The results are in: Republicans will retain their majority in the Senate after the 2018 midterms, and have even increased their presence in Congress after hard-fought races in Indiana, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas.

As was expected, Republicans still hold majority rule in Senate after the 2018 midterms, according to projections from The New York Times, Washington Post, and more. Thirty-five Senate seats were up for election in the midterms, as well as the controlling party for the 65 seats not on the ballot during this cycle. It was more than likely for the GOP to remain in power; even if there was a 50-50 Senate split, Vice President Mike Pence would cast the tie-breaking vote. So…we know how that would go. At the time that win was called, Republicans had 51 seats, gaining three seats; Democrats had 44. Five seats were up for grabs but likely to go to Republicans, according to CNN.

On election night eve, FiveThirtyEight predicted that Republicans had an 82.2% chance of controlling the Senate, and when it came to a state-by-state seat breakdown, the GOP were thought to have a 52 to 48 advantage over Democrats. They actually weren’t that far off. However, it wasn’t a total loss for Democrats. The party made history today by taking majority of the House of Representatives while losing the Senate. Maybe not the result they hoped for, but still, one for the record books.

Since the United States started directly electing senators in 1914, the House of Representatives has never flipped control to a party without that winning party also gaining seats in the Senate. The Democrats’ House win was remarkable, but going into the Senate race, things weren’t in their favor. Democrats were defending 26 of the 35 seats on the ballot — 10 in states that overwhelmingly elected Donald Trump in 2016.</s>The Democrats gained control of the House but the Republicans held their Senate majority as voters rendered a mixed verdict in the first nationwide election of Donald Trump’s turbulent presidency.

The Democrats picked up the 23 seats they would need to take control of the House of Representatives from the Republicans, but were still short of the 218 total to wrest control with more races still undecided.

The results allowed both parties to claim partial victory, and highlighted an extraordinary realignment of US voters by race, sex and education. Latest results in the US midterm elections (PA Graphics)

The Republicans maintained their strength in conservative, rural states, while Democrats made inroads across America’s suburbs.

Women were assured of 85 seats in the House, more than ever before.

With control of Congress, statehouses and the president’s agenda at stake, some of the nation’s top elections were too close to call.

Yet Democrats’ dreams of the Senate majority as part of a “blue wave” were shattered after losses in many of the top Senate battlegrounds: Indiana, Missouri, Tennessee, North Dakota and Texas.

They also suffered a stinging loss in Florida, where Trump-backed Republican Ron DeSantis ended Democrat Andrew Gillum’s bid to become the state’s first African-American governor.

“I want to encourage you to stick to the fight,” said Mr Gillum, who was thought to be a rising star with national ambitions.

In the broader fight for control in the Trump era, the political and practical stakes on Tuesday were sky high. Latest from the House battleground seats in the US midterm elections (PA Graphics)

Democrats could derail Trump’s legislative agenda for the next two years should they win control of the House. And they would claim subpoena power to investigate Mr Trump’s personal and professional shortcomings.

Some Democrats have already vowed to force the release of his tax returns. Others have pledged to pursue impeachment, although removal from office is unlikely so long as the Republicans control the Senate.

The road to a House majority ran through two dozen suburban districts Hillary Clinton won in 2016. Democrats flipped seats in suburban districts outside Washington, Philadelphia, Miami, Chicago and Denver.

The results were more mixed deeper into Trump country.

In Kansas, Democrat Sharice Davids beat a Republican incumbent to become the first Native American and gay woman elected to the House.

But in Kentucky, one of the top Democratic recruits, retired Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath lost her bid to oust Andy Barr. Voters cast their ballots across the United States (John Minchillo/AP)

Mr Trump sought to take credit for retaining the Republicans’ Senate majority, even as the party’s foothold in the more competitive House battlefield appeared to be slipping.

“Tremendous success tonight. Thank you to all!” he tweeted.

History was working against the president in the Senate: 2002 was the only midterm election in the past three decades when the party holding the White House gained Senate seats.

Yet Mr Trump’s party will maintain Senate control for the next two years, at least.

In Texas, Ted Cruz staved off a tough challenge from Democrat Beto O’Rourke, whose record-smashing fundraising and celebrity have set off buzz he could be a credible 2020 White House contender.

