US midterm election results herald new political era as Republicans take House

Barack Obama was today facing a harsh new US political reality in the wake of one of the worst Democratic defeats for 70 years. In midterm election races across America, Republicans pummelled their opponents, capturing the House of Representatives and a fistful of Senate seats. With some seats still to be counted, the Republicans picked up at least 60 House seats, eclipsing their 54 gains in 1994 and the party’s best result since 1938. They also gained at least six Senate seats, falling short of the 10 they needed to gain control of the upper house. It was a remarkable comeback from two years ago, when many experts expected the party to endure a long time in the political wilderness in the wake of Obama’s emphatic 2008 presidential election victory. Instead, Obama faces a hard political lesson after a hammering that wiped away the last vestiges of the euphoria that swept him to the White House. The political momentum has swung to the rightwing Tea Party movement, which energised the Republican base and notched up a string of high-profile victories. The loss of the House is the first major setback Obama has faced in his relatively untroubled political rise from… Read full this story

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