By winning the House, Democrats will have a major impact on Trumppublished at 03:28 GMT

03:28 GMT

Sarah Smith
North America editor in Washington DC

We don't yet know how large a majority the Democrats may have in the House of Representatives and that's going to be very interesting to see. Whether they have just the slim majority - like the one Republicans have held for the last two years - or whether they manage to win a sizeable majority still remains to be seen.

It was always going to be easier for the Democrats to win in the House than in the Senate, so we can't read into this that they will definitely have a majority there.

But it does show us the direction of the night, and that where the polls showed a surge in support for the Democrats across the country, they appear not to be too far off.

It's going to have a real impact on Donald Trump as well if he is facing a House of Representatives controlled by the Democrats.

They can now launch all sorts of investigations into the way he and his family have been making money since he returned to the White House, and they can also start looking into more controversial decisions like starting the war in Iran.

They could try to impeach him again for a third time, but they might want to go for some of his cabinet secretaries instead.

This is really going to have a major impact in what Donald Trump is able to achieve over the next two years.

Sheila Flynn
Senior US Reporter, reporting from Kansas

There is standing room only here in an Irish-themed pub and restaurant in Wichita, Kansas at a Sedgwick County Democrats election watch party - with cheers and claps erupting each time stats from races across the country show their candidates leading.

Those roars are particularly loud whenever Kansas Senate hopeful and megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton's face appears on the TV monitors around the establishment and a huge pull-down screen along one wall.

Early returns showed him leading by as much as 15 percentage points against incumbent Republican Senator Roger Marshall, a doctor and staunch Trump supporter.

Attendees, who range from eighth graders to retirees, are ordering specialty sandwiches and drinks and dining on freely provided appetizers such as pretzel bites, nachos and meatballs.

Wichita resident Taylor Snowden tells the BBC: "They haven't called it yet, but it's looking pretty promising."

The Senate race in Mississippi has been rated as a toss up, according to CBS News.

This is a race that was previously classified as lean Republican.

A reminder, Mississippi hasn't elected a Democrat to the US Senate since 1982.

Democrats are projected to win control of the US House of Representatives, flipping it from a Republican majority, CBS News projects.

The Democrats are projected to win at least 218 seats and Republicans win at least 160 seats.

Image source, Getty Images

Democrats are rapidly picking up seats in the House of Representatives, where 218 seats are needed to form a majority in the 435-seat chamber.

The House is the lower chamber of the US Congress. Lawmakers there serve fixed terms of two years. The House is commonly where proposed laws are introduced and debated before going to the Senate.

Democrats appear to have snatched away another two House seats from their Republican rivals in the last hour.

Zach Dembo in Kentucky and Rebecca Bennett in New Jersey are each projected to gain seats for the Democrats.

South Carolina Senate victory is a shocking win for Democratspublished at 03:09 GMT

03:09 GMT

Daniel Bush
Washington correspondent

Democrat Annie Andrews' Senate victory in South Carolina is a shocking upset in favour of Democrats that underscores just how much voters have soured on Republicans and President Donald Trump this election cycle.

Just a few weeks ago a Democratic Senate win in deep red South Carolina wasn't on anyone's radar. The state hasn't had a Democratic US senator in more than two decades.

The victory is also a symbolic blow to Trump, who endorsed Andrews' opponent, Senator Darline Graham, after she was appointed to replace her brother Senator Lindsey Graham after his death earlier this year.

The win in South Carolina is another indicator that this is shaping up to be a big night for Democrats.

In the last few minutes, more polls have closed across the US, including: Idaho, Montana, Utah, Washington and Nevada.

Democrat Annie Andrews is projected to win the South Carolina Senate seat, CBS says.

As our reporter said earlier, flipping this seat would be one of the biggest upsets of the night and would also point towards a likely blue wave across the country.

Nada Tawfik
North America correspondent in Detroit, Michigan

The stage is set and the DJ is already playing hits at the Michigan Democrats’ election night headquarters here in Detroit.

The Democrats I’ve spoken with are feeling far more optimistic than they were just a few days ago.

Political consultant Adrian Hemond believes Abdul El-Sayed is likely to win and that the party will have a big night. His optimism, he says, comes from polling, but more importantly from voter turnout patterns today.

He’s observed that lines have been quite long in Democratic leaning areas and that early voting shows a Democrats lead based on geography.

He says Republicans will struggle to make up ground.

A reminder: The BBC's US news partner CBS rated Michigan as still being a toss up in its latest update.

Tom Bateman
Reporting from Columbus, Ohio

Here at the main Republican watch party in Ohio, there's still no sign of the candidates Jon Husted and Vivek Ramaswamy, running for the US Senate and Governor respectively.

I was just chatting with a few Ramaswamy supporters and I wouldn't say the mood is overwhelmingly optimistic.

People are glued to their phones checking out the returns, so far showing both of their candidates well behind their Democratic challengers.

But it's still early days.

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent in Washington DC

This is already shaping up to be a very good night for Democrats, with much of the vote counted in the eastern United States and polls closing in key midwestern battleground states.

