As polls close across the US and counting gets underway for the midterm elections, polls show the US President’s approval rating has hit its lowest level for any sitting president since 2008.
Democrat Jon Ossoff’s re-election marked the start of a blue wave of Senate wins on Wednesday morning, after millions of voters took to the polls across the US.
A move that will decide the balance of power in Washington, the vote is set to shape the last two years of Donald Trump’s presidency.
Cautious optimism over US midterm results turned to jubilant celebration for the Democrats in a night filled with surprises
The Georgia senator held onto his seat as he defeated Republican rival Mike Collins, with a series of high-profile Democrat wins following soon after – including Colorado, New Hampshire, Illinois, and a notable flip for the Dems in North Carolina.
Traditional Republican Senate strongholds, including Texas and South Carolina, both hung in the balance as the vote remained too close to call into Wednesday morning.
As the blue wave appeared to turn into a landslide for the Democrats, and the results continued to roll in, Trump was said to be bracing for a “really bad night”, according to White House officials.
The US President took to social media on Tuesday night to urge voters currently waiting in line to remain in place and cast their ballot – despite polls closing.
Potential 2028 presidential hopeful Jon Ossoff was the first Democratic Senate seat to be announced, winning re-election in Georgia.
Meanwhile, the first big upset of the night came in North Carolina, where Democrat Roy Cooper flipped the red seat blue – and bolstered the party’s bid to win control of both the House and the Senate.
Defeating Michael Whatley, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, Cooper thanked volunteers, noting: “This US Senate seat back for the people of North Carolina”.
“We knew that for too many people in North Carolina, the middle class was feeling like a distant dream,” he said.
“We knew that the Washington DC insiders and the richest Americans were getting unimaginable wealth at our expense.”
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio, gestures to the media outside of the White House in Washington DC. Picture: Newscom/Alamy
While the Democrats were tipped to retake the House of Representatives from the Republicans, the fight for the Senate remains on a knife edge.
The challengers are 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.
The president had held rallies in traditional Republican strongholds in a bid to shore up support and boost turnout, and promised every adult US citizen 5,000 dollars (£3,721 ) if his party kept control of both the House and Senate.
Elsewhere, 39-year-old Ossoff defeated US Representative Mike Collins to be re-elected in Georgia, describing it as a “rebuke of corruption” and a vote against a “lame, sitting duck President”.
Describing Trump’s “brutality”, he insisted “the first light of dawn is on the horizon”.
The seat was previously a top Republican target, with Ossoff a long-standing critic of the US president and his administration.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro kisses his wife Lori Shapiro at an election night event in Shiremanstown, PA. Picture: Associated Press/Alamy
Elsewhere, Democrats have secured four projected victories in the House of Representative, with races in New Jersey and North Carolina secured.
A string of local wins saw Democrat Josh Shapiro re-election as Pennsylvania governor.
Meanwhile, Byron Donalds defeated his democratic opponent to make history as state’s first Black governor.
