US midterms 2018: full live results The votes on 6 November will give US voters their first chance to pass judgment on Donald Trump since he took the White House. Here’s what you need to know about what’s at stake

The key question in these elections is: will Republicans be able to keep control of both chambers of Congress? Just 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate, and all of the 435 seats in the lower House of Representatives are up for grabs. To take control of the legislative agenda and block Trump's ability to implement his programs, the Democratic party needs to control both houses. With a Senate majority, the Democrats would be able to block cabinet and supreme court appointments. But while they may be able to take the House, clinching the Senate will be much harder. Impeachment, by the way, requires a two-thirds majority in the Senate, so would require Republican votes even if the Democrats won every available seat in November.

Can the Republicans keep control of the Senate?

Republicans 51 Democrats 49

51 needed for a majority

Here comes the math: the Grand Old Party (GOP) does have a big advantage over the Democrats in this showdown, because the Democratic party is defending 26 seats (including two independents, who usually vote with them) while the Republicans only have to defend nine.

California has approximately 68 times the population of Wyoming ...

The Senate electoral system is also weighed against the Democrats. Each state gets two senators, irrespective of population, so Wyoming has as many as California, despite the latter having more than 60 times the population. The smaller states also tend to be the more rural, and rural areas traditionally favor the Republicans. One hopeful note for the Democrats is that Nevada and Arizona are both open races – in which the incumbent senator is not running – and both were only narrowly won by the Republicans in 2012.

Current control of Senate seats up in 2018

Democrat Republican Independent Not electing this year

* Minnesota and Mississippi also hold special elections on 6 November. In these states, two seats are in play

Key race – Arizona

The Senate seat held by Barry Goldwater and John McCain could be picked up by Democrats in 2018. After a tough primary, Republican Martha McSally has been pushed to the right and faces a tough race against Democrat Kyrsten Sinema in a state with a growing Latino population and with deep tensions between traditional business oriented Republicans like McCain and hard right Trumpists.

Can the Democrats win control of the House?

Republicans 240 Democrats 195

218 needed for a majority

The Democrats have a much better chance of winning here. Representation in the House is (relatively) proportional to population, and the whole chamber is re-elected every two years. They need a net gain of 23 seats to win a majority. But in the last 50 years they've scored a net gain of that size only twice, in 1974 and in 2006. In the same period the Republicans have made a 23+ net gain only three times, but the most recent was in 2010, in the midterm elections of Barack Obama's first term.

American voters are usually reluctant to eject a sitting representative. So for Democrats, some of their best hopes are in seats where the incumbent is not standing again. The good news for Dems is that a record 39 Republicans – many of whom were anti-Trump – have chosen to bow out instead of contest their seats in November, and some of those are in key swing states such as Florida and Pennsylvania.

All House seats up for election (435) Seats not contested by the incumbent (66)

Democrat Republican

Key race – Pennsylvania's 17th district

Democrat Conor Lamb won a shock special election win in March. Now, after court ordered redistricting, he'll face off against Republican incumbent Keith Rothfus in a far more friendly district. However, it's still a district Trump narrowly won. More key races

What about governors’ races?

Each US state has a governor, who is like a local president. Their interactions with the federal government can be significant; they may have a large amount of sway, for instance, over local gun laws or the implementation of health insurance policies. But this year, Democrats think their salience is national because many of them have a veto over redistricting. Remapping of electoral districts happens in the US after every census. The next round will happen in 2022 when the 2020 census results are in. Governors elected this year who serve four-year terms will still be in office then. Democrats are hoping to win office in several swing states that have open races, such as Ohio, Nevada, Michigan and Florida, and thereby prevent gerrymandering that would affect congressional races as far away as to 2032. States electing governors in 2018 Democrat, open Democrat, incumbent standing again Republican, open Republican, incumbent standing Not electing this year

Key race – Florida

African American Democrat Andrew Gillum won an upset victory in the primary, bolstered by heavy financial support from Tom Steyer, a billionaire hedge-fund manager. The unabashed progressive will face off against Republican Ron DeSantis, an ardent Trump supporter, in what will be one of the marquee races of the midterms.

Sources

US Senate, US House of Representatives, MIT, Brookings Institute, National Conference of State Legislatures, Federal Electoral Commission, National Governors Association </s> In Mississippi, both Senate seats and all four U.S. House of Representative seats were up for grabs. In total, all 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate were up for grabs. </s> Midterm election voting will be taking place tomorrow on November 6, as the country decides the composition of Congress. The battle is between the Democrat and Republican parties, for the House of Representatives and the Senate, the two chambers of Congress. In the currently Republican heavy House of Representatives, each one of the 435 seats are up for reelection and a further 35 are available in the Senate. This gives the Democrats a chance to flip Congress and grasp a majority for themselves, which could ultimately put a hold on Donald Trump’s powers.

Who will win in the Senate? The Senate race is the less difficult to call of the two Congress chambers, as only 35 seats are up for reelection. This means only a third of the 100 total seats are up for a replacement. Of these seats, 23 Democrat seats are safe from election and 42 Republican seats are safe. Turning over the incumbent Senate majority is an unlikely outcome when Democrats are defending many more seats.

