you're watching a bbc news special results programme on the us mid—term elections after a night in which president trump has suffered a significant setback and some gains. both sides claim victory of sorts... the democrats have taken control of the house of representatives for the first time in eight years. but republicans strengthen their grip on the senate — with a number of democrats losing their seats. president trump calls the results a "tremendous success" — but what does the new balance of power mean for his agenda? today is more than about democrats and republicans, it's about restoring the constitution checks and balances to the trump administration. an election of firsts — congress will represent a wider range of americans, with more women and minority lawmakers than ever before. and an exceptionally high turnout has been recorded, with voting extended in some states. welcome to our special

results programme on the us mid—term elections. in the first big test of donald trump's presidency, the democratic party has taken control of the house of representatives for the first time in eight years. some results are still to be declared. but as you can see, president trump's republican party has consolidated its hold on the senate. let's have a closer look at the results. all 435 seats in the house of representatives,

the lower chamber of congress, were contested. some results are still being counted, but this is the current make—up of the chamber. blue for the democrats, red for the republicans. here, the democrats have gained more than the 23 seats they needed to take control. but in the senate, the upper house of congress, where just over a third of seats were up for election, the democrats have lost ground and the republicans have increased their majority. this is the current make up of the senate. some results are still to come there as well. president trump has been quick to celebrate his party's gains, calling the night a "tremendous success". our washington correspondent chris buckler looks back

at the night's key moments and what it means for american politics. this was an evening when democrats finally had a reason to celebrate. with female candidates at the forefront of their success, they won a majority in the house of representatives, a victory that will place limits on donald trump's presidential power. today is more than about democrats and republicans. it is about restoring the constitution's checks and balances to the trump administration. but republicans held their ground in the senate. god bless texas! ted cruz among those to hang onto his seat in texas despite a fierce challenge. marsha blackburn won in tennessee after a bitter campaign that cost tens of millions of dollars. it gave an opportunity for both

sides to claim victory. the democrats have taken control of half of one of the three branches of government. all the gop have is the other half congress, the sebring court and a president who does whatever he wants. so, so far, tonight'sfeeling is, um... yes. for america, it was a mid—term election unlike any other, a vote that was seen as unlike any other, a vote that was seen as a unlike any other, a vote that was seen as a referendum on donald trump's president xi and one that led to an exceptionally high turnout. the president flew into state after state, holding 30 wellies in the last two months alone and putting himself at the centre of tight senate races —— holding a 30 rallies. thank you, missouri. it is great to be in indiana. look at that crowd. do we love nashville. get out in 2018, because you're voting for

me. that personal involvement seems to have made a difference. candidates that have embraced. candidates that have embraced the president, his policies, that he has gone in and campaigned and worked hard for, we have seen that pay off tonight. on twitter, donald trump called the result a tremendous success. there will be relief inside the white house that republicans have held on to the senate. but democrats taking the house of representatives will cause problems for the president. they will be able to block legislation and frustrate some of his more contentious plans. congress, just like america, is now divided. political power split between the two chambers, and the parties every bit as far apart. chris buckler, bbc news, washington. let's get more from chris buckler in washington. a long day and a long night for you. not quite the blue wave, perhaps, but a steady flow for the democrats and certainly significant gains in

the house. how significant is this in terms of the balance of power in american politics? it is very significant in that the democrats have managed to get the house of representatives. it does make a real difference to president trump because up to this point, he has had republicans in both parts of congress, essentially being able to push through the policies that he wa nts. push through the policies that he wants. yes, there have been times when he has been frustrated because there have been republicans who have decided that they don't want to back him. famously including the late john mccain, and at times other senators who have felt uncomfortable. but generally, he has had it his own way. all of that change because the suddenly have this power not just change because the suddenly have this power notjust to block legislation as we mentioned, but they could also start to lord inquiries and investigate things, potentially look into donald trump's tax affairs, whether there are potential conflicts of interest. all things which are going to irritate donald trump. there is no doubt that up donald trump. there is no doubt that

up to this point, he has felt that his way is the right way. if he wa nts to his way is the right way. if he wants to get things done, the suggestion is that he will have to work with democrats. and given those deep divides that exist in american politics right now, i don't think thatis politics right now, i don't think that is going to be easy. it will certainly make for an interesting couple of years ahead up to the next presidential election in 2020. so the democrats made gains, but the republicans also made gains in the senate, doing well particularly in areas where donald trump went and campaigned personally. so do you think he feels he has a good platform to go for the presidency again ina platform to go for the presidency again in a couple of years? he has already tweeted that this is a success. he has already retweeted people who have said he did well in this campaign, and there is no doubt that he has been extremely energetic. he is a man who likes campaigning, but his rallies do seem to have made a difference in those