In Indiana, Trump-backed businessman Mike Braun defeated Democratic incumbent Joe Donnelly. In Missouri, Josh Hawley knocked off Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill. And in Tennessee, Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn defeated former Governor Phil Bredesen, a top Democratic recruit.

In the lead-up to the election, Republicans privately expressed confidence in their narrow Senate majority but feared the House could slip away. The party’s grip on high-profile governorships in Georgia and Wisconsin were at risk as well.

“Tomorrow will be a new day in America,” said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who is in line to become the next House speaker should the Democrats take the majority.- Press Association</s>“Democrats had a narrow path through the suburbs in districts won by Hillary Clinton, and it appears they were able to flip those seats despite strong performances from our candidates who consistently outperformed the top of the ticket in nearly every race,” Daudt said in a statement.

Republicans retained control of the Senate by winning a special election to preserve their one-vote majority and ensuring that divided government will continue in Minnesota.

Senate GOP Majority Leader Paul Gazelka said his party’s victory in an open St. Cloud area district means that “You can’t call it a blue wave.”

DFLers took charge by unseating some longtime House incumbents in what had been safe Republican districts before Trump was elected. Among those upset were powerful Education Finance Committee Chair Jenifer Loon, a five-term veteran from Eden Prairie; and six-term Rep. Sarah Anderson of Plymouth, chair of the State Government Finance Committee.

In the Senate special election, GOP Rep. Jeff Howe defeated DFL Stearns County Commissioner Joe Perske in the race to succeed former Sen. Michelle Fischbach, who resigned last summer after being elevated to lieutenant governor.

Minnesota voters braved a chilly rain-snow mix Tuesday to cast ballots in high-profile elections for governor and attorney general, two U.S. Senate seats and at least four hotly contested congressional races around the state. They also were voting in less-noisy contests that decided which party would be in charge of the Legislature next year.

Most of the 134 seats in the state House are in reliably red (greater Minnesota) or blue (Minneapolis and St. Paul) districts. So the battle for control was waged most intensely in about 20 swing districts, primarily in the suburbs.

While Minnesotans across the state were being inundated with negative TV attack ads, voters in competitive suburban districts were also buried in stacks of campaign mailings and visits by door-knocking legislative candidates and their supporters.

Republicans rolled into the election with a 77-57 House majority. So Democrats needed to pick up 11 additional seats to take back control, which they last held in 2013-14. While Republicans had conceded loss of the House, complete results were not available as this edition of the Pioneer Press was published.

DFLers had history on their side. It’s called the midterm penalty for the president’s party.

Since 1952, the party of the sitting president has lost an average of 17 Minnesota House seats in midterm elections. This election was expected to be a referendum on President Donald Trump, and his approval rating in recent polls in Minnesota have hovered just below 40 percent.

But most Democratic legislative candidates focused on “bread-and-butter issues,” Hortman said in a recent interview. They emphasized providing affordable health care, better education, abortion rights, cleaner air and water and transportation improvements.

Daudt said Republican candidates were running on expanding their popular record of reducing health care costs, cutting taxes, and increasing funding for roads and bridges and for schools.</s>Want more FiveThirtyEight? Get our weekly most popular stories newsletter.

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No thanks. Done.</s>“Democrats had a narrow path through the suburbs in districts won by Hillary Clinton, and it appears they were able to flip those seats despite strong performances from our candidates who consistently outperformed the top of the ticket in nearly every race,” Daudt said in a statement.

Republicans retained control of the Senate by winning a special election to preserve their one-vote majority and ensuring that divided government will continue in Minnesota.

Senate GOP Majority Leader Paul Gazelka said his party’s victory in an open St. Cloud area district means that “You can’t call it a blue wave.”

DFLers took charge by unseating some longtime House incumbents in what had been safe Republican districts before Trump was elected. Among those upset were powerful Education Finance Committee Chair Jenifer Loon, a five-term veteran from Eden Prairie; and six-term Rep. Sarah Anderson of Plymouth, chair of the State Government Finance Committee.

