US Election: Democrats Win, Regain Control of the House of Representatives

As of 11:00 a.m. on November 7 (Vietnam time), the vote count results of the 2018 US midterm elections showed that the Democratic Party had achieved its goal of regaining at least 23 seats held by the Republican Party in the 115th House of Representatives, thereby winning and taking control of the 116th US House of Representatives. Specifically, the Democratic Party regained 25 seats from its Republican opponent, while preserving the number of seats it held in the 115th House of Representatives. With the above results, the Democratic Party will win according to the law.

American voters cast their ballots at a polling station in Virginia. Photo: Dang Huyen - VNA reporter in the US

President Donald Trump called Nancy Pelosi, the former House Minority Leader, to congratulate Democrats on their victory. For her part, at a victory party in Washington DC, Nancy Pelosi said that members of the party would restrain President Donald Trump. According to Ms. Pelosi, House Democrats will use their new victory to pursue a bipartisan agenda for a country that she said has had "enough division." Ms. Pelosi is expected to seek the role of Speaker of the House, a position she held for four years, from 2007.

Previously, CNN cited the vote count results as saying that the Republican Party won at least 51 seats, while the Democratic Party lost only 3 seats compared to the 49 seats the party currently holds in the 115th Senate. Although the final vote count results have not been announced, the Republican Party has certainly won and will continue to be the majority force in the Senate in the next term.

With the above results, the new US Congress (116th term) opening on January 20, 2019 will be in a bipolar situation when the Democratic and Republican parties each hold one legislative chamber.

Voter turnout in the 2018 US midterm elections was considered much higher than in previous midterm elections. According to the US Elections Project - a source of data for the US election system, 38.8 million Americans voted before the November 6 election, surpassing the 27.4 million who voted in advance in the 2014 midterm elections.