The African Democratic Congress has urged Nigerians to learn from the outcome of the 2026 United States midterm elections, where the Democratic Party defeated President Donald Trump’s Republican Party to take control of both chambers of Congress.
The ADC said the US results showed that voters could use their ballots to hold political leaders accountable.
In a statement issued on Wednesday and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the outcome of Tuesday’s elections demonstrated that political power ultimately belonged to citizens.
The Democrats’ victories in the House of Representatives and Senate marked a major setback for Trump and his Republican Party, which had controlled both chambers before the elections.
The ADC said, “Americans have shown that when politicians become arrogant, when policies punish ordinary people, and when those in power mistake popularity for a permanent licence to govern, the ballot box remains the ultimate instrument of accountability.
“American voters understand something Nigerians must also learn: elections are about the welfare of the citizens, not sentiments, political loyalties or personality cults. No leader is bigger than the people, and no political party is entitled to power forever.”
The party, under which former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar is contesting against President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, said Nigerians had endured years of economic hardship, worsening insecurity and declining opportunities.
“If Americans can use their votes to demand better, Nigerians can do the same.”
The party urged Nigerians, particularly voters, to consider their welfare and interests when choosing their leaders in the next general elections.
Democrats flipped seats that had long been held by Republicans, scoring breakthroughs in South Carolina, North Carolina, Iowa, Kansas, Ohio, Texas and Maine.
In Maine, former logger Troy Jackson defeated longtime Republican Senator Susan Collins, the party’s seventh Senate seat captured from Republicans.
In Kansas, Methodist minister Adam Hamilton became the first Democrat elected to the Senate from the reliably conservative state since 1932. Iowa had not elected a Democratic senator since 2008.
Talarico, the Texas Democrat, declared he had defeated “Goliath” in winning a Senate seat, while Gina Hinojosa unseated the state’s Republican governor, Greg Abbott, ending decades of Republican rule.
Democrats also protected key Senate seats of their own, including Jon Ossoff in Georgia and an open seat in New Hampshire.
The scale of the victory grew further when Abdul El-Sayed defeated former Republican lawmaker Mike Rogers in Michigan, making him the first Muslim elected to the upper chamber of Congress.
The party’s House victory saw gains across Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Arizona, North Carolina, Wisconsin and New Jersey, including districts Trump had carried comfortably in 2024.
In one closely watched bellwether, Democrat J.D. Ford ousted Republican congresswoman Victoria Spartz in Indiana, capturing a district Trump won by 17 points two years earlier.
Democrats also won Georgia’s governorship, electing former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms as the first Black woman governor in US history.
Republicans had some consolation in Florida, where Trump-backed Byron Donalds became the state’s first Black governor and Ashley Moody retained a Senate seat — but only after seeing off surprisingly strong Democratic challenges.