In the Senate special election, GOP Rep. Jeff Howe defeated DFL Stearns County Commissioner Joe Perske in the race to succeed former Sen. Michelle Fischbach, who resigned last summer after being elevated to lieutenant governor.

Minnesota voters braved a chilly rain-snow mix Tuesday to cast ballots in high-profile elections for governor and attorney general, two U.S. Senate seats and at least four hotly contested congressional races around the state. They also were voting in less-noisy contests that decided which party would be in charge of the Legislature next year.

Most of the 134 seats in the state House are in reliably red (greater Minnesota) or blue (Minneapolis and St. Paul) districts. So the battle for control was waged most intensely in about 20 swing districts, primarily in the suburbs.

While Minnesotans across the state were being inundated with negative TV attack ads, voters in competitive suburban districts were also buried in stacks of campaign mailings and visits by door-knocking legislative candidates and their supporters.

Republicans rolled into the election with a 77-57 House majority. So Democrats needed to pick up 11 additional seats to take back control, which they last held in 2013-14. While Republicans had conceded loss of the House, complete results were not available as this edition of the Pioneer Press was published.

DFLers had history on their side. It’s called the midterm penalty for the president’s party.

Since 1952, the party of the sitting president has lost an average of 17 Minnesota House seats in midterm elections. This election was expected to be a referendum on President Donald Trump, and his approval rating in recent polls in Minnesota have hovered just below 40 percent.

But most Democratic legislative candidates focused on “bread-and-butter issues,” Hortman said in a recent interview. They emphasized providing affordable health care, better education, abortion rights, cleaner air and water and transportation improvements.

Daudt said Republican candidates were running on expanding their popular record of reducing health care costs, cutting taxes, and increasing funding for roads and bridges and for schools.</s>The US midterm elections occur every two years, in the middle of a President’s term. There are two elements to votes today, the election of members of the House of Representatives and the election of members of the Senate. These two branches are what control the United States Congress. The Republicans and Democrats are vying for a majority of both the House and Senate.

What happens if the Republicans win the House? The House of Representatives is made up of 435 members, and all are up for election in today’s vote. To achieve a majority either party would 218 or more seats. In addition, there are six members who represent Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the US Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia. These six representatives cannot vote in the full house but can sit and vote in congressional committees and introduce legislation.

Should the President’s party, the Republicans, win control of the House, passing legislation would remain relatively easy for President Donald Trump. If opposing party the Democrats achieve a majority, Trump would find his power lessened as any new bills or amendments to current bills would first have to be approved by the House. According to polling site FiveThirtyEight, the President’s party has a one in eight - 12 percent - chance of retaining control of the House. What happens if the Republicans win the Senate? Each state, regardless of size, has two senators representing them in the Senate.

The Senate shares with the House of Representatives the responsibility for all lawmaking within the United States. For an act of Congress to be valid, both houses must approve an identical document. Senators have the power to decide on major presidential appointments, and also should an impeachment trial come to pass it occurs in the Senate. As well as this, treaties with other nations must be agreed by two-thirds of the Senate.</s>Democrats leveraged fury with President Donald Trump to capture the House after a hard-fought election that saw Republicans expand their majority in the Senate, a split verdict that set the stage for divided government and partisan conflict that will shape the rest of President Trump’s first term.

The dramatic conclusion of the most expensive and consequential midterm in modern times underscored the nation’s deep polarization, but fell short of delivering a sweeping repudiation of Trump that Democrats had hoped would put an exclamation point on the “resistance” movement.

Trump’s racially charged warnings about undocumented immigrants and demonization of Democrats appeared to mobilize enough Republican voters to withstand the “blue wave” the party once feared. The president helped Republicans win hotly contested Senate races in Indiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Tennessee and Texas, and proclaimed the election’s outcome a “tremendous success.” Republicans held their grip throughout the South and in rural and exurban areas.

But Democrats – propelled by a rejection of Trumpism in the nation’s suburbs, and from women and minority voters especially – notched victories in areas that just two years ago helped send Trump to the White House.

In an early morning tweet, Trump seemed to ignore Democrats’ victory in the House. He was scheduled to hold a news conference at 11:30 a.m.

