US mid-terms: Republicans set to lose House of Representatives, but hold Senate

American voters have had their say in the the mid-term elections with the Democrats on track to take control of the House of Representatives for the first time in eight years – but the Republicans are likely to retain control of the Senate.

According to CNN and multiple other networks’ latest projections, the Democrats are on track to seize victory in the lower house following early victories in Washington D.C., Miami, Detroit, Denver, Philadelphia and New Jersey. They needed a shift of just 23 House seats to claim victory.

However, US networks have also projected the Republicans are poised to expand their control of the Senate after seizing victories in Indiana and North Dakota.

The US House of Representatives is the lower chamber of Congress, while the Senate is the upper chamber. Together, they make up the legislature of the United States. 

While Trump’s name wasn’t on the election ballot, just under 65 per cent of voters said they voted for the purpose of expressing either opposition to or support for Trump, according to a national digital poll by the Associated Press. 

It comes after a record 36 million voters turned out early to cast their ballots – paving the way for what could be one of the biggest turnouts in mid-terms history. There has also been a huge surge in first-time voters this year following a string of campaigns and pleading messages from famous faces on social media to vote.

BREAKING: Democrats will take control of the US House, gaining new power to challenge President Trump, CNN projects https://t.co/iJllsJrczq #CNNElection pic.twitter.com/xqSpTk6wFk

— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) November 7, 2018

The Democrats’ victory in the House of Representatives would spell trouble for Trump as it would confirm a divided Congress until the 2020 elections. It will essentially mean Trump will have a harder time enacting any major new legislation, as laws have to pass through both the House and the Senate first.

While major plans like building a border wall would likely be shunned by a Democrats-led House – therefore stopping it in its tracks – Bustle reports that smaller legislature like approving treaties, enacting foreign policy and confirming judges won’t require the House to weigh in – leaving Trump solely in control of those issues.

One of the most controversial results of the mid-terms so far has been Ted Cruz beating Democrat Beto O’Rourke to win re-election in Texas. Seeing the news on Twitter, Bette Midler was one of the first anti-Trump campaigners to react, simply writing: “Urgh.”

Ugh. https://t.co/vAhcDuvOzi

— bettemidler (@BetteMidler) November 7, 2018

Cruz addressed the backlash he has received from high-profile stars, such as Bette Midler and Barbra Streisand, saying in his victory speech that he would get to work on his campaign promise to secure the US-Mexico border and “defend the constitution”.

“We saw a hundred-million dollar race with Hollywood coming in against the state, with the national media coming in against the state, but all the money in the world was no match for the good people of Texas,” Cruz said. “Texans came together behind a common-sense agenda of low taxes, low regulations and lots and lots of jobs.”

Read more: Carole King comes out of retirement to release anti-Trump song

The White House confirmed Trump would not address the media to discuss the election results, but true to form the president took to Twitter to share his views on the day. 

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

Tremendous success tonight. Thank you to all!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2018

Perhaps the most concerning win of all for Trump is that of Massachusetts Democrat Elizabeth Warren, who won a second term in the Senate. Warren has long been touted as the next Democratic presidential nominee and is popular among party members and blue state voters. There were calls for Warren to run for the White House in 2016, but she denied she was interested. 

Two years later things look decidedly different and without Hillary Clinton in her way, Warren could be Trump’s biggest competition in the 2020 presidential election. 

Have you been following the election? Do you think Trump will win a second term in 2020?