US Midterm Election | Dems take House control, but GOP retains Senate

WASHINGTON (AP):

 Democrats took House control Tuesday night but Republicans held their Senate majority as voters rendered a mixed verdict in the first nationwide election of Donald Trump's turbulent presidency.

The Democrats picked up the 23 seats they would need to take from the GOP,  and were expected to meet the 218 total needed to take control though more races were still undecided.

The results allowed both parties to claim partial victory, but highlighted an extraordinary realignment of U.S. voters by race, sex and education. Republicans maintained their strength in conservative, rural states, while Democrats made inroads across America's suburbs.

With control of Congress, statehouses and the president's agenda at stake, some of the nation's top elections were too close to call.

Yet Democrats' dreams of the Senate majority as part of a "blue wave" were shattered after losses in many of the top Senate battlegrounds: Indiana, Missouri, Tennessee, North Dakota and Texas. They also suffered a stinging loss in Florida, where Trump-backed Republican Ron DeSantis ended Democrat Andrew Gillum's bid to become the state's first African-American governor.

In the broader fight for control in the Trump era, the political and practical stakes on Tuesday were sky high.

Democrats could derail Trump's legislative agenda for the next two years after winning control of the House. And they would claim subpoena power to investigate Trump's personal and professional shortcomings.

Some Democrats have already vowed to force the release of his tax returns. Others have pledged to pursue impeachment, although removal from office is unlikely so long as the GOP controls the Senate.