Flanagan takes Minnesota Senate seat as Jackson topples Collins in Maine

CNN projected Democratic Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan as the winner of Minnesota's Senate race, a result that puts her among the first Native American women elected to the US Senate. Flanagan, a longtime Minnesota Democrat, moves up from the state's No. 2 job to Washington.

The same outlet projected that Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins will lose her reelection bid to Democrat Troy Jackson, the former president of the Maine Senate. Collins' defeat hands Democrats a seat they have chased for years in a state known for splitting its political loyalties.

The two calls landed as part of a wave that has Democrats on track to control the Senate. CNN, Fox and NBC projected Democrat Josh Turek would beat Republican Ashley Hinson in Iowa, flipping a seat held by retiring GOP Senator Joni Ernst and pushing Democrats to 51 seats.

Democrats have now flipped seats in North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio and Iowa, with a dozen races still uncalled. In Texas, Democratic state Rep. James Talarico declared victory over Republican Ken Paxton, ending a 32-year Democratic drought in statewide Texas elections, according to media projections.

The results drew a reaction from President Donald Trump, who posted an image on Truth Social of a red hat reading VETO. He has said he holds what he calls the ultimate power to block legislation from an opposition-controlled Congress, while also saying he will accept the midterm results.