Two Senate races that a year ago were thought to be battlegrounds have turned out to be slam-dunks for the Democrats - Jon Ossoff’s re-election race in Georgia and the open Republican-held seat in North Carolina.

That North Carolina contest was the first of the four pick-ups Democrats need in order to wrest control of the Senate.

Attention has now turned to Republican-held Senate seats in Texas, Kansas, and Ohio, where counting is taking place.

In South Carolina, the BBC's partner CBS News is rating the Senate race as leaning Democrat, which would be an earth-shaking result.

In the House of Representatives, there are other encouraging signs for Democrats.

While the mood of the electorate appears to have turned against Donald Trump and Republicans, it's still early.

But at this stage, it looks like Democrats have strong reasons to be hopeful.

Carl Nasman
Reporting from Atlanta, Georgia

Image source, t Reuters

Democrat Senator Jon Ossoff, who has just been re-elected in Georgia, is now addressing supporters from Atlanta.

He says the evening's victories are a rebuke to the "depravity, corruption and incompetence" of President Donald Trump.

Ossoff says that for those who "doubted whether our republic would survive" over the last two years, the "first light of dawn is on the horizon".

But he adds: "Our most vital work lies ahead."

His speech could easily be called presidential by many analysts, which isn't surprising since Ossoff is considered a potential candidate for the White House in 2028.

His acceptance speech here in Atlanta got big cheers from the crowd and traced wide themes from health care to artificial intelligence.

The BBC's US news partner CBS has just rated two state-wide races in Kansas.

Both the Senate and the governor's race there are rated as lean Democrat.

Kansas has not elected a Democratic senator since 1932.

A victory for the Democrats in Texas would be an electoral earthquakepublished at 02:42 GMT

02:42 GMT

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent in Washington DC

As we've just reported, the BBC's US news partner CBS has now moved the Texas Senate race to "lean Democratic".

While James Talarico has held a small but stable lead in the race for months now, the prospect of a victory is now growing.

It would represent an electoral earthquake, giving Democrats a breakthrough in the second-most populous US state where they have been locked out of statewide power for more than a generation.

CBS News has projected that Democrats will win at least 208 seats in the House of Representatives and Republicans will win at least 160.

For a majority, 218 seats must be secured.

All 435 seats in the House are up for election. Trump's Republican Party currently controls the House, and Democrats need a net gain of three seats to take the majority.

South Carolina could signal a blue wave, but Democrats will need big numbers to pull it offpublished at 02:42 GMT

02:42 GMT

Daniel Bush
Washington correspondent

Over in South Carolina, if Democrats can flip the Senate seat - which CBS has just rated as leaning Democratic - it would be one of the biggest upsets of the night.

A win there would also point towards a likely blue wave across the country.

Just weeks ago, this seemed like a safe seat for Republicans. South Carolina is a deep red state, where the late Senator Lindsey Graham was a popular figure for decades until his death earlier this year. He was replaced by his sister, Senator Darline Graham, who was immediately backed by the party establishment, including President Donald Trump.

But Senator Graham has struggled on the campaign trail, and polls in the run-up to election day showed a surprisingly close race.

As of now the full results aren’t in, with roughly 80 percent of the vote counted. But currently the Democratic candidate Annie Andrews is leading Graham by around six percentage points.

To come from behind and win, Graham needs to run up big numbers in rural parts of the state, and hope she can do more to close the gap in cities where Andrews is currently leading by double digits.

She very well might, in which case the Democrats hope of a shocking upset would fall by the way side and Republicans would breathe a sigh of relief.

A Graham victory would give Republicans some hope that they'll turn things around tonight.

Carl Nasman
Reporting from Atlanta, Georgia

Image source, Reuters

Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, who is not up for re-election today, said earlier on Tuesday that he thought Democrats were "nauseously optimistic" about their chances in this election.

After seeing their hopes dashed in several previous elections, maybe he was worried his party was a bit too optimistic.

But with Keisha Lance Bottoms’ projected win in the governor's race, it seems their most optimistic dreams are coming true.

There were more ecstatic cheers here at the Georgia Dems’ watch party as that race was projected blue.

It’s likely enough to make Republicans nauseous.

The BBC's US news partner CBS has just updated its race rating for Texas's Senate race. The contest there now leans Democrat.

The BBC's US news partner CBS has just rated governors races in several states:

• Arizona - Leans Democrat

• Iowa - Leans Democrat
• Kansas - Toss up
• Michigan - Leans Democrat
• Minnesota - Leans Democrat
• Nebraska - Toss up
• New Mexico - Leans Democrat
• South Dakota - Likely Republican
• Texas - Toss up
• Wisconsin - Toss up

Image source, Getty Images

As we just reported, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms is projected to be the winner in Georgia's gubernatorial election.

She is making history as the first black woman elected as governor in US history.

Her victory over Republican Rick Jackson means Democrats have flipped the governor's office.

Bottoms previously served as mayor of Atlanta from 2018 to 2022 and went to work for the Biden administration.