'This is a disaster': Angry Republicans blame Trump for defeatpublished at 14:53 GMT

14:53 GMT

Daniel Bush
Washington correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

"It's on him. It's not on anybody else. It's a total, complete rejection of President Trump," Republican lobbyist Bill Miller tells me, shortly after the midterm results became clear.

"This is a disaster of the first magnitude. Nobody saw it coming like this," he adds.

Inside the Republican Party, initial shock at the stunning election results on Tuesday night has quickly given way to anger with US president.

After Democrats won upset after upset in deep-red states like Texas, Kansas and South Carolina, some Republicans focused their ire on Trump, arguing that his focus on his legacy and indifference to voter concerns cost the party control of Congress.

"It was just one mistake after another," says Gregg Peppin, a Republican strategist in Minnesota, adding: "Clearly, in state after state, people did not like the president's policies."

A White House ally of Trump said anger with the president "is extremely high" after the Iran war, tariffs and the administration's immigration crackdown created a "perfect storm".

Mitchell Labiak
Business reporter

The S&P 500 index of the largest firms listed in the US opened up 1.13% following a series of historic wins for Democrats in the midterm elections.

Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq index was up 1.17% on opening while the Dow Jones index was up 2.3%

Image source, Bloomberg via Getty Images

James Talarico, the Democrat who has flipped a crucial Texas Senate seat from Republicans, says one of his biggest priorities in Congress will be to "get big money out of our politics".

"Last night the people of Texas delivered a crystal clear message to the world's first trillionaire," he tells CBS, referencing Elon Musk, who poured more than $47m (£35m) into the campaign of Talarico's opponent, Republican Ken Paxton. "Texas is not for sale."

"We're all tired of these billionaires who own the algorithms, who own so many of the news networks, who own the politicians fighting on our screens," he adds.

Image source, CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Now that Democrats have won a majority in the House of Representatives, Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, formerly the House Minority Leader, is poised to become the first black Speaker of the House.

Last night's blue wave was "an incredible victory for the American people all across the country, and a stunning rebuke [of] MAGA extremism", Jeffries tells MS Now's Joe Scarborough.

Responding to a question on what comes next for his party, Jeffries says "we won on affordability, and now it's our job to govern on affordability".

Turning to Congress, Scarborough asks about Trump's priorities for lawmakers.

Jeffries says the president needs to end the war in Iran, before the new Congress even takes power in January.

"That was clearly one of the messages that the American people decisively sent last evening," he says.

In the US House of Representatives, where all of its 435 seats were up for grabs in this election, there are still 68 that are yet to be confirmed.

The Democrats have so far won 228 seats, already comfortably past the 218 required for a majority, and have flipped 25 of those from the Republicans.

Image source, The White House/X

We're seeing the first remarks this morning from the White House in the wake of the Democrats' significant gains.

The official account for the White House posts an image of Trump leaning over the Resolute Desk, with a "public service announcement". Imposed on the image are the words: "PSA: Trump is still your president".

Trump reacted to the Republican defeat earlier today, conceding that Democrats "did a good job", while claiming Republican candidates would have done better had he been on the ballot.

Kayla Epstein
US reporter focused on election integrity

Last night, Trump acknowledged the Democrats’ wins, telling the New York Times,, external “I am absolutely willing to accept those results."

He also posted on Truth Social , externalthat if he was on the ballot, "We would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!"

Election law experts, voting rights advocates, and Democrats were prepared for the White House to potentially contest the results of the election.

Trump spent much of the year warning about voter fraud, external - which experts say is rare - and has previously refused to acknowledge his own 2020 election loss.

The Justice Department launched unprecedented attempts to intervene in state election processes, and touted illegal non-citizen voting as a rampant issue despite evidence that this was rare.

But with the midterm results overwhelmingly in the Democrats' favour, that clamour from the administration has gone conspicuously quiet.

Despite a few technical hiccups in a handful of jurisdictions, so far it appears the election went very smoothly. That makes it very politically difficult to dispute the results.

Image source, Getty Images

Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro - who was comfortably re-elected on Tuesday - says the party's success in his state can be replicated elsewhere.

He describes the four candidates who ousted Republican incumbents in his state as "get-stuff-done Democrats" who attracted the support of Republicans, independents and Democrats.

"We showed last night, here in the toughest swing state in the entire country, that we elected candidates who could compete everywhere," he tells the BBC's US partner CBS News.

"I do think it's important that we have an ideological conversation with our family to determine what our party looks like going forward," he says.