“Received so many Congratulations from so many on our Big Victory last night, including from foreign nations (friends) that were waiting me out, and hoping, on Trade Deals,” Trump wrote on Twitter at 3:21 a.m. “Now we can all get back to work and get things done!”

In the high-turnout election, Democrats picked up at least seven governorships, performing well across much of the upper Midwest and even in ruby-red Kansas, where Laura Kelly was elected governor over the president’s handpicked candidate, Kris Kobach. In Wisconsin, Democrat Tony Evers bested Gov. Scott Walker, once a Republican star who ran for president in 2016. Walker survived a hard-fought recall vote in 2012, and was reelected in 2014, only to be denied a third term by the state schools superintendent.

Incumbent Republicans fell in an array of suburban House districts, including the one held by House Rules Committee Chairman Pete Sessions in the Dallas area. And in West Virginia – where Trump is wildly popular and campaigned heavily for Republicans – the reelection of Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin delivered a personal blow to the president.

Competitive Senate races in Arizona and Montana were too close to call.

Returns early Wednesday showed Democrats poised to pick up more than the 23 House seats they needed to gain a foothold in Congress from which to counter Trump. Democrats were projected to flip at least 29 districts currently held by the GOP and on track to surrender only a few seats.

With power in Washington divided, House Democrats are likely to try to block the president’s agenda and use their subpoena power to investigate him and his administration.

“Thanks to you, tomorrow will be a new day in America,” said House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California, who is poised to reclaim the speaker’s gavel she lost eight years ago.

The Democratic victory, she said, “is about restoring the Constitution’s checks and balances to the Trump administration,” and a check on Senate Republicans.

The party’s new House majority was propelled by a record number of women candidates. Women currently hold 84 House seats, but that share is projected to expand to 100 or more when all results are tallied. Across the country, 277 women were on the ballot Tuesday for Congress and governorships, an unprecedented number that included 210 House candidates.

But Democrats were disappointed elsewhere. Sens. Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Claire McCaskill of Missouri were defeated, while Sen. Bill Nelson’s reelection in Florida appeared in doubt. Republican Marsha Blackburn won the open Senate seat in Tennessee, which Democrats had hoped would slide into their column.

Democrats did pick up a seat in Nevada, where Democratic Rep. Jacky Rosen prevailed over Sen. Dean Heller, the Republican incumbent. The governor’s mansion in Nevada is also set to change hands, as Republican Adam Laxalt conceded to Democrat Steve Sisolak, who is poised to replace the term-limited Brian Sandoval.

Rosen, who by early Wednesday was the lone Democratic challenger to beat a Republican incumbent in the Senate, cast her victory as a counterpoint to the racist and anti-Semitic rhetoric that had marked the closing days of the midterm campaign.

“After all the hate, all the hate that I’ve seen recently, that we’ve all seen, I can’t tell you how much this means to me as a former synagogue president,” Rosen told supporters in Las Vegas.

Two of the liberal movement’s greatest hopes for this election cycle, Democrats Stacey Abrams and Andrew Gillum, struggled to overcome some of the most overt racial attacks since the civil rights era and make history as the first black governors in Georgia and Florida, respectively.

Gillum conceded to Republican Ron DeSantis, a Trump ally, while the Georgia race was too close to call. Early Wednesday morning, Abrams told supporters she would not concede to Republican Brian Kemp and warned that their right to vote was on the line.

Kemp stopped short of declaring victory outright but told supporters, “The math is on our side to win this election.”

If the candidates were to wind up below 50 percent, they would go head-to-head again in a December runoff.

Another Democratic star, Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas, lost his spirited challenge to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz despite raising record sums of money and attracting grass-roots support throughout the country.

Midterm elections traditionally are referendums on the party in power, but Trump sought to ensure that this one would be a referendum on his presidency. .

Returning to his 2016 campaign playbook, the president delivered fiery speeches that drew massive and enthusiastic crowds but contained a breathtaking barrage of falsehoods, invective and demagoguery. Describing himself in the closing weeks as a “nationalist,” Trump made a caravan of Central American migrants preparing to seek asylum in the United States a dominant theme.

