Forget the blue tsunami. Tuesday night’s election was a blue supernova.
Democrats won big at all levels in the 2026 midterms. Now that the dust has settled, let’s chat about winners, losers—and what we still don’t know.
Grab another cup of coffee and read on.
The big picture: The biggest headline of the night is that Democrats took control of the House and Senate.
- That will usher in a new wave of leaders on the relevant space committees, who are likely to champion the STEM outreach and space science work that has long been a top priority for Democrats.
- It puts a big question mark on funding for Golden Dome, which has so far been a Republican-backed program politically linked to President Donald Trump.
- Democrats are also reportedly considering investigating Elon Musk, including the reason behind SpaceX Starlink service being throttled in Ukraine and the staffing changes he led while at DOGE.
The final chamber make-up is still to be decided thanks to some outstanding races. How much of a margin the Democrats secure will determine how much they can implement their agenda.
Who’s in: Some prominent space leaders on Capitol Hill will be returning in 2027, including:
- Rep. Mike Haridopolos (R-FL), the top Republican of the House space subcommittee, and who represents Florida’s space coast.
- Rep. Valerie Foushee (D-NC), the top Dem on the House space subcommittee.
- Rep. Brian Babin (R-TX), the chair of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, who represents the area including JSC in Houston, TX.
- Rep. Dale Strong (R-AL), who represents Huntsville, AL.
- Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), the top Dem of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.
- Rep. George Whitesides (D-CA), the former CEO of Virgin Galactic who serves on the House space subcommittee and the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee.
- Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX) beat out Republican Eric Flores to represent the region including SpaceX’s Starbase in southern Texas.
Democratic Texas House Rep. James Talarico will be Texas’ new senator, filling the open seat left by Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-TX) departure after losing in the primary. .
At the state level, Republican Byron Donalds—who rolled out his plan to boost Florida’s place in the space race in August—also will become Florida’s next governor.
Who’s out:
- Democrat Elaine Luria defeated Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA) in the district that represents NASA’s Wallops launch facility.
Too close to call: Rep. Jeff Crank (R-CO), who represents Colorado Springs, CO, and serves on the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, is still locked in a tight race with Democrat Jessica Killin. As of Wednesday morning, Killin is up by nearly 15,000 votes with 72% of votes counted, according to the AP.
State Department Taps Trio for $5M Space Diplomacy Push
At last week’s second annual US Space Forum, the US Mission to the International Organizations in Vienna launched Project Constellation, a $5M effort to build international space partnerships.
NASA Signs Space Nuclear Pact, Says Moon Base Is Ahead of Schedule
Isaacman gave updates at the White House’s “Science: A New Golden Age Summit.”
DOT Proposes Changes to Part 450 Licensing Rules
On Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced five proposed FAA rules aiming to streamline and modernize commercial space launch and reentry regulations.
DOE Announces $400M for Frontier Science Research
The Department of Energy is super-charging research into bleeding edge energy tech.
Americans are going to the polls today to elect the slate of leaders that will likely be in office when NASA is targeting returning astronauts to the lunar surface, which would be in 2028 or so.
If you’re anything like me, election night is a time for tracking exit polls, early returns, and races that are too close to call. Here are the top things I’ll be paying attention to over my election-night pizza—a cheat sheet of what to watch as it relates to space.
Top of the ticket: My top pick for space is an important topic for all election watchers—whether Democrats are able to take control of the House and Senate.
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