states which he specifically targeted. he knew where there were tight races, where the senate could be injeopardy, tight races, where the senate could be in jeopardy, and tight races, where the senate could be injeopardy, and he went out tight races, where the senate could be in jeopardy, and he went out to make a difference. if you look at the figures, he does seem to have made a difference. he is already talking about 2020. he already has a slogan of, keep america great. and even during those rallies, he was laying the groundwork for it. so it might seem early to be talking about a presidential election in two yea rs' a presidential election in two years' time, but donald trump is doing it and years' time, but donald trump is doing itand he years' time, but donald trump is doing it and he is already laying the groundwork. and he can say he has had success this time by being out there and motivating his base. the problem for the democrats is that they need to find someone who can do the same thing on their side. so far, they are a party that has an old voice in barack obama, who came forward. you could argue thatjoe biden also made a difference at rallies. but they haven't got you leadership to take them into 2020,

and that is something they will have to address quickly, because president trump is already thinking about that election. chris buckler, thank you. many democratic hopes had been pinned on florida, a key swing state. they did make gains in the house, winning two seats in the southern tip of the state, but they lost races for the senate and for governor. there was also a contest of big personalities for the governor's position in florida. you had andrew dillon for the democrats, who was looking to become the first african—american governor of florida, versus ronda santas for the

republicans. but the republican candidate did when. andrew gillum conceded in what was a very publicised race in the american media, and we would hearfrom him in a moment. first let's get this report from our correspondent rajini vaidyanathan report from our correspondent rajini vaidya nathan in report from our correspondent rajini vaidyanathan in florida. well, it wasn't a good night for the democrats here in the crucial state of florida. for a start, they lost control of the one senate seat that they held. it had been held by bill nelson for three consecutive terms, but tonight republican rick scott, the former governor of this state, one that seat, helping boost republicans' fortunes in the senate as they hang on to control the senate. also, republicans held onto the governor seat here. the democrats were hoping that their candidate andrew gillum would become the first black

governor for the state of florida. but in both of those races, it wasn't necessarily a ringing endorsement for the republican party because both of the races were won by the republicans by a very close margin ofjust under 1%, which gives you an idea of how close florida is. it always is in national elections too. there were some good moments for the democratic party. they picked up two congressional seats in a somewhat surprise, some would say. that has also helped them pick up control of the house of representatives in washington, dc. in many ways, though, florida reflects a change in america. what we have seen here in this very tight races is just how polarised this state and america indeed is. the democratic mayor of tallahassee, andrew gillum, who was hoping to be the first ever african—american governor in the state's history, told supporters he'd conceded

to his republican rival ron de santis. i want you to know that in spite of oui’ i want you to know that in spite of our congratulating him on his victory this evening, nothing that we believe in is compromised. i still believe that we ought to pay teachers what they are worth. i still believe that. i still believe that we ought to clean up our environment, our air and water quality, our beaches. i still believe that we ought to have the kind of economy where people are able to work one job instead of two and threejobs able to work one job instead of two and three jobs in able to work one job instead of two and threejobs in order to make ends meet. i am extremely proud that this evening, the voters of the state of florida decided to pass an amendment four. proud about that. that is just one step closer to getting us to where we need to be as a state. y'all, i want to encourage you not

to give up. i want to encourage you to give up. i want to encourage you to stick to the fight. i want you to know that every step of the way, even though i won't have the blessing of serving as the next governor of the state of florida, i still plan to be on the front lines right every single one of you when it comes to standing up for what we believe in. so how did the democrats win the house for the first time in eight years? well, it was by taking suburban districts where hillary clinton won in 2016. one of those was the 7th congressional district in newjersey, where democrat tom malinowski unseated republican leonard lance. nada tawfik was there. well, newjersey really reflected what we have seen play out on a national scale where democrats really won in suburbs and urban areas. and in newjersey in particular,

it really was a dissatisfaction with president trump that drew democrats and also moderate republicans to vote democrat. so for example in one district, newjersey‘s seventh district, leonard lance was in one of the districts that went for hillary clinton. he was a moderate republican who tried to campaign by saying he was bipartisan, but that wasn't enough for voters in that district, who felt that he didn't do enough to really rein in president trump. so he lost there. and democrats picked up three seats from republicans here alone. one of the contests is still a very competitive race, but it really reflects this dissatisfaction with president trump. and we also saw in newjersey the fact that women, political newcomers, a new wave of people being politically engaged, were pressing here in newjersey as well. the house minority leader

