Santa Barbara Congressman Salud Carbajal, who was re-elected Tuesday, reflected Wednesday on the Democratic Party’s wins in the midterm elections.
Democrats saw a flood of wins across the country, including governor races, down-ballot contests, and races for the House of Representatives and Senate.
“The campaign is over, but our mission to heal our country is just beginning,” Carbajal said in a media call Wednesday to discuss the next steps for the party on the national level.
Carbajal, a Democrat, had 65.8% of the vote in election night results, far ahead of Bob Smith, a Carpinteria resident who was on the ballot as a Republican but recently said he switched to no party preference.
In Santa Barbara County, as of June totals, about 46.2% of registered voters are Democrats, 24.8% are Republicans and 21.1% are no party preference.
Election night brought upsets in states that Republicans thought were secure, including Texas, Kansas and South Carolina, according to national news reports.
Democrats’ control of Congress may continue to grow because several California races became competitive after the Proposition 50 redistricting.
Voters approved the measure in November 2025 in response to Texas redrawing its district maps. The proposition is a temporary rewrite of California voting districts that was designed to offset the Texas districts.
Some of the most contested seats include the 22nd District, where Rep. David Valadares, a 12-year Republican incumbent, is trailing his challenger, Randy Villegas, a political science professor, CalMatters reported.
“Villegas had about 66% with about 57% of the votes counted,” it reported.
In the 48th District, Marni von Wilpert, a Democratic San Diego City Council member, was leading Republican San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond.
The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Democrats had won control of the Senate with 54 seats to 44 for Republicans. In the House, Democrats were expected to have 238 seats and Republicans had 147, according to preliminary results.
Carbajal called the results of the midterms a rejection of President Donald Trump’s and the Republican Party’s “misguided chaos, cruelty and corruption.”
“For the past two years, the Trump administration has unleashed disastrous economic policies, like the reckless illegal tariffs,” Carbajal said. “They cut health care and food assistance to millions of Americans, and they let ICE terrorize our neighborhoods and started new forever wars abroad.
“And who has paid the price for those choices? Working middle-class families.”
When the Democrats take control of Congress next year, Carbajal said, he is determined to hit the ground running.
He said he will urge his colleagues to focus on legislation that will undo Trump’s policies, such as tariffs, healthcare, and food assistance. He said he also hopes to address housing, childcare, utilities and gas.
Furthermore, Carbajal said that they will be able to act as checks and balances on the Trump administration.
Carbajal added that control of Congress will allow Democrats to curb the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. One example he gave is taking back some of the funding that Republicans provided to the agency.
He also said it would allow them to take more definitive action against Sable Offshore Corp., which controversially restarted oil and gas operations in Santa Barbara County and is attempting to seize state lands through eminent domain with federal help.
Carbajal acknowledged that Democrats do not have a supermajority in the legislature with the midterm results, but said they are still in a good position because of their ability to lead investigations and subcommittees.
“We’re going to be in a position to negotiate quite a bit,” Carbajal said. “The endless gravy train by this administration has come to an end.”