The Senate results underscored just how much the Republican Party has morphed into the party of Trump. The incoming freshman class of Republicans is made up largely of Trump allies – including Mike Braun in Indiana, Josh Hawley in Missouri and Kevin Cramer in North Dakota – who campaigned effectively as rubber stamps for the president’s agenda and owe their new jobs, at least in part, to his energetic campaigning on their behalf.

An exception is Mitt Romney, who handily won his race for the open Senate seat in Utah, marking a return to the national stage for the party’s 2012 presidential nominee who in 2016 denounced Trump as a “con man” and a “fraud.” Following the death of Sen. John McCain of Arizona and the retirements of Sens. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Bob Corker of Tennessee, Romney is poised to become the leading GOP counterweight to Trump on Capitol Hill, if he chooses to stand up to the president.

Tuesday’s results were set to transform the House, not only in partisan makeup but also in gender, age and ethnicity. Ilhan Omar in Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib in Michigan will become the first Muslim women in the House. Sharice Davids in Kansas and Deb Haaland in New Mexico will become the first Native American women in the chamber. And Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a 29-year-old from New York, became the youngest woman elected to Congress.

They were part of a wave of female candidates on the Democratic side, including Jennifer Wexton, who easily unseated Republican Rep. Barbara Comstock in a closely watched race in Northern Virginia, and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who narrowly defeated Rep. Carlos Curbelo in South Florida.

“This resistance began with women and it is being led by women tonight,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who easily won reelection and is widely expected to run for president in 2020.

Democrat Jared Polis in Colorado became the first openly gay man elected governor, while Democrat Janet Mills became the first female governor of Maine and Republican Kristi L. Noem will be the first female governor of South Dakota.

Rep. Mia Love, who was the sole black Republican woman in Congress, was trailing in Utah to Democrat Ben McAdams. Republicans were hoping that Young Kim, a Korean American woman, would win her California race to give the party some additional diversity.

Republican-held districts that Hillary Clinton carried in 2016 provided the backbone of the Democratic efforts to win the House majority. Democratic challengers triumphed in a number of suburban areas, defeating Republican Reps. Mike Coffman in suburban Denver, Kevin Yoder in the Kansas City area and David Brat in the Richmond suburbs, among others.

But the Democratic momentum was not strong enough to carry some prized recruits over the finish line. Former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath, who attracted significant outside funding, lost to GOP Rep. Andy Barr in Kentucky.

The midterm elections had the energy of a presidential contest in their closing days.

In an all-out push to preserve Republican congressional majorities, Trump dashed from one red state to the next, urging his legions of supporters that he calls “the silent majority” to rush to the polls as if he were on the ballot.

In some ways, the outcome was eerily similar to that of 2016, with late polls overestimating the Democratic advantage in enthusiasm and Republicans showing unanticipated resilience thanks in part to Trump’s incendiary rhetoric and focus on nativist themes.

Racial tensions that had been simmering beneath the surface for years came to a boil in the final weeks of the campaign. Robo-calls in Georgia featured a voice impersonating Oprah Winfrey and calling Abrams “a poor man’s Aunt Jemima.” In Florida, robo-calls mimicked Gillum as jungle sounds and chimpanzee noises were heard in the background.

Trump called Gillum, the mayor of Tallahassee, “not equipped” and Abrams, a leader in the state legislature, “not qualified” to be governors. And Monday, all the major television networks rejected a Trump campaign advertisement about immigration, calling it offensive.

The racial overtones put that explosive form of politics on the ballot, with major stakes for Republicans. The party of Lincoln is now overwhelmingly white, while Democrats have a much more multiethnic coalition that represents the direction the country’s demographics are heading.

Trump closed the campaign on an exceptionally dark note, stoking long-standing national divides on race and culture and painting an apocalyptic and misleading vision of America under Democratic control as he barnstormed key Senate battlegrounds.

Because of geographic fate, Democrats always faced an uphill climb in winning the two seats they needed to reclaim the Senate majority. A third of the nation’s senators were up for reelection, including 10 Democratic incumbents running in states that Trump carried in 2016, many of them overwhelmingly. This year’s map gave Republicans the clear advantage of running in conservative states where they had won for decades.