nancy pelosi had been confident about democrats taking the house from the republicans. earlier, she spoke to supporters in washington. democrats will clean up corruption to make washington work for the american people. republicans will only continue the toxic gop culture of cronyism, incompetence and corruption that grows more brazen and more destructive every day. we have seen washington republicans work relentlessly to distract, divide and cover up anything to shift the focus from the gop's tax scam for the rich and their cruel campaign to take away america's health care. but we don't agonise, we organise. let's cross now to capitol hill, where we can speak to nikole killion, a cbs news correspondent. definitely a shift in the balance of

power, but we are arguably seeing american politics even more polarised as a result of these midterms? absolutely. and you can expect things to become even more divided over the next few years, especially now that we have this split decision with the democrats taking the house and the senate. republicans retain control there, but have obviously built up their majority. so even when republicans we re majority. so even when republicans were in control, we saw a lot of partisan rhetoric on both sides and thatis partisan rhetoric on both sides and that is likely to grow over the next two years. democrats have already suggested that they could, for instance, try to probe into the president and launch investigations. they now have subpoena power in the house. it is unclear how far they will take things. the white house are already pushing back against

that, with one of the president'saids and councillor kellyanne conway saying, why would they bother with that and go that route? but certainly, that could pose some challenges to the president. we do know that last night, according to the white house, he did call democratic leader nancy pelosi, who was likely to be in line to become the next house speaker, a position she have her before. according to her office, he did express his congratulations and acknowledged her not to bipartisanship, but it will be interesting to see if that actually happens. thank you very much. let's take a closer look at last night's results, and what they could mean for the trump administration. with me is drjames d boys, professor of international political studies at richmond, the american university in london. i'm alsojoined by dr clodagh harrington, senior lecturer in politics at de montfort university in leicester. james, not quite a blue wave, but

significant gains for the democrats nonetheless? the democrats had talked up the idea of having this blue wave, not dissimilar to the blue wave, not dissimilar to the blue firewall that the described that was going to elect hillary clinton two years ago. the democrats had a good night, but not a historic night. if you go back through us history, it is expected that the president'sparty always suffers in the first midterm election. so it is with the reason that donald trump is talking about having had a good night. but let's be honest, it's going to be two years' worth of hell for donald trump moving forward now, because the democratic party controls the house of representatives, which means they can begin all the investigations they want to. they have sabine power, —— subpoena power and they can cause trouble for donald trump and prevent legislation getting through that they don't want. professor clodagh harrington, let's

get to the prospect of those investigations into donald trump's tax affairs. and let's talk about the i word. 60 democrats said if they took control of the house of representatives, they would be pushing for donald trump to be impeached. obviously, there are lots of things to go through before we can get to that point, but do you think something like that is going to happen? i'm really not sure that that would play out. it's been the liberal fantasy for quite some time now, and yet if you think from january onwards, as james now, and yet if you think from january onwards, asjames said, is going to be quite a challenge for donald trump to continue with the wind behind him in the way that he has for the past two years. but i did an event last night. we had a former congressional democrat on the panel and he said the american people are not keen to go through the impeachment process again. they rememberthe the impeachment process again. they

remember the last time around, with bill clinton on the other side of things. there is a real trauma that that brings. so certainly, the fact that brings. so certainly, the fact that the democrats will have subpoena power from january is meaningful and they can go after all sorts of things like those pesky tax returns that everyone has been waiting on for a long time, and more serious stuff like the ties to russia. but actual impeachment, i would say not yet. james, a lot of people have been looking at this election with huge interest, not just in the us, but around the world. the reason it is significant is because of the position that donald trump has taken internationally, pulling out of treaties and so on. do you think we are going to see a very different next two years of the donald trump presidency as a result of this? we need to keep last night's results in context. donald trump remains president for two years. he still

has a senate on his side, with an increased majority. the house of representatives could potentially impeached donald trump, but that would not lead to his removalfrom office because of the strong republican majority in the senate at this point. in terms of lost my‘s impact upon the world stage, it is easy to overstate that because the american president maintains great powers on the foreign affairs side of things. it is always the case that during an american presidency, they usually begin by looking at domestic affairs and become increasingly focused on foreign affairs, simply because of the ability of the house of representatives to stymie their domestic agenda forced up so it wouldn't surprise me if donald trump started to become more of a statesman, but only because that is the natural trajectory of most presidents at this point. former president obama had said the country

was on the ballot in these elections. so looking at the results we have with a few still to come, what does it say about the character of american politics and american democracy right now? at this moment, it is demonstrating multiple personalities. some of those house wins and governorship victories were a clear message that a lot of people wa nt a clear message that a lot of people want a progressive agenda. the new york, michigan minister had the youngest woman elected, who described herself as a socialist. there were the first two muslim women appointed to congress. these are symbolic and substantive steps forward. so you have that, and then the dublin down of the trump rhetoric and efforts to plough on with his agenda. i don't imagine he

