Rural voters helped Democrats win on Election Day 2026, Washington Post data shows

Rural voters were a significant part of the Democrats' overwhelming victories on Election Day 2026, according to data compiled by The Washington Post on Wednesday morning. 

"Rural areas, suburbs and major cities all moved toward Democratic candidates by double digits compared with the 2024 election," report Clara Ence Morse, Eric Lau and Ted Armus for the Post. 

They write that voters from a range of demographics "backed Democrats by overwhelming numbers" this midterm election, catapulting Democrats into control of the U.S. House and Senate. Midterm turnout is historically and consistently low and almost always favors the sitting president, "but these results included new high-water marks for Democrats, who won in multiple states for the first time in decades — and in nearly a century in the case of Kansas," where rural voters swung Democrat by 20 points. 

Read more about historical races and wins, and see some compelling visuals of the Democratic pendulum swing, here.