(Sharecast News) - The Democratic Party took control of the House of Representatives overnight in the US midterm elections, but their Republican rivals secured a stronger grip on the Senate.
At the time of writing, the so-called Democrat "blue wave" had swept beyond the 23 seats needed to wrest control of the House. The party had gained 219 of the 435 districts with the Republicans on 193.

In the Senate, the Republicans were on 51 seats, having gained two with four races yet to be called in the 100 member upper house.

The result allowed both sides to claim a victory, as President Donald Trump did, but there was no doubt that his progress would be less assured for the remainder of the term as the Democrats seek to put the brakes on his agenda.

However, the failure to take the Senate, no matter how unlikely it was in statistical terms, meant that big business and the wealthy could rest easy over fears that handouts under Trump would be rolled back.

There were symbolic wins for the Democrats that altered the face of the House. Sharice Davids and Deb Haaland became the first Native American women elected to Congress, while Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York became the first woman in her 20s to win a seat along with 29-year-old Abby Finkenauer in Iowa.

Voters also elected the first two Muslim women to Congress. Rashida Tlaib in Michigan and Ilhan Omar in Minnesota were victorious.

In the closely-watched gubernatorial races Democrats were successful as they won several Republican governor's offices.

The most significant upset was the defeat of two-term union-bashing Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker by Tony Evers.

Walker stripped public sector unions of their bargaining rights and benefits as he pursued a pro-business agenda in the state.

Richard Trumka, president of the US union federation AFL-CIO issued a one line statement on Walker's exit.

"Scott Walker was a national disgrace."

Meanwhile, voters in Kansas rejected the hard-right Republican Kris Kobach and Trump accolyte, in favour of Democrat Laura Kelly.

In Georgia, the race was still too close to call between Republican incumbent Brian Kemp and challenger Stacy Abrams, who suggested a runoff was a possibility with tens of thousands of votes still to be counted.

Kemp has attracted criticism as he controls the state's election process and introduced an "exact match" signature policy on voter registrations which led to the rejection of 53,000 people who wanted to cast a ballot.

African American Andrew Gillum failed in his bid to win the Florida governorship against Republican Ron DeSantis, a close Trump ally and a man who told voters not to "monkey this up" during the electoral campaign.

Email this article to a friend

or share it with one of these popular networks:

• DIGG
• FACEBOOK
• STUMBLEUPON
• MIXX
• YAHOO BUZZ
• DELICIOUS
• REDDIT
• NEWSVINE