Democrats have won both the US Senate and House of Representatives, taking control of Congress for the rest of Donald Trump's presidency. Even before results are finalised, the night has provided some historic results and scenes of celebration. These are some of the key moments so far.
Democrats have tallied up victories in states that were comfortably won by Republican President Trump two years ago, registering sizeable swings in the likes of Texas, Kansas, Ohio and South Carolina. Among the senior party figures who have cheered the results are Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the House of Representatives, who is now poised to take over as the speaker of the lower chamber of Congress. "Today begins the great American comeback," he told a crowd of supporters.
If Jeffries' colleagues choose to keep him as the leader of their party's delegation in House, he will be the next speaker, taking over from Republican Mike Jeffries. Trump has spoken throughout the night to a number of media outlets, striking a conciliatory tone and conceding that the Democrats did a "good job". He said he would accept the results and that he was looking forward to working with the opposition party - albeit he would still have the power, as president, to veto legislation that Democrats advance through Texas.
Trump distanced himself from some of the Republican candidates who contested the election, saying: "In some cases they didn't like the candidates, and in some cases those candidates were not my friend." There were cheers from supporters in North Carolina as the Democrats secured the night's first flip of a Senate seat. The state's former Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, won against Republican candidate Michael Whatley. "Tonight we show the country that when everyday people come together, we can make change," Cooper said as he addressed his supporters on Tuesday.
The last time the Democrats won a Senate race in the state was 2008, despite the party making enormous investment in time and money behind their candidates in recent contests. Democrats win control of US House and take first Texas Senate seat in decades Anthony Zurcher: Democrats push deep into Republican territory with historic wins Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, has been projected to win the governor's race in Georgia, becoming the first black governor and first woman to be elected to the state's highest office. The BBC's Carl Nasman described ecstatic scenes as the race was projected blue, which came after the state's former senator said the party was "nauseously optimistic" about their chances this year.
Bottoms defeated Republican Rick Jackson, a billionaire businessman and healthcare executive, who was endorsed by outgoing Governor Brian Kemp and President Trump, who spent $200 million of his own money on the race. The state has also not had a Democratic governor in more than 20 years. As well as Bottoms being elected the new governor of Georgia, Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff has been projected as the winner of the Senate race there, giving him a second term.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