is going to wake up after all this and said, maybe it's time to start reaching across the aisle. who knows, he is unpredictable, but i would be surprised. i think this kind of polarisation and two personalities of the country are just going to become more pronounced. james, do you think this is characterising a changing demographic in the us, or is it about different voters being energised by what has been going on in the last couple of years? there isa in the last couple of years? there is a lot of talk about demographic shifts in the united states and there was a lot of talk last night about suburban areas of the country. but one of the things most people remember barack obama saying was the idea that there are no red states or blue states, there is only the united states. that is great rhetoric, but it is not true. most states are predominantly holding true to their patent. even last night in texas, where there were great hopes among the democratic party that they might be able to

oust ted cruz, texas returned to its standard format and re—elected him. beto o'rourke spent 70 million versus ted cruz‘ 30 beto o‘rourke spent 70 million versus ted cruz‘ 30 million. beto o‘rourke spent 70 million versus ted cruz' 30 million. we were already talking about him as a presidential candidate, although he had not won the seat. the leading democrat in florida also lost the campaignfor democrat in florida also lost the campaign for the governorship. so the progressive movement of the democratic party will be disappointed, but will be moderates. they have done candle at running in kentucky who the democrats had a lot of hope in. she was former us service personnel and would have been an interesting candidate is moving forward. she unfortunately lost as well, so a real mixed bag for the leading candidates that the democratic party had put great faith in last night. clodagh, what do you think this means ford domestic politics in the us over the next couple of years? are we going to see more government shutdowns, more

deadlocks and frustration?” more government shutdowns, more deadlocks and frustration? i think government shutdowns could be the practical manifestation of a lot of this. you are literally going to have a clashing horns over so many issues. now that nancy pelosi is going to be back in her former position, she said last night that democrats now owns the ground. so there will be possible continuous strife. this may be the moment for donald trump to look internationally, asjames donald trump to look internationally, as james said, because he can't get much else done. that often doesn't happen until the second term, but he might find himself in that position now. one would hope there are things they can find common ground on. clodagh, i have to cut you off, sorry! you‘re watching bbc news. stay with us for

more coverage of the us mid—term elections. this morning, it has been a pretty wet start to the day across many parts of the uk and we are going to continue with that. we have got some rain and showers following on its heels. it will also be windy with a little sunshine between. you can see all the rain we have had from the west, pushing northwards and eastwards. a lot of surface water and spray on the roads and the rumble of thunder as well. looking at the isobars, it is going to be pretty windy, especially with the exposure on the coasts and hills. it has been a murky start. some of us are starting to see some brightness

as rain has pushed away from the south—east. some showers will merge to give longer spells of rain and some will still be heavy and thundery. in the afternoon, a bit of brightness in scotland, but heavy showers across the south—west. heavy showers across the south—west. heavy showers across the south—west. heavy showers across northern ireland and north—west england. and an array of showers across wales and southern counties. not all of us will see them, but if you do catch one, it could be heavy. yesterday‘s top temperature was 17 in manston in kent. we are not expecting to see those dizzy heights today. tonight, you can see how the showery rain moves away, taking the rain northwards out of scotland. general are looking at clear skies. the temperature will tumble. it will be a cold night, especially in rural areas, which could see a touch of frost. then our next system comes

m, frost. then our next system comes in, bringing showery outbreaks of rain to the west. tomorrow, we start off with a lot of dry weather and sunshine. the rain will pep up across north—west england and the east of northern ireland, with persistent rain and windy conditions. but we will see sunshine on either side of that. on friday, we have a band of cloud and showery rain moving northwards. then we see a gap where there will be some dry weather. but then we have low pressure coming in, bringing heavy rain, accompanied by windy conditions. the strongest winds will be in south—west england and wales. with exposure, we could have gusts of up to 70 miles an hour. hello and welcome back to our special results programme on the us mid—term elections. let‘s get more now on the us mid—term elections.

and in a blow to president donald trump and his republican party, the democratic party has taken control of the house of representatives for the first time in eight years. this is the current make—up of the house of representatives — that‘s the lower chamber of congress, where all 435 seats were up for re—election. you can see the democrats, in blue, have won the 218 seats they need to have an overall majority. as it stands the democrats are up 27, and the republicans are down 27. but it‘s a different story in the senate, the upper house of congress, where almost a third of seats were contested. as you can see here, the republicans have kept control of this house by picking up enough seats to give them a majority. the figure‘s on the screen for you there. one of the most watched senate races of these elections was the battle for texas.