"That's a healthy thing, and that's an important thing, and it needs to be done, with a focus on how we can deliver for people, how we can enable real fundamental change and reform in this country," he adds.

Votes are still being counted, and we're still waiting on results from Alaska and Mississippi's Senate races.

Alaska: Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan is facing Democratic candidate Mary Peltola. The latest tally shows a tight race, in a state that was rocked by controversy in the days leading up to the election.

Mississippi: Republican senator Cindy Hyde Smith is facing Democratic candidate Scott Colom, in a race that is panning out as much closer than expected, with a razor-thin margin between the two candidates according to the BBC's US partner CBS News.

Image source, POOL

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham, when asked about the US midterm results, says the world "has an opportunity now to unite around the cost of living".

It comes as a major poll suggested US voters saw the economy as the key issue heading into the elections, which saw sweeping victories for the Democrats.

Speaking to reporters from the Commonwealth summit in Antigua and Barbuda, the PM says he has put cost of living "front and centre" in his premiership.

Until the conflict in the Middle East is resolved, he says, those financial pressures cannot be alleviated.

Burnham calls for a "de-escalation" to the Iran war and for the Strait of Hormuz to "fully open once again".

He says he believes the message from the US public is: "Lets get focused, in a laser-like way, on those cost of living issues."

Did Iran prolong talks to influence US midterms?published at 13:12 GMT

13:12 GMT

Jiyar Gol
World Affairs Correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Once again, Iran has played a significant role in American elections.

On this very day 47 years ago Iranian students seized the US Embassy in Tehran, taking American diplomats hostage. The 444-day crisis contributed to Jimmy Carter’s defeat by Ronald Reagan in the 1980 presidential election.

Now, the war with Iran, along with soaring energy prices and the rising cost of living, has led to major Republican losses in the midterms and handed Democrats control of both chambers of Congress.

Analysts close to the Iranian regime, appearing on state television, have openly discussed prolonging negotiations with Washington and maintaining pressure on oil supplies, in the hope that the economic fallout would weaken President Trump politically and undermine Republican prospects in the elections.

Nearly a half-century ago, Iran released its American hostages just minutes after Reagan was sworn into office, January 20, 1981.

Tehran may now hope that a Democratic-controlled Congress will limit Trump’s ability to launch another major military offensive against Iran.

But while Congress can restrict funding and challenge presidential decisions, Trump, as the US commander in chief, still retains considerable authority over military operations and foreign policy.

Trump's impact on inflation and cost of living - a closer lookpublished at 13:02 GMT

13:02 GMT

By Ben Chu, policy and analysis correspondent

Donald Trump’s second term has disappointed many Americans who thought he was going to bring prices down. The economy was seen by US voters as the key issue heading into this election.

So what impact have Trump's policies had on US inflation and the cost of living?

The price of gasoline and diesel have risen sharply in the wake of the US strikes on Iran on 28 February.

In the case of diesel, the average price in October was $6.25 (£4.63) a gallon (3.8l), a record high and higher than seen in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Trump had promised when campaigning for a second term in 2024 to get gasoline prices below $2 (£1.48) a gallon. The average price in October was $4.31 (£3.19) a gallon.

The impact of Trump’s war with Iran can also clearly been seen in the overall rate of US consumer price inflation, which climbed to an annual rate of 3.7% in September.

Economists also estimate that US consumer prices are higher as a result of Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs (taxes on imports) from 2 April 2025, which have pushed up the prices of a wide range of imported products.

Rebecka Pieder
Reporting from Washington DC

In another first of the night, Amy Acton becomes the first woman elected to be governor of Ohio.

Amy Acton defeated Vivek Ramaswamy in a fiercely fought race over the governorship of the Midwestern state. The race drew global attention last month when Ramaswamy released an ad where Acton was called a liar by her mother.

Alongside Acton other women who made history on Tuesday include Deb Haaland, who became the first female Native American governor of New Mexico, and Keisha Lance Bottoms, who when elected in Georgia became the first black female governor of a state.

Image source, Getty Images

Jacob Phillips
Live reporter

Image source, X/Reuters

The Democrats have flipped the Senate and House in the midterm elections, riding what US media has branded a "blue Tsunami" across the US.

Here's a reminder of some of the key moments of the election so far:

Red seats turn blue: Kansas has elected its first Democrat senator since 1932 - when Franklin D Roosevelt became president and the Great Depression gripped the US. Texas also elected its first Democrat senator in over 30 years.

