Silver linings playbook: does it exist after Tuesday’s carnage?

Republicans suffered sweeping losses in Tuesday’s midterm elections, surrendering control of both chambers of Congress, but a handful of results across the map offered the party some footing as President Donald Trump heads into the final two years of his term.Democrats got three seats – and more – from Republicans to win control of the House. And they now have 54 Senate seats, having taken six away from the GOP – in Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas, with Alaska and Mississippi still undecided as of Wednesday night.
Voters went to the polls with Trump’s approval rating at 38%, with 89% of voters saying the cost of living was a major factor in their vote. 
Tuesday’s GOP carnage is undeniable, but there are a few holes in the storm cloud cover that could offer some solace for the party.
Vermont sticks with its Republican governor
Republican Gov. Phil Scott won a historic sixth term Tuesday, a sign that voters in one of the nation’s most liberal states still value a check on one-party control. Scott took 52.5% of the vote to 45.9% for Democrat Amanda Janoo.
The result stood out in a state where Democrats otherwise ran strong. Vermonters reelected Democratic Rep. Becca Balint, chose Democrats for attorney general, auditor, secretary of state and treasurer, and elected Democrat Molly Gray as lieutenant governor over Republican incumbent John Rodgers.
Split-ticket voting has long been Scott’s hallmark. A moderate first elected in 2016, he was ranked as the most popular governor in the country by Morning Consult as recently as February and won each of his previous three races by more than 40 points.
This year’s contest was tighter, reflecting the national climate. VTDigger reported the race proved more competitive than most voters expected. Still, on a night when Republicans lost governor’s races in Georgia, Ohio, Iowa, Nevada and Texas, Vermonters chose to keep a Republican in the governor’s office.
Florida remains ruby red
Florida delivered the GOP’s clearest statewide wins of the night. GOP Rep. Byron Donalds defeated Democrat David Jolly to become the state’s first black governor and the first black Republican elected governor in U.S. history.
The race was close. Donalds took 50.1% of the vote to Jolly’s 48.7%, with about 99% counted, according to the Associated Press. He also held a lopsided financial edge, raising nearly $174 million compared to less than $28 million for Jolly. 
Donalds, a close Trump ally, said he told the president that Floridians “are still red.” The win extends a Republican hold on the governor’s office that dates to 1998.
GOP Sen. Ashley Moody, appointed after Marco Rubio became secretary of state, won a special election to finish his term, defeating Democratic state Rep. Angie Nixon.
The sweep came in a state once considered a quintessential swing state.
GOP holds the line in its heartland
Beyond Florida, Republicans kept a firm grip on much of the interior West and the South.
In Wyoming, Rep. Harriet Hageman cruised to an open Senate seat win, taking 64.5% of the vote to Democrat James Byrd’s 35.5% with 90% counted. She will succeed retiring Sen. Cynthia Lummis.
In Montana, former U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme won the seat held by retiring GOP Sen. Steve Daines, with Daines and Trump backing him. Alme led with 48.8% of the vote to 37.4% for independent Seth Bodnar and 12% for Democrat Alani Bankhead. Trump carried Montana by nearly 20 points in 2024.
In Oklahoma, Republican Kevin Hern won the Senate race to fill the seat now-Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin left in March. Republicans also notched victories in Idaho, Arkansas, Louisiana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kentucky and West Virginia, among other states.
Those holds leave the party with a dependable bloc of Senate seats to build on as it looks toward 2028.
History offers a path back
Republicans have rebounded from defeats this lopsided before. After the 1992 election, the GOP held just 176 House seats to 258 for Democrats, then won both chambers in 1994. After 2008 left the GOP with 178 seats, the party recaptured the House two years later.
CNN commentator Scott Jennings pointed to 2010 as the model, when voters handed President Barack Obama a sharp midterm rebuke. 
“To pick out a silver lining, look back at 2010,” Jennings said. Republicans gained 63 House seats that year, and Obama went on to win a second term.
Democrats now must govern without a clear plan to deliver on their affordability promises, and their divisions could blunt Tuesday’s momentum.
The comparison has limits. Democrats could finish with more than 260 House seats, their largest majority since 1990. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned the GOP might not regain the Senate until 2032. Still, the pattern of midterm backlash followed by recovery offers Republicans a template ahead of 2028.
Trump’s pen and veto remain
Losing Congress does not strip Trump of the presidency’s most potent tools. And because he cannot seek another term, he faces little political cost in pressing his agenda through executive orders, regulatory actions and foreign policy moves that need no congressional sign-off.
He signaled as much Wednesday, warning he would use “tremendous executive powers” if Democrats try to stall his administration. On Election Day, he told CBS News, “I have the ultimate power – it’s called ‘veto.'” Late Tuesday, he posted an image of a red “VETO” hat.
The president keeps wide latitude to conduct foreign relations, send troops abroad and wage war on his own. Some conservative commentators argue deportations, regulatory rollbacks and appointments that skip Senate confirmation will continue.
Trump also struck a conciliatory note in the hours following the election, saying Democrats will want to work with him or face vetoes. Some Democrats, on the other hand, are preparing for investigations and aggressive oversight, and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer vowed “legislative razor wire” against Trump.
Amanda Head is White House Correspondent for Just the News. You can follow her here.

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