traditionally very much at republican state. it was the republican ted cruz, once, you will remember, candidate to be president, last time round, but he saw off the democratic challenger beto o‘rourke, and this was one of the most highly publicised and watched races of these mid—terms. o‘rourke spent 70 million against 30 million spent by cruz. there were suggestions the deeply republican state could perhaps turn democrat in the future. he certainly made significant inroads. 48% to 51% for ted cruz. cruz was emotional as he thanked supporters, his family and his democratic challenger. let‘s have a listen... i also want to take the

time to congratulate beto o‘rourke. he poured his heart into this campaign. he worked tirelessly. listen, it‘s important. he worked tirelessly. he‘s a dad, and he took time away from his kids, and i want to also say millions across this state were inspired by his campaign. they didn‘t prevail, and i am grateful the people of texas chose a different path, but let me say to all of those who worked on his campaign, all of those who were inspired, that i am your senator as well. my responsibility is to represent every texan. that was ted cruz. pennsylvania, which was won narrowly by president trump in 2016, has taken centre stage in the 2018 midterm elections. mr trump campaigned in the state

several times during the fall, hoping to motivate his base to turn out for republican candidates. but it was democrat bob casey who narrowly took the senate seat. a short time ago, the bbc‘s nick bryant — and before we go to nick bryant, let‘s have a look at the share of the vote there. a pretty clear marginfor the vote there. a pretty clear margin for the democrats in pennsylvania. that‘s interesting, actually, because in some states where donald trump campaigned they did very well, but this is one where he campaigned heavily but the democrats won the day. the bbc‘s nick bryant is in the state‘s largest city — philadelphia. he explained what we can take away from the rust belt results and what it will mean for the presidential elections in 2020. the republicans gained in pittsburgh. the republicans look like they had gained in congressional district number one we

we re congressional district number one we were talking about earlier, so these results are very uneven, and i think a lot of people are predicting a lot of different meanings. what is interesting to note is how many moderate democrats have done well, a democrat in newjersey was a former helicopter pilot. the lesson for that may be that the democrats to field a moderate candidate in the presidential election. but a lot of millennial is in this party tonight we re millennial is in this party tonight were achieving those on the left of the party. so it is difficult. i think the democrats will be worried as well about florida, which looks like it‘s becoming more of a republican state, which makes it difficult when you‘re trying to assemble an electoral college victory. you don‘t need florida to win the presidency, but it certainly helps. that was nick bryant in philadelphia. let‘s get more from chris buckler in washington. chris, how far away are we from all

of the results being declared, because there are still a few more to come in? some will be very tight, particularly true in some of the races for governors. it might take a while yet but as far as congress is concerned, senate in the house of representatives, i think we have a pretty full picture now of what is happening here, and that is that the democrats are essentially now in charge in the lower chamber and the republicans have cemented their majority in the upper chamber. as a result, there will be lots of people just looking at these results and are trying to draw some sense of what they actually mean. as nick mentioned, really interesting one in florida. if you look at the race for governor there, the man who won is somebody who very much presented himself as somebody supported by president trump, but who wanted to be like president trump. in one of his advert she even built a wall with his children, dress them up in

donald trump jr, and with his children, dress them up in donald trumer, and read from donald trumer, and read from donald trump‘s go to them as part of the promotional advert for his run at becoming governor —— dress them up at becoming governor —— dress them up into donald trump gear. many will ask if that means donald trump has been successful, notjust in terms of the senate, but also giving offence that he is potentially someone offence that he is potentially someone who can take the party forward. i think the party will be looking very closely to see whether or not donald trump and his type of republicanism is something they will have to look at in 2020 going forward. as for the democrats, they will say they have had a big success in the house of representatives, but privately i think they will not be happy about the senate, is not holding those seats is something that will worry them. thank you, chris buckler in washington. in nevada, the democratic party candidate jacky rosen defeated the incumbent republican senator,

dean heller. speaking in las vegas after the result, jacky rosen said women were taking their country back. after all the hate, all the hate that i‘ve seen recently, that we‘ve all seen, i can‘t tell you how much this means to me as a former synagogue president, to stand here tonight as your next senator. hate will never win. applause hate will never win, and plenty of people had their doubts that this victory would be ours tonight, but this is the story of this election cycle. women stepping up to lead to take back our country and take back the agenda in washington. jacky rosen saying that women are stepping up to lead, and indeed 2018 was billed as the year of the woman ahead of the mid—terms and it turned

out to be true. more women than ever before stood as candidates, and there are now a record number of female members of congress. caroline rigby has been speaking to some of the candidates, who hoped to win seats. this year‘s pool of candidates was a diverse one. women running in record numbers — a so—called pink wave indicating a wider sea change in american politics. more native american, muslim, latino, immigrant and lgbt candidates on the ballot too. female voters, particularly college—educated and suburban white women, were also a huge part of this election. even in the last week, donald trump‘s rhetoric around immigration, particularly after the shooting in pittsburgh and other violence we‘ve seen, i think that was truly repellent to a lot of college educated women, and women in general. while support for donald trump remained strong amongst his core voters, undoubtedly some women have been put off by a president who many perceive as misogynistic. divided, too, over the confirmation of brett kava naugh

