Donald Trump has been branded a “failed lame duck president” after the Democrats inflicted a string of historic defeats against the Republicans to take control of the US Senate.
The midterms determine which party controls Congress and were seen as a referendum on the controversial Republican leader, who earlier urged people to pretend he was on the ballot paper.
In a remarkable sweep, the Democrats won Senate seats in the former Republican strongholds of Texas, Kansas, South Carolina and Ohio.
Democrats needed a net gain of four seats in the 100-member Senate to win a majority, while in the 435-member House, they need three.
The party also flipped a string of seats in the House of Representatives in states like Kentucky, New Jersey and North Carolina.
Senate candidate James Talarico became the first Democrat to win a statewide office in Texas since 1994.
Democrat Sherrod Brown won the US Senate seat of Ohio, defeating Republican incumbent Jon Husted.
The Democrats had expected to benefit from voter discontent over the cost of living, tariffs and high energy prices fuelled by the Iran war, which Mr Trump launched with Israel earlier this year.
In the face of losses, Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: “I wasn’t on the Ballot and if I was, we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!”
Potential 2028 presidential challenger Democrat US senator Jon Ossoff won re-election in Georgia, which had been a top Republican target.
The 39-year-old has been a leading critic of the US president and his administration, raising his national profile.
Mr Ossoff told supporters: “In sweeping and decisive victories the American people have rebuked the depravity, corruption, and incompetence of the failed lame duck president Donald J Trump.
“And if, at times these last two years, amidst the ceaseless onslaught of brutality and indecency, you doubted whether our republic would survive, let tonight’s results give you courage that the first light of dawn is on the horizon.”
The Democrats also retained New Hampshire, with Chris Pappas seeing off Republican John Sununu.
Mr Pappas will replace retiring senator Jeanne Shaheen, a three-term Democrat who ousted Mr Sununu in 2008.
He told supporters: “This has been a long campaign against the backdrop of chaos, corruption and costs coming out of Washington.
A string of state governorships are also being contested, including in California, where the long-shot Republican candidate is Steve Hilton, a former top aide to David Cameron.
High turnout was expected in the hotly contested congressional races, which are the most expensive in US history.