At the moment Republican dominance is reflected in the polls too, as they are higher billed for Senate positions over the Democrats. In order to win control of the Senate, the Democrats will need to capture over 50 seats, making the majority. Pollsters FiveThirtyEight gathered a selection of different polls to forecast the possible composition of the Senate. Their findings pointed towards an 85.6 percent chance of a Republican majority in the Senate come election day. The chances of the Democrats gaining a majority are on 14.4 percent, but chances are also on the party gaining at least two seats from this round of elections.

Who will win in the house of Representatives? The House of Representatives has a full 435 seats up for reelection, meaning the entire composition of the chamber is up for replacement. Either party could claim a majority if they had the power behind them, which should have made the race a close call. Early voting has revealed a massive turnout for the 2018 midterms and this has come in favour of the Democrats. A partnership between USA TODAY and Suffolk University in polling the midterm elections have found large voter turnout is due to Donald Trump’s leadership. </s> It's now been nearly two years since Donald Trump was elected President of the United States and over 18 months since his first day in office.

Now American voters are once again going back to the ballot for the US midterms.

These will give some clue to the changes in the political landscape in the country, if indeed there have been any.

General consensus is that this will be a clear indicator into how the country has viewed President Donald Trump's first two years in office.

They will take place on Tuesday 6 November.

But what exactly are the midterms and how do they work?

What are the midterm elections?

Midterm elections occur halfway through each four-year presidential term of office, with key seats in both the houses of the United States Congress up for grabs.

Who is being elected?

All 435 seats in the lower chamber House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 upper chamber Senate seats will be at stake.

House of Representatives members serve two-year terms representing the people of a single constituency, while each state has two senators. This year there are a record number of women on the ballot, which could significantly increase the number of women in elected office from a fifth of the 535 seats across both chambers. There are also elections for 36 of the 50 state governors.

There are around 250 million Americans who are eligible to vote, but turnout in midterm elections is typically about 40%.

This is much lower than presidential elections, where turnout has hit around 60% in recent contests.

The elections will mark the first nationwide vote since Russia targeted state election systems in the 2016 US presidential race but federal, state and local officials have sought to reassure the public that their voting systems are secure.

So far, there have been no signs that Russia or any other foreign agency has tried to launch cyber-attacks against voting systems in any state, according to federal authorities.

Why are these elections so important?

Republicans have had control of the House of Representatives since the 2010 midterms during Barack Obama's first term as president.

The Grand Old Party (GOP) also controls the US Senate, with 51 of 100 seats.

But with Mr Trump's first two years in office dividing opinion across the country, Democrats see these elections as a chance to take back control of both chambers of Congress from the Republicans.

This will leave President Trump unable to pass key laws through the houses. In order to take back control of the House, Democrats need to win 23 more seats, a number that many believe is very possible. But while the party only needs two more seats to take control of the Senate, this is likely to be a much tougher challenge for the Democrats.

How close are the elections going to be?

Control of the House of Representatives is expected to be determined by a few dozen districts, many of them in the nation's suburbs, and will offer clues to where Americans stand in 2018 on immigration, guns, healthcare and gender equality in the #MeToo era. But the battle for the 35 Senate seats is expected to favour the Republicans because many of the contests are in states Mr Trump won in 2016.

Democrats' hopes of recapturing the Senate hinge on all 10 of their incumbents winning and on flipping key seats in states such as Nevada, Arizona, Tennessee and Texas.

What is going to happen?

The night could witness a generational change in the US Congress and herald a number of barrier-breaking officeholders.

In New York City, 29-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is expected to become the youngest woman elected to congress while Ayanna Pressley is the favourite to become Massachusetts' first black woman elected to congress. In Michigan, Rashida Tlaib could become the first Muslim woman and first Palestinian-American in Congress. She could be joined by Minnesota's Ilhan Omar, who is also trying to become the first Muslim woman elected to Congress along with the first Somali-American elected to the House.

No matter which way the voting goes, Arizona's Senate race expects to make history. Democrat Kyrsten Sinema could become the first openly bisexual senator and the state's first female senator. If Republican Martha McSally wins, she will become Arizona's first female senator.

What has President Trump being saying?

The US president has staged a number of rallies across the country, and on election day he will be making a series of media appearances. Mr Trump is well known for his candid views expressed on Twitter, so anyone with a close eye on proceedings will be watching his feed. </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> JACKSON, MS (WLBT) - On Nov. 6, voters across America will head to the polls to cast their ballots in the 2018 general election. All 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate will be contested. </s> 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> 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. </s> SOUTH MISSISSIPPI (WLOX) - Voters across America headed to the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots in the 2018 general election. All 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate were up for grabs.
The United States holds midterm elections for all 435 House seats, for 35 Senate seats (including two special elections in Minnesota and Mississippi), for 39 state and territorial governorships, and for numerous state and local races.