Republicans have seized control of the US Senate after flipping Democratic-held seats, wresting away the majority for the first time in four years.
The unexpected battleground of Nebraska pushed Republicans over the top. Incumbent Senator Deb Fischer brushed back a surprisingly strong challenge from independent newcomer Dan Osborn.
Democrats watched their efforts to salvage their slim majority slip out of reach as tallies rolled in across a map that favoured Republicans.
Early in the night, Republicans flipped one seat in West Virginia, with the election of Jim Justice, who easily replaced retiring Senator Joe Manchin.
Democratic efforts to oust firebrand Republicans Ted Cruz of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida collapsed.
While Texas has not elected a Democrat statewide in almost 30 years, Colin Allred, a Dallas-area congressman and former NFL linebacker, positioned himself as a moderate and leaned into his support for reproductive rights amid Texas’ abortion ban, which is one of the strictest in the nation.
Mr Cruz’s victory came after Democratic efforts to salvage their Senate majority evaporated when Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown in Ohio lost his re-election to Republican Bernie Moreno, a wealthy Trump-era newcomer.
Mr Brown’s loss to Mr Moreno, an immigrant from Bogota, Colombia, who built a fortune as a luxury car dealer and blockchain entrepreneur, put the Democrats on the edge of losing Senate control. A three-term senator, he was the first incumbent to lose re-election.
Voters elected two black women to the Senate, Democrat Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Democrat Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, in a historic first.
Ms Blunt Rochester won the open seat in her state while Ms Alsobrooks defeated Maryland’s popular former governor, Larry Hogan. Just three black women have served in the Senate, and never before have two served at the same time.
And in New Jersey, Andy Kim became the first Korean American elected to the Senate, defeating Republican businessman Curtis Bashaw. The seat opened when Bob Menendez resigned this year after his federal conviction on bribery charges.
Elsewhere, House candidate Sarah McBride, a Democratic state lawmaker from Delaware who is close to the Biden family, won her race, becoming the first openly transgender person elected to Congress.
Congress plays a role in upholding the American tradition of peacefully transferring presidential power.
Four years ago, Mr Trump sent his mob of supporters to “fight like hell” at the Capitol, and many Republicans in Congress voted to block President Joe Biden’s election. Congress will again be called upon to certify the results of the presidential election in 2025.
Billions of dollars have been spent by the parties, and outside groups, on the narrow battleground for both the 435-member House of Representatives and 100-member Senate.
Top House races are focused in New York and California, where Democrats are trying to claw back some of the 10 or so seats where Republicans have made surprising gains in recent years with star lawmakers who helped deliver the party to power.
Other House races are scattered around the country in a sign of how narrow the field has become. Only a couple of dozen seats are being seriously challenged, with some of the most contentious in Maine, the “blue dot” around Omaha, Nebraska, and in Alaska.
Vote counting in some races could extend well past Tuesday.
“We’re in striking distance in terms of taking back the House,” House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is in line to make history as the first black speaker if his party wins control, told The Associated Press during a recent campaign swing through Southern California.
But House Speaker Mike Johnson predicted Republicans will keep “and grow” the majority. He took over after Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the speaker’s office.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here