An outlier was Manchin, who secured reelection in West Virginia, which Trump won by 42 percentage points in 2016. He was helped by the independent profile he had cultivated back home, having previously served as governor and sometimes crossing the aisle to vote with Republicans. Manchin was the lone Democrat to vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh last month.

Dudley Althaus in San Antonio; Robert Moore in El Paso; Torey Van Oot in Minneapolis; Sonam Vashi in Snellville, Ga.; and Philip Bump, Scott Clement, Amy Gardner, Anne Gearan, Emily Guskin, Paul Kane, Beth Reinhard, Philip Rucker, Matt Viser and John Wagner in Washington contributed to this report.</s>The Democrats were on track to gain House control but the Republicans held their Senate majority as voters rendered a mixed verdict in the first nationwide election of Donald Trump’s turbulent presidency. The Democrats picked up the 23 seats they would need to take control of the House of Representatives from the Republicans, but were still short of the 218 total to wrest control with more races still undecided. The results allowed both parties to claim partial victory, and highlighted an extraordinary realignment of US voters by race, sex and education.

The Republicans maintained their strength in conservative, rural states, while Democrats made inroads across America’s suburbs. Women were assured of 85 seats in the House, more than ever before. With control of Congress, statehouses and the president’s agenda at stake, some of the nation’s top elections were too close to call. Yet Democrats’ dreams of the Senate majority as part of a “blue wave” were shattered after losses in many of the top Senate battlegrounds: Indiana, Missouri, Tennessee, North Dakota and Texas. They also suffered a stinging loss in Florida, where Trump-backed Republican Ron DeSantis ended Democrat Andrew Gillum’s bid to become the state’s first African-American governor. “I want to encourage you to stick to the fight,” said Mr Gillum, who was thought to be a rising star with national ambitions. In the broader fight for control in the Trump era, the political and practical stakes on Tuesday were sky high.

Democrats could derail Trump’s legislative agenda for the next two years should they win control of the House. And they would claim subpoena power to investigate Mr Trump’s personal and professional shortcomings. Some Democrats have already vowed to force the release of his tax returns. Others have pledged to pursue impeachment, although removal from office is unlikely so long as the Republicans control the Senate. The road to a House majority ran through two dozen suburban districts Hillary Clinton won in 2016. Democrats flipped seats in suburban districts outside Washington, Philadelphia, Miami, Chicago and Denver. The results were more mixed deeper into Trump country. In Kansas, Democrat Sharice Davids beat a Republican incumbent to become the first Native American and gay woman elected to the House. But in Kentucky, one of the top Democratic recruits, retired Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath lost her bid to oust Andy Barr.

Mr Trump sought to take credit for retaining the Republicans’ Senate majority, even as the party’s foothold in the more competitive House battlefield appeared to be slipping. “Tremendous success tonight. Thank you to all!” he tweeted. History was working against the president in the Senate: 2002 was the only midterm election in the past three decades when the party holding the White House gained Senate seats. Yet Mr Trump’s party will maintain Senate control for the next two years, at least.</s>The Democratic Party is projected to regain control of the House of Representatives while the ruling Republican Party is all set to retain its majority in the Senate in the critical midterm elections held on Tuesday, according to projections made by major United States media outlets.

IMAGE: Supporters of Democratic celebrate in Yuma, West Virginia, US.

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, 78, is expected to be re-elected as Speaker of 435-member House of Representatives, which is equivalent to Lok Sabha in Indian parliament.

In the outgoing House, the Republicans had 235 seats while the Democrats 193. The new House would come into being next January.

However, the ruling Republican Party led by US President Donald Trump appeared to be all set to retain majority in the 100-member Senate where it currently has a razor thin majority of 51-49 seats. The GOP is expected to increase its tally, as counting of votes were still going on when reports last came in.

IMAGE: US House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi celebrates the Democrats winning a majority in the House of Representatives in the midterm elections.

In his first tweet after election results started coming in Trump claimed success. “Tremendous success tonight. Thank you to all!”.

Trump in campaign rallies had said that he was on the ballot and made it a referendum on his nearly two years rule.

The US president who headlined an unprecedented 50 rallies -- 30 in the last two months alone -- and has campaigned for dozens of candidates at all levels of government, according to White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, watched the results come in with friends and family in the White House residence.

