Disaster for Democrats:

Donald Trump’s stunning victory in the presidential election race was matched by similarly unexpected Republican victories in this week’s congressional contests, victories which ensure that the Republican Party (GOP) will retain control of both the House and the Senate. Thirty-four of the 100 seats in the Senate were up for grabs, and it had been widely predicted that many GOP senators would be hobbled by an anti-trump backlash. (The Democrats needed to win five seats to retake the chamber.) But in the event, senators whose seats had seemed vulnerable scored decisive wins: Florida Senator Marco Rubio saw off his Democratic challenger, as did Senator Richard Burr in North Carolina. In Wisconsin, which was won by Trump, former senator Russ Feingold, a liberal favourite, failed to recapture his seat from the GOP incumbent, Ron Johnson. Majority control in the Senate is critical for Trump, since it is the Senate that approves his executive and judicial nominees, notably appointments to the Supreme Court.

The Democrats fared better in elections to the House: at the time of going to press, they were expected to make a net gain of eight seats. However, that would still leave the GOP in control of the lower chamber, with 239 seats to the Democrats’ 196. The Democrats did especially well in Nevada, which has a large Latino population. Trump should have enough support in Congress to roll back some of President Obama’s landmark policies, including the healthcare reforms known as Obamacare and the controversial nuclear deal struck with Iran last year.