Key winners, several firsts, big picture: Major talking points of US midterm election results

Democratic US Representative Beto O'Rourke failed on Tuesday in his long-shot attempt to oust Republican US Senator Ted Cruz from his seat in deeply conservative Texas. Cruz, 47, who was first elected to the Senate in 2010 on a wave of fury in the conservative Tea Party movement over Democratic then-President Barack Obama successfully rallied Republican voters to offset this year's Democratic anger over President Donald Trump.

(Photo: Reuters)

Republican Mitt Romney was elected to Senate seat from Utah. Former Massachusetts governor and Republican presidential nominee has won the race to succeed retiring Senator Orrin Hatch, defeating Democratic opponent Jenny Wilson by a large margin. 

"Humbled by the support and trust of Utahns. I endeavour to represent you with dignity, integrity, and in a manner that will make you proud," Romney said on Twitter. 

(Photo: AFP)

29-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has become the youngest woman elected to Congress. Before her, the title was held by Representative Elise Stefanik, a Republican who was first elected at the age of 30 in 2014. She had defeated New York Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley, a long-time incumbent, in a primary. The victory was considered a stunner and helped make her become a national political figure.

(Photo: Reuters) 

Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib became the first two Muslim women to serve in the US Congress. Omar, 36, has been elected from Minnesota's 5th congressional district. She is a former refugee who fled Somalia's civil war. 

Two years ago, she became the first Somali-American to win a seat in a state legislature, on the same night Republican Donald Trump won the presidency after a campaign in which he called for a ban on all Muslims entering the United States.

In Michigan, voters elected Tlaib, a Detroit-born Palestinian-American, from 13th congressional district. In 2008, Tlaib, 42,  became the first Muslim woman elected to the Michigan Legislature. The oldest of 14 children, Tlaib was born to a family of Palestinian immigrants in Detroit, where her father worked at a Ford Motor Co plant.

The victories by the two Democrats came on an election night when members of multiple minority groups had a chance to score electoral firsts.

(Photo: Reuters) 

Sharice Davids on Tuesday became the first Native American woman elected to Congress. She defeated Republican incumbent Kevin Yoder in Kansas. Davids, 38, is an attorney by training and a former mixed martial arts fighter. She is also openly lesbian.

(Photo: AFP) 

No blue wave as such, Democrats have continued the tradition of opposition parties doing well in Midterm polls.

(Photo: AFP) 

Trump can take heart from the fact that Republicans will have a bigger majority in Senate. So more leg-room to get work done, candidates approved by Senate.

"Tremendous success tonight. Thank you to all!" Trump tweeted. 

(Photo: Reuters) 

This brings much needed balance to US polity with House under Democrats. Republican dream of getting rid of Obamacare will not be fulfilled at least for next 2 years.

(Photo: Reuters) 

The contrasting House and Senate results albeit in different scenarios will increase the chatter among Democrats about how far pivoting to the Left is politically advisable. It will probably be the biggest point in the Primaries to elect a candidate to fight Trump in 2020.

(Photo: Reuters) 

The Mississippi Senate race advanced to a runoff between Cindy Hyde-Smith, a Republican, and Mike Espy, a Democrat, according to The Associated Press. 

The primary system, where if no candidate reaches a 50 percent threshold, the top two vote-getters face each other in a runoff election. Neither Ms. Hyde-Smith, who was appointed to fill Senator Thad Cochran’s seat, nor Mr. Espy broke that bar. Chris McDaniel, a conservative, failed to make the cutoff.

 Their runoff is scheduled for November 27.

(Photo: Twitter@cindyhydesmith)

The newly empowered House Democrats will have the ability to investigate Trump's tax returns, possible business conflicts of interest and allegations involving his 2016 campaign's links to Russia. House Democrats could be banking on launching an investigation using the results of US Special Counsel Robert Mueller's already 18-month-old probe of allegations of Russian interference on Trump's behalf in the 2016 presidential election. Moscow denies meddling and Trump denies any collusion.

(Photo: Reuters)

Democrats also could force Trump to scale back his legislative ambitions, possibly dooming his promises to fund a border wall with Mexico, pass a second major tax-cut package or carry out his hardline policies on trade.

(Photo: AFP)

A simple House majority would be enough to impeach Trump if evidence surfaces that he obstructed justice or that his 2016 campaign colluded with Russia. But Congress could not remove him from office without a conviction by a two-thirds majority in the Republican-controlled Senate. 

(Photo: Reuters)

Democrats won governorships on Tuesday in several US states that supported Trump in 2016 but lost high-profile races in Florida and Ohio, as voters cast ballots in dozens of gubernatorial contests across the country. Democrat Gavin Newsom has been elected governor of California. 

(Photo: Reuters)

Democrat Stacey Abrams, who was seeking to become the first black woman to be elected governor of a US state, has lost the gubernatorial race in Georgia. She was locked in a tight battle with Republican Brian Kemp, the state's secretary of state. 

The races in Florida and Georgia were seen as a test of whether liberal candidates could prevail in Southern states, where centrist Democrats have repeatedly lost, by appealing to a coalition of young and minority voters. Neither Georgia nor Florida has elected a Democratic governor in 20 years.

(Photo: AFP)

In Florida, Democrat Andrew Gillum lost his attempt to become the state's first black governor, suffering a narrow defeat to Republican Ron DeSantis in a racially charged contest that drew national attention.  

"I still plan to be on the front lines alongside every one of you when it comes to standing up and fighting for what we believe in," Gillum, the 39-year-old mayor of Tallahassee, told supporters at his election night party, where small groups of people embraced, tears streaming down their faces.

(Photo: AFP)

Republicans also scored a major victory in Ohio's governor race, where Mike DeWine, the state attorney general, defeated Democrat Richard Cordray, who served as the first director of the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

(Photo: AFP)

In Wisconsin, Democrat Tony Evers pulled off a narrow win in unseating Republican incumbent Scott Walker, according to data provider DDHQ. The two-term governor, who also survived a Democratic-driven recall election in 2012 after ending collective bargaining for public workers, briefly ran for president in 2016.

(Photo: Reuters)

In Michigan, Democrat Gretchen Whitmer turned back Republican Bill Schuette in the contest to replace Republican Governor Rick Snyder, who could not run again due to term limits. Michigan was one of the states that supported Trump in 2016 Presidential elections.  

(Photo: Reuters)

In Kansas, Democrat Laura Kelly defeated Kris Kobach, a staunch Trump ally, where outgoing Republican Governor Sam Brownback suffered from low approval ratings.

(Photo: Reuters)

Democratic candidates also triumphed in Pennsylvania, Illinois, Maine, New Mexico and Nevada, where Republicans had held the governorships. All told, Democrats had flipped at least seven Republican-held governorships without suffering any losses as of early Wednesday morning.

(Photot: AFP)