Democrats are projected to take both chambers of Congress in US midterms

Democrats take both chambers

Democrats are projected to take control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate after the midterm elections on Tuesday, 3 November. Democrats from moderates to progressives, populists and Democratic socialists all declared victory that night, according to The Guardian. The party also flipped several governor's offices and won new legislative trifectas in a number of states, which the Guardian says gives Democrats more avenues to hold the administration accountable.

Early counts

The Independent's early count gave Democrats 224 House seats against 134 for Republicans, with 77 seats still to be counted. In 2018, Democrats needed 23 seats to win back the House and ended with a 232 to 198 majority, the Independent recalled.

Democrats224

Republicans134

Democrats

224 seats

Republicans

134 seats

Data from the article text

In the Senate, Democrats had won at least 54 seats in that count, with four still to be counted, while Republicans stood at 42.

Democrats (at least)54

Republicans42

Democrats (at least)

54 seats

Republicans

42 seats

Data from the article text

Where the map shifted

Democrats competed deep in Republican strongholds, and the Guardian reports that US senators will join the Democratic ranks from Kansas and South Carolina. Texas went blue in more than one race. In Maine, voters ousted a 30-year veteran of the US Senate even though the Democratic candidate had been dogged by a scandal and was eventually replaced. North Carolina was the first Senate seat to flip, according to inews, which also named former governor Roy Cooper.

In Iowa, Democrats flipped the governor's office, the US Senate seat and three of four congressional districts. Rob Sand, elected the state's next governor, told supporters in his victory remarks:

“To Iowa Democrats, we've had a hard few years here in Iowa, but balanced government has been restored.”

Republican congresswoman Nancy Mace delivered a blunt reaction live on Piers Morgan Uncensored on Tuesday, 3 November, saying she had just found out she was losing her seat.

Trump's response and the next two years

On Monday afternoon, 2 November, Donald Trump made a final campaign appearance in front of the Lincoln Reflecting Pool and told reporters:

“For some reason, the sitting President doesn't win the midterms, but we gave this a very strong shot”

By the end of the night he told Fox News that the Iran war had hurt Republicans, saying people 'didn't like it' when they had to pay more for fuel. He hinted at further strikes, saying 'We have to do something large'. Exit polls found 65% of voters held Trump personally responsible for worsening economic conditions. US equity futures were rattled by the midterm Blue Wave. Immigration is a weaker issue for Trump eight years on, the Independent notes, after public backlash to ICE following the killing of two US citizens in Minnesota in January. Trump now faces the final two years of his term as a lame-duck president, having warned earlier that he would use his veto and grant pardons.