to the supreme court, after multiple accusations of sexual misconduct. i‘ve been saying since the beginning of this campaign that change is coming to america, and change is coming to virginia. and that change came tonight. the first house seat afoot for the democrats came early in the night, forjennifer wexton in virginia, ousting republican representative barbara comstock. the republicans may have fielded fewer female candidates, but the party remained confident that voters would be swayed by policies as much as people. when the rubber meets the road we have to choose, you know, between two candidates in any given race. and for most voters it's more about ideology and the party of the candidate than the gender. and whether down to gender or not, staunch conservative marsha blackburn became the first female to represent tennessee in the senate, considered a safe republican seat. her opponent failed to win despite high—profile backing

from pop star taylor swift. elsewhere, the first two muslim congresswomen were voted in — both democrats, one somali—american who came to the us as a refugee at the age of 12. these firsts, just some amongst so many in this year‘s mid—terms. evidence of a changing landscape in america — perhaps reflecting a new political era too. caroline rigby, bbc news. it let‘s discuss these mid—terms more. with me is republican commentator, stacy hilliard—cork. and we can also speak to professor scott lucas who is professor of american studies at the university of birmingham. thank you forjoining stacy hilliard—cork., both of you, on this bbc news us mid—term election special. i will start with you,

stacy this is encouraging, isn‘t it, this increased representation?m is, and! this increased representation?m is, and i think over 100 women will be in congress which is more reflective of the general population. the problem has been getting women to run, always, not necessarily to win, but to run. even those that didn‘t win, we saw a wave of women running for congressional seats and for senate feeds, and arizona will be a female senator in matter who wins. talking broadly about the overall results before we get into the detail, this was billed potentially as a blue wave, perhaps not quite a blue wave? it is a wave but you just don't see it perhaps while it is still rising. the safety net for the republicans is they could get a small gain in the senate, because they were defending so so senate, because they were defending so so few seats in the democrats had to defence are many, and because the republicans, let's say this, were

still able to pull out the older white vote. but talking about the wave, one, democrats out—polled republicans by 9%. amongst women, that was a 19% advantage for democrats and amongst 18 to 24—year—olds could imagine greater numbers yesterday the advantage for the democrats was 35%. if that holds, and the key issue as it was for americans yesterday was health care, then in 2020 and the republicans have to defend their senate and donald trump as to defend the white house, they will have a much tougher ride and then we could be talking about a whirlwind. thanks for concentrating through that, scott. it sounds like you have some building work in the background. but what do you make of what scott lucas has to say they‘re? do you think this is a blue wave of democrats we are seeing? —— has to say there. it has not led but it is cutting into

the republican lead in the senate. do you think that is inevitable?” would disagree with scott. i don‘t think it is a wave. this is traditionally what has happened. there have only been three times since the civil war were the president has kept the has in the mid—term election so this is not any surprise. the democrat majority they have gained in the house is not that big so they still have a very small majority will be working with computer what the republicans had coming in. coming into the 2020 election the democrats have a real challenge ahead because they don‘t have anybody perceived as a real leader a potential candidate who can actually attract those people in the rural areas in the usa and those people in the middle and if you look at the senate race in texas where beto o‘rourke lost and everybody thought he had a good chance of defeating ted cruz, beto really misunderstood his populist, the people he was talking to. he didn‘t understand it is a traditionally conservative state and he needed to attract them but he was to progressive in his agenda. stacy has a point, doesn‘t she, coming up

to 2020, because inevitably everybody looks at these results and thinks about the next presidential election? is there an obvious democratic contender for the presidency? someone who can take on the force and personality that is donald trump? that is a fine republican spin from stacy, and it is not actually what happened. it is interesting she praises women in politics, and in new york this senator, and in minnesota, of california, all of these senators are a potential presidential candidate in 2020 and there are more beyond that. it is interesting she would miss the trend amongst women vote rs would miss the trend amongst women voters and even, let's talk about texas, a deeply republican state in which the senator was a former presidential candidate, yet he narrowly avoided an upset. why? because instead of reacting to the republican calls which were anti immigrant use many people, women, young people, hispanic americans, come out and actually reject that

type of language. if that continues to 2020, is donald trump is still aggressive, still there despite the russian investigation, that is not the hill i think you would want to die on if you are republican. listening to you you might i think agree that politics is going to become tightly polarised in fort? agree that politics is going to become tightly polarised in forwm will continue to be polarised and if the democrats continue to want that polarisation, if they want to investigate instead of legislate, they will have an even tougher time in 2020, because if they continue to go down and fight donald trump in that area, it is really shines and does well, whether people like it or not. they will misjudge that and they will act to do themselves a disservice. scott, what do you think the best course of action would be for the democrats? to dig into donald trump‘s background, alleged election interference, tax affairs, whatever, or to take the higher ground and focus on policies and appealing to the border?”

