Republicans gain, but no red wave so far in US midterm elections

The US midterms elections are now inching closer to their final results. And despite several exit polls predicting that Joe Biden's Democratic Party will lose badly, they did much better than everyone's expectations.  

Here is what we know now about the results:  Even though Donald Trump and the Republicans thought they would bring some form of 'red wave' and wrest control of both the Houses of Congress (their parliament), they seem to have minimal gains.

How? The Republican Party on Thursday remained close to winning enough seats to gain a majority in the House, but the control of the Senate remained up for grabs. Either party could secure a Senate majority with wins in both Nevada and Arizona - where the races were too early to call. 

What are the US midterm elections?

• The US elections are for the Americans when they decide who controls US Congress - Democrats or Republicans.
• These polls are for Congress, (US Parliament) which is made up of two parts - the House of Representatives and the Senate. 
• Congress makes nationwide laws and the House decides which laws are voted on while the Senate can block or approve them. 
• During this midterm election year, all 435 seats in the US House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate were contested. 
• In the past two years, Democrats had the majority in both houses which has made, life of Biden very easy as off when he wanted to pass any laws.

Why is it so important? Midterms are elections that come in between the tenure of a ruling president for the United States. These polls will also decide the future of Joe Biden's Presidency (in 2024). Midterms actually act like a report card for the president, in this case, Joe Biden, as it comes directly in between the four years of Biden's tenure. The way a party win or lose in this election shows the amount of satisfaction or distrust the general public has for the president and the policies that he/she has proposed in the two years. 

 Who made history? Out of the results that were out, America saw some firsts and unexpected wins. Here are a few of them: 

• Maura Healey, Massachusetts 

Party: Democratic 
The attorney general becomes the state's first woman governor as well as its first openly gay candidate elected to the office. 

• Wes Moore, Maryland 

Party: Democratic 
Wes Moore becomes the state's first Black governor after defeating a Republican candidate which was endorsed by Donald Trump. 

• Aruna Miller, Maryland 

Party: Democratic 
Aruna Miller becomes the first Indian-American politician to win the race of Lieutenant Governor (highest official after the governor) in the state. 

• Kathy Hochul, New York

Party: Democratic 
Kathy becomes the first woman elected governor. She however took the office last year, after former governor Andrew Cuomo resigned from his job. 

• Maxwell Frost, Florida

Party: Democratic 
Maxwell, 25, becomes the first member of Gen Z to win a House seat from Orlando, Florida. 

•  Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Arkansas 

Party: Republic 
Sarah becomes the first woman to serve as the governor of Arkansas. 

Why it is good news for Biden even though he is losing seats? Even though Biden seems to be losing in the house of representatives, it is generally, not new for the President's party to lose mid-term elections. In fact, till now only seven presidents have actually gained seats in history. 

Preliminary results show Democratic Party candidates dramatically outperformed these historical trends, making this the best performance for the President's party since 1950.

Meanwhile, Republican Party candidates that were backed by Donald Trump underperformed significantly.

To know more about midterms elections: Click Here.