Democrats picked up at least 12 Republican-held House seats in early returns but fell short in a closely watched race in Kentucky as they fought to wrest control of the chamber after eight years of GOP rule. Democrats needed a net gain of 23 seats to control the House and gain a check on President Donald Trump.
Washington, DC: American voters went to the polls on Tuesday, participating in the mid-term elections that will determine how the remainder of the tenure of President Donald Trump will work out. There are 435 seats In the House of Representatives and 35 seats in the Senate. Besides, 39 governors are to be chosen out of which 36 will be in the states and three in US territories.
Trump's Republicans went to the polls with a majority in the Senate and House of Representatives. As it appears to be losing the House, a political deadlock may ensue when it comes to getting the approval of the Congress for crucial policies and decisions.
Republicans have retained Senate (Upper House) control for two more years, shattering Democrats' dreams of an anti-Trump wave sweeping them into the majority.
The United States has a bicameral legislature like India. The US Senate is the upper chamber (comparable to India's Rajya Sabha) of the United States Congress (the equivalent of Indian Parliament), which along with the United States House of Representatives — the lower chamber comparable to India's Lok Sabha — comprises the legislature of the United States.
The result was all but assured when Republican Kevin Cramer ousted North Dakota Democratic Senator (Sen) Heidi Heitkamp and when Republican businessman Mike Braun ousted Sen Joe Donnelly in Indiana.
Meanwhile, Sen Ted Cruz fended off a spirited challenge from Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke and Republican Sen Marsha Blackburn triumphed in Tennessee.
The GOP's gains come even as the results in Nevada and Arizona have yet to be determined.
Republicans Mike Braun and Kevin Cramer won Democratic-held Senate seats in Indiana and North Dakota, ousting incumbents Joe Donnelly and Heidi Heitkamp.
Democrats have won half the seats they need to reclaim the House of Representatives (Lower House) majority, while Republicans were picking up key Senate contests.
The Democrats are, for the first time in eight years, going to seize control of the House of Representatives from the Republicans.
Democrats picked up at least 12 Republican-held House seats in early returns but fell short in a closely watched race in Kentucky as they fought to wrest control of the chamber after eight years of GOP rule.
Democrats needed a net gain of 23 seats to control the House and gain a check on President Donald Trump.
Democratic gains included several suburban districts eyed for turnover because they were won by Hillary Clinton, including seats outside Washington, Philadelphia, Miami and Denver.
Democrats are gaining ground in their fight for control of the House, picking up key seats in Florida, Pennsylvania and Minnesota.
The early wins give Democrats a share of the seats they'll need for House control. They won two seats in Florida, knocking off two incumbents there, and have won three seats in Pennsylvania, where court-ordered redistricting made the terrain more favourable to Democrats. They have also defeated a Republican incumbent in Minnesota.
Democrats need a net gain of 23 seats to win the House.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says a Democratic wave may look more like a "ripple."
Sanders spoke to reporters at the White House Tuesday night, as election returns were still coming in. She says, "Maybe you get a ripple but I certainly don't think that there's a blue wave."
She says there is still a "long way to go," but the White House feels "good about where we are right now."
Should Republicans lose the House, Sanders says the president's agenda is not going to change.
Speaking on Fox News, Sanders said the candidates that Trump campaigned for are doing well. She also said that if Republicans should lose the House, Democrats should try to work across the aisle.
As polls begin to close, the White House is stressing the effort President Donald Trump put into a political ground game aimed at putting Republicans in the win column for Tuesday's midterm elections.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says in a written statement that Trump has headlined 50 political rallies, 30 in the past two months. He's campaigned for dozens of candidates at all levels of government.
Sanders says the Republican National Committee raised more than $250 million under Trump to defy what she calls "midterm history," which tends to favour the party that does not control the White House.
Sanders says the president and first lady Melania Trump are looking forward to watching election results Tuesday night with friends and family in the White House residence.
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