ground and focus on policies and appealing to the border? i don't wa nt appealing to the border? i don't want to close by talking about democrat or republican and leaves stacey with this idea of polarised aggressive politics, i'm tired of it. but it is polarised, would you not see? i think all americans agree on the fact they want a decent health care system. i think all americans want a decent respect, whether you are lg bt, americans want a decent respect, whether you are lgbt, a woman, a person of colour or an immigrant, i think americans want to stop shouting at each other and they want a discussion which isn't one in which they see all media is fake and all opponents have low iq and are crazy. that is not the way it has to be and if we stop making it polarised with our comments. listen to people, they want a better way forward , to people, they want a better way forward, and beyond donald trump that way is there. professor scott lucas and stacy hilliard—cork, thank you very much for sharing your views today. let‘s cross now to new york, where we can speak to laura podesta — a cbs news correspondent. the congress election of americans,

36 dates, they have been voting for governors, and the new york governor is always a really high profile role. can you tell us what has been happening there? we know that in illinois, michigan and new mexico those are among those we know for sure have turned blue now, but the outcome of many contests like that in georgia, they are still up in the air, but it does look right now is like the democrats are a leading when it comes to winning back the executive branch in several states. if you can tell us a little more about new york specifically, that would be fantastic, laura. andrew cuomo is staying as the democratic governor of new york state. but i do wa nt to governor of new york state. but i do want to talk about the other states that have flipped. in illinois we know the businessmen ousted the first—term republican governor, so that was a big change. he really wa nts to

that was a big change. he really wants to get rid of the damage he said the governor had done and that first—term. the democrat won in michigan defeating the republican beer. in wisconsin we also had governor scott walker, a one—time presidential candidate, as you know, he was denied a third term as governor, though he won‘t concede yet, to the democrat tony everest.” think you mentioned the campaign for georgia governor. not declared there. an interesting race. stacey abrams seeking to become america‘s first african—american female governor. yes, exactly. this would bea governor. yes, exactly. this would be a historic election. if she does in fact get elected as governor, but great now it looks like it will be a run—off situation on december four. she has not yet conceded, even though she is coming injust slightly less in the percentage against her opponent, so she says georgia still has a decision to make, a decision between division

and trickery. that was a bitterly fought campaign, and we will find out on december four if she will become the first ever female african—american governor, or if brian kemp will win that seat in georgia. laura, thank you very much, laura podesta in new york for us. president trump has called the results a "tremendous success", but how have others in the white house been reacting? the white house press secretary, sarah sanders, spoke to reporters earlier, and acknowledged the loss of the house, but said retaining control of the senate made it a big victory for the president. we feel good. it's been a good night for the president, we feel good. it's been a good night forthe president, up untilthis point. the senate race in indiana, huge moment for the president. somebody he did an event forjust yesterday. obviously candidates that have embraced the president, increased his policies, that he has gonein increased his policies, that he has gone in for an campaign and worked ha rd gone in for an campaign and worked hard for, we are seeing that payoff. marsha blackburn, andy barr, indiana, certainlya marsha blackburn, andy barr, indiana, certainly a good place but

a long way to go. the president is going to continue doing exactly what he came to washington to do, and he can do that whether the democrats have control of the house or not. the question is whether democrats actually want to come to washington and do the job they were elected to do that to solve real problems. well, 2018, as we have been discussing, has been described as the year of the woman in these mid—term elections. one of the most interesting races which we just described was the governor for georgia. democrat stacey abrams was aiming to become the first african—american woman to run a state, when she ran for georgia governor. but despite support from big names like oprah winfrey, she didn‘t win the race. here‘s what stacey abrams had to say, when she addressed supporters a little earlier. hard work is in our bones. and we have proven this every single day, georgia. with doors knocked, with calls made,

with miles travelled, with prayers prayed to the highest heavens. and tonight we have closed the gap between yesterday and tomorrow. but we still have a few more miles to go. but hear me clearly. that, too, is an opportunity to show the world who we are, because in georgia civil rights has always been an act of will and a battle for our souls. and because we have been fighting this fight since our beginnings, we have learned the fundamental truth — democracy only works when we work for it. applause that was stacey abrams. as laura podesta from cbs news was saying a few seconds ago, that race is really tight against her republican rival,