A series of firsts: Abdul El-Sayed will be the first Muslim senator after winning in Michigan. Meanwhile, Georgia Democrat Kiesha Lance Bottoms will become the first black woman to ever be elected governor. Chris Pappas of New Hampshire will become the first openly gay man to serve in the Senate and New Mexico's Deb Haaland is the first Native American woman elected governor.

Two Dans Sullivan: A retired teacher with the same name as the Republican candidate Dan Sullivan has created a stir in the Alaskan senate race. A judge dismissed a lawsuit ahead of the election by the Trump administration that argued the confusion could take support from its candidate. The other Dan Sullivan has been dubbed "Decoy Dan". (As of the time of this post's publication, the "real" Dan Sullivan is ahead in the polls.)

Not over yet: An extremely tight race for the US Senate has been unfolding in Mississippi. At one stage Democrat Scott Colom led Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith by just a razor-thin margin of 28 votes.

Peggy Flanagan makes history today as the first Native American woman elected to the US Senate, after winning her race in Minnesota.

Flanagan’s win is a milestone for an election that has seen a series of historic firsts.

In Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms has become the the first black female governor elected in US history, while Chris Pappas, of New Hampshire, becomes the first openly gay male senator.

Take a scroll through the graphic below for more.

Image source, Reuters

A wave of Democrat blue has washed over some historically Republican seats in both the Senate and House.

As things stand,seven seats have flipped in the Senate and 21 in the House of Representatives so far.

South Carolina saw Democrat Annie Andrews defeat Republican incumbent Darline Graham - sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham.

The last time Democrats won a Senate seat in the state was 1998, with a blue victory there not being on anyone's radar just a few weeks ago, writes Washington correspondent Daniel Bush.

A dramatic outcome was also seen in Ohio, a solid Republican stronghold throughout the Trump era, when Democrats were projected to flip a seat in the Senate with Sherrod Brown and the governor race through Amy Acton.

Maine's Senate seat also flipped to Democrat Troy Jackson, where Republican incumbent Susan Collins had served for nearly 30 years.

Image source, New York Post

An analysis in The New York Times describes how angry voters are ushering in the "beginning of the end to the Trump era".

"Voters swing to Democrats," says the front page of The Washington Post. The newspaper describes how the "party is poised to take power on Capitol Hill with an eagerness to thwart Trump's agenda".

New York Post declares a "Blue Tsunami" on its front page after "Dems romp" in midterms.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the Democrats have taken Congress "in stunning blue wave" but warns that the Los Angeles mayoral race remains too close to call.

The Boston Globe leads with the headline: "Democrats set to take Congress in sweeping rebuke of Trump".

Trump has left open the possibility of fresh strikes on Iranpublished at 11:55 GMT

11:55 GMT

Bernd Debusmann Jr
White House reporter in Washington DC

Image source, EPA

Ahead of the midterms, many Democrats - and some Republicans - had expressed concern that a renewed US military against Iran might be just over the horizon.

The midterms were a stunning rebuke of Trump's Iran policy, and even he has acknowledged that concerns over high petrol prices may have played a role - even if he has so far refused to take any responsibility for the losses of Republican candidates up and down the ballot.

Trump has repeatedly left open the possibility that further strikes may be necessarily, potentially against "Pickaxe Mountain", one of the few sites associated with Iran's nuclear programme that was not struck during Operation Epic Fury earlier this year.

In a telephone interview with Politico earlier, Trump again suggested that something may be coming.

"We're going to take a look, and if we see any opportunity to do one thing or another, we're going to do what's best for this country," he said.

A return to full-scale operations in Iran would be unpopular with most Americans.

Trump, however, shrugged off that his choice to go to Iran was the wrong one.

"I am totally convinced that my decision on Iran, for the long-term good of our country and even the world, was absolutely correct," he said. "And it continues to be."

China will see midterm results as an opportunitypublished at 11:49 GMT

11:49 GMT

Laura Bicker
China correspondent

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

China will see an opportunity as it watches the results roll in.

The relationship between Beijing and Washington is the great power competition of this century, and President Xi Jinping will perhaps feel he has the upper hand as he prepares to greet Donald Trump in China later this month.

Trump imposed tariffs on Chinese goods coming into the US in a bid to protect American manufacturers from cheap Chinese products.

But his plan backfired when Xi retaliated with huge tariffs of his own. It meant many goods became more expensive for Americans, including small family luxuries like toys and clothes.

China also stopped buying US agricultural products, hurting farmers in Trump supporting states.

That trade war ended in a truce which is due to expire at the end of January and China may feel Trump will be licking his wounds after the midterms and looking for to do a deal.

Xi will see a chance to make it a better one for China.