‘An incredible repudiation of Trump.’ Sen. Peter Welch on the 2026 Democratic tsunami.

Landslide. Tsunami. Earthquake. Bloodbath. Wipeout. Massacre.

That is how mainstream news accounts are characterizing the results of this year’s midterm election, as Democrats led a historic rout of Republicans. Democrats are poised to retake control of both the U.S. Senate and House. The election marked a decisive rejection of President Donald Trump and his MAGA movement.

And with the election to the U.S. Senate of Troy Jackson in Maine and Chris Pappas in New Hampshire, the Boston Globe reports that “New England will not have a single Republican U.S. Senator for the first time since the founding of the Republican Party in the mid-19th century.”

U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., told me that the election was “an incredible repudiation of Trump” and said voters across the political spectrum united around concerns about affordability, government integrity and presidential overreach.

“This election was an opportunity for the American people to weigh in,” Welch said. “That arbitrary use of authority is something people really reacted to because it had real consequences in their lives.”

Welch pointed to widespread dissatisfaction with Trump’s tariffs, his administration’s handling of immigration enforcement, and the president’s decision to expand U.S. military involvement in Iran without congressional approval.

“People were appalled by the cruelty and the corruption of the Trump administration,” Welch said, arguing that voters ultimately rejected both the policies and style of Trump’s presidency.

The Vermont senator said one of the election’s clearest messages was a demand for accountability from elected officials.

“The most significant act of accountability is the American voters repudiating policies and actions and behaviors by incumbents,” Welch said. “The American voter did that on a massive scale.”

While Democrats celebrated major gains, Welch cautioned against interpreting the results as a broad endorsement of his party.

The vote “was not a big embrace of Democrats,” he said. “What Democrats have been given by the American people is an opportunity to earn their trust.”

That trust, Welch said, must be earned by addressing issues that cut across partisan lines, including healthcare costs, child care, fuel prices and economic insecurity.

“Families can’t afford healthcare. It’s a broken system. Families can’t afford childcare,” he said. “We have to approach this with humility and try to hear and act on what the American people said.”

Among the first priorities for the incoming Democratic majorities, Welch said, should be efforts to repeal Trump-era tariffs and reassert congressional authority over trade and war powers.

“The president doesn’t have authority unilaterally to impose taxes, and a tariff is a tax,” he said. “We’ve got a new majority in both houses, and we should act on it.”

Welch also called for legislation to curb immigration enforcement practices that he described as harmful and indiscriminate. Recounting a recent visit to a detention facility in St. Albans, he said several detainees he met had legal status, jobs and no criminal records.

“These mass roundups are absolutely unacceptable,” Welch said. “They’re violent. They’re cruel. They’re not only unnecessary, but they’re really harmful.”

At the same time, Welch urged Democrats to focus on governance rather than political retribution.

“There will be corruption investigations,” he acknowledged. But, he added, accountability should be “about making life better for everyday people, not a focus on corruption that is about vengeance and payback.”

The election also produced a series of historic gubernatorial victories by women, immigrants, Black candidates, Native Americans and Muslims, developments Welch described as evidence that voters were focused more on character and economic concerns than identity politics.

“People were colorblind in terms of their vote,” he said. “They were laser-focused on candidates who they believed would make their lives better.”

Does this election mark the end of the MAGA movement?

“Yes,” he said. “I think Trump is done in terms of an effective political spokesperson. His policies have collapsed, and the meanness of his policies have been revealed.”

Whether Democrats can translate their electoral triumph into legislative victories remains uncertain. Trump retains his veto power, and many of the party’s priorities will require bipartisan support. But after a stunning election night that reshaped American politics, Welch said voters have sent an unmistakable message.



“The American people,” he said, “rejected Trump and his corruption. That is the loudest and clearest message about the demand for accountability that can be given.”