and infact tight against her republican rival, and in fact it may go to a run—off next month, so we are keeping a very close watch on that race for the governor in georgia. an election of firsts, and as you now note the houses will be the most diverse ever. let‘s look at some of the key seat around this. let‘s look at some of the key seats around this. the 29—year—old democrat alexandria ocasio—cortez, you can see her here, has become the youngest woman ever elected to congress. she won in new york city‘s 14th district — you can see the results here. and here she was a few hours ago addressing her supporters at her victory party. we will never be ashamed for

fighting for what is right. let‘s discuss these mid—term elections, very interesting. the head of political studies at richmond, in london, still with us i touched on this a few minutes ago, james, because inevitably with these elections we look towards 2020 in the next presidential election. what sort of platform to these results give both the republican party and possibly donald trump again and the democratic party, with an as yet undecided candidate, for that presidential election? it is almost hilarious, isn‘t it? the votes haven‘t even been counted, nor results concerned, we are already talking about two years from now. jumping ahead of ourselves slightly, but inevitable. i think we will find both sides will take what they want to see from last night. donald trump in the republican party will likely say, "hang about, we extended our

control of the united states senate, we still have the presidency," etc, and the probably not as impressive as many people see it from that —— the democrat with not as big as many people said. and from the democrat side, they have the congress back, can begin investigations, can change the political dynamic. i think you will see the continuation of where we are at the moment. donald trump will keep being donald trump, and the democratic party will still, i think, not know quite how to handle him. ithink think, not know quite how to handle him. i think it was earlier on stacy seeing if there are democrats try to get down in the dirt with donald trump, that is a very happy place for him. how do they try to take a new political message to the american people when donald trump has been so adroit at basically making this about relatively black—and—white checked the issues? may be the democrats leave that to the robert mueller investigation? that is possible and certainly it will start moving to high gear. it

has been relatively close down. 0k, james, thank you very much. a brief chat this time, but we appreciate your thoughts on the mid—terms and write now, before we take a look at the weather forecast, just to sum up the weather forecast, just to sum up the mid—term elections for you. the democrats have taken control of the house of representatives for the first time in eight years, but the republicans have made gains in the senate. you are watching a bbc news special. hello, good morning. a rather soggy start to the day for summer us, a very turbulent weather picture over the next couple of days here in the united kingdom. we have had this photograph through this morning showing the rain coming down, this onejust half an hourago in rain coming down, this onejust half

an hour ago in shropshire. there are some glimmers of sunshine. this is swanage around some glimmers of sunshine. this is swa nage around about some glimmers of sunshine. this is swanage around about half an hour ago, but they will be few and far between. that me a clean the situation. this southerly weren‘t coming up from the south, the southerly winds, quite strong, but keeping things relatively mild, but bringing an awful lot of rain. we concede for northern ireland and west of scotland it is thoroughly miserable at the moment, and more heavy showers in behind. that is really to set up the rest of the day, warm weather system exiting the east coast, plenty of heavy showers behind coming in as well. some thunder already rumbling away across southern counties and we have strong southerly winds driving those north, but very little left of the rain for south—western scotland, and perhaps later in the day for northern ireland, but relatively mild. 13—111, where our weather should be this time of year. but windy as well. a fairly steady southerly wind and with high tides as well on the southern and eastern coasts. some high overcoming the promenade is

there. through the evening and overnight, the rain moves away so the driest part of the day is overnight, but more rain back across wales, the southwest and northern ireland later. a window of clear a means it will be quite chilly overnight tonight, for mys and fives, a little lower in the countryside, but a beautiful start tomorrow —— fours. then this is reinvigorated up to the irish sea. wales, possibly northern ireland. quite wet in this part of the world once again. there are low—level met office warnings. but in southern and eastern parts and could be a dry day. feeling mild but quite wet weather coming back into southern scotla nd weather coming back into southern scotland and northern ireland later. to the north of that front, little brighter with a few showers. through tomorrow evening and overnight, that front starts to weaken, just meandering across central areas, thenit meandering across central areas, then it is swamped by the next area of rain on friday. this is an area of rain on friday. this is an area of low pressure, some quite nasty weather on the way because it would just be rain this time, but rain,

strong to gale force winds, even severe gale force, courtesy of this area of low pressure. an unsettled weekend awaits. hello. it‘s wednesday, it‘s 10 o‘clock, i‘m victoria derbyshire. this morning — how to stop the violence — a special programme on knife crime. 119 violent deaths in the capital so far this year... more than the whole of last year. today we bring together the met police, parents who‘ve lost teenage sons, stabbing victims, ex gang members and residents of the capital to talk about what‘s behind the surge in violent crime, and how it can be tackled... earlier in the year i was stabbed ten times and here is one of my

scars. my name is jennifer blake and at the age of 13, i got caught up in gangs. we need to come together as a community to stop this. good morning, i lost my