“The President has energised a staggering number of Americans at packed arenas and in overflow crowds at rallies across the country,” Sanders said.

“Under Trump’s leadership, the Republican National Committee has raised more than a quarter billion dollars, fuelling an extraordinary ground game geared toward defying midterm history and protecting the GOP’s majorities,” she said.

IMAGE: A supporter of Trump and Republican senate candidate Mike Braun attends the election night party in Indianapolis, Indiana.

In her victory speech in Washington DC, Pelosi said: “Tomorrow will be a new day in America”.

The former House speaker said that the election result is about “restoring the system of checks and balances” in Trump administration thus indicating that the new Democratic party would play the role of a strong opponent in for the US President.

In victory, The Washington Post said Democrats regained some of the confidence -- although less of the power -- they lost in 2016, when Trump won a surprise victory over Hillary Clinton.

“In this election, they sought to energise groups that Clinton did not: young voters, Latinos, African Americans and infrequent voters,” the daily said.

IMAGE: Democratic congressional candidate Ilhan Omar is greeted by her husband’s mother after appearing at her midterm election night party in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

According to The New York Times, amid signs that the nation’s deep political and cultural divisions that lifted Trump in 2016 may only be deepening, “rural voters were breaking sharply” with their counterparts in the suburban districts and metropolitan areas, as turnout soared in a midterm election that came to serve as a national referendum on the president.

The Democrats also won some of the high-profile governor’s race including Kansas, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota. The GOP retained its governorship in Florida.

The elections also resulted in Rashida Tlaib becoming the first Muslim woman elected to the House of Representatives along with Somali-American Ilhan Omar.</s>All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives were up for election on Tuesday, and who controls the House now after the 2018 midterms will determine whether or not the next two years on Capitol Hill will be roughly the same as the last two. It looks like business won't continue as usual though, as Democrats took back the House, CNN and NBC News projected. Fox News has also projected a House takeback for Democrats.

Political analysts at FiveThirtyEight predicted ahead of the midterm election that the Democratic Party would win the majority after eight years in the minority. In order to do so, they needed to flip 24 GOP seats, and about 48 were considered competitive by The New York Times. More than 30 Republicans didn't seek re-election, as The Times notes, though many of their seats were expected to remain in GOP hands.

The record number of women running for office this year, along with an extremely divisive president, played a big role in shifting many House races from Republican strongholds to tossups. After nearly 500 women entered House primaries, 237 advanced to a midterm general election, by the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University's count. The vast majority ran as Democrats, and just 22 percent of the women candidates who won a primary were Republicans.

NBC News was one of the first outlets to project that the Democratic Party would regain control of the House, something the party had not done in eight years. A party needs to control 218 seats in the House for a majority, the network noted, and some of the crucial elections that allowed NBC News to call a Democratic majority included ones in Minnesota, Colorado, Florida, New York, Virginia, Texas, and Michigan.

The Democrats' recapture of the House will give the party new power to challenge President Trump for the next two years of his presidency. Prior to the midterm elections, Republicans controlled both the House and the Senate. CNN, NBC, and Fox have also projected that Republicans will hold on to their majority in the Senate, establishing a politically-split Congress until the 2020 elections. The GOP control of the Senate will continue to lift Trump's agenda, Fox News reported, allowing Republicans to have the final word on all federal judicial appointments, which includes nominations to the Supreme Court.

But with Democrats in the House, the party will now have the ability to stop or delay several things that Trump has repeatedly pushed for, like funding for his controversial border wall and a recently-proposed middle-class tax cut. As Fox News noted, even if Democrats don't block the president on his legislative goals, they can still squeeze concessions out of the Republicans on hot-button issues like immigration before bills turn into law.

The Democrats' majority presence in the House also means they will have to select a new speaker of the House, a position that Nancy Pelosi held from 2007 to 2011. But with the sea of new faces and the theme of change, there's the possibility the party will look beyond Pelosi for the job this time around.

The two years to come will surely be different from the two that preceded it, and with an injection of progressive newcomers in an incredibly hostile political climate, it's anyone's guess what's to come.
The Democratic Party takes over control of the House, while the Republican Party increases their majority in the Senate.