead, Axios reported, Black voters helped deliver historic Democratic victories.

The two reports emphasize different aspects of the results. The Times focused on the Senate contests in three Southern states and their effect on other races, while Axios focused on the role of Black voters and the comparison with 2024. In the Times account, the Mississippi race had not yet been decided. Neither summary provides vote totals or margins.

The Times framed its report around how Democrats won across the South, while Axios framed its report as a reckoning for the Republican Party among Black voters.

Sources: The New York Times: How Democrats Won Across the South; Axios: Black voters deliver a GOP reckoning.