President Joe Biden, presiding over narrow Democratic control of Washington, has seen his approval ratings buffeted by soaring inflation, fears about crime, and lingering effects of the pandemic. The outcome of the midterm will have a major impact on the remaining two years of Biden's presidency, and beyond.
Republicans, meanwhile, have had to deal with a rift between the party's establishment wing and President Donald Trump. His enthusiastic support for far-right, first-time candidates fueled divisive primaries while testing general election voters' acceptance of nominees whose biographies likely would have doomed their campaigns in years past.
What are the US midterms election?
The elections are for Congress, which is made up of two parts--The House of Representatives and the Senate.
They happened every two years and when they fall in the middle of the President's four-year term of office, they are called midterms.
In the US, Congress makes nationwide laws while the House decides which laws are voted and the Senate can block or approve them.
Each state has two senators, who sit for six-year-term. The Representatives sits for two -year and represent smaller districts.
In the midterm 2022, all seats of the House of Representatives are up for the meeting, alongside one-third of the Senate.
What is the trend till so far?
The Democrats had held the majority in both the House and the Senate for the past two years. But they held power over the Republicans by a very narrow margin, which makes this contest a tough one.
Latest updates on the US midterm election 2022:
As per CNN, Republicans need one democrat seat to gain control of the Senate, and 26 competitive seats to gain control of the House.
Winners list
So far, the following candidates have won in the midterm:
- Republican Mark Gordon has won a second term as Wyoming’s governor, beating Theresa Livingstonn, a retired educator and U.S. Bureau of Land Management employee.
- Republican Governor Phil Scott was reelected for the fourth consecutive year in Vermont. Scott defeated Democrat Brenda Siegel and three independent candidates.
- US Senator of the Democratic party Richard Blumenthal won a third term in office, fending off a challenge from first-time candidate Leora Levy, a Republican who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
- Republican Katie Britt has won the US Senate race in Alabama.
- Former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was elected Arkansas governor on Tuesday, becoming the first woman to lead the state and the highest profile Trump administration official in elected office. Sanders defeated Democratic nominee Chris Jones in the race for governor in her predominantly Republican home state.
- Republican US Senator Marco Rubio has won a third term, defeating Val Demings.
- Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Tuesday gained a second term as he defeated challenger Nan Whaley, a Democrat.
- Robert Menendez, the son of Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez won an open House seat in New Jersey
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrats won in New York.
- Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene won in Georgia
