While you were sleeping, a political earthquake hit the United States and it’s still climbing up the Richter scale.
asserted
it → sleep → scale
Voting in Alaska and Hawaii wrapped up only hours ago, but early midterm results streaming in from across the US are making history for the Democrats, as they cash in on Trump’s plummeting popularity.
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they → wrap → popularity
Democrats have taken control of the Senate and the House of Representatives, and the scale of their successes are far larger, and the speed at which they’ve materialised far quicker, than had been expected.
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they → take → which
Some of the most hotly contested races of the night have already been called, with Democrats flipping seats in Texas, Ohio and Kansas.
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Democrats → contest → Texas
Donald Trump has, with characteristic grace, already blamed the results on the fact that he wasn’t on the ballot, saying if he was “we would have won IN A LANDSLIDE!”.
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we → blame → LANDSLIDE
That’s despite the fact he spent the campaign telling voters to pretend it was his name on their paperwork.
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it → ’ → paperwork
Later, he appeared on a social media post wearing a hat emblazoned with the word “VETO”.
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he → appear → word
Today’s First Edition has all you need to know this morning: the latest results, a guide to what comes next, and insights from our senior politics reporter for Guardian US, Chris Stein, in Washington.
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what → have → Washington
That’s after this morning’s other headlines.
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That → ’ → headlines
Andy Burnham is preparing to announce billions of pounds of trade deals with the EU covering everything from youth visas to pet passports under his vision of a much closer relationship with the bloc.
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Burnham → prepare → bloc
A “well-known individual” has failed in his bid to stop two media organisations from publishing allegations of inappropriate sexual activities, the high court has ruled.
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court → know → activities
Reform UK’s leader on Hampshire county council has been charged with 12 counts of rape and one of distributing indecent images of a child.
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leader → reform → child
King Charles has said that deepening his understanding of the horrors of slavery has made him more determined to address the wrongs of the past, as Caribbean leaders and campaigners intensified demands for an apology and reparations from Britain.
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leaders → say → Britain
Countries can start to break their dependence on fossil fuels now without needing to wait for new technologies or economic changes, Brazil’s government has said ahead of a global climate summit.
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government → start → summit
In depth: Trump enters lame duck territory
The results you’re waking up to mark a major turnaround for Republican rule.
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you → enter → rule
Since the start of Trump’s second presidential term, the party has controlled both chambers of Congress, the US legislative body.
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party → control → Congress
This, along with the conservative majority in the supreme court, has given the right free rein over all three branches of the US federal government.
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This → give → government
Just two years ago, the Democrats looked to be a party with no clear route back to power in Washington DC.
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Democrats → look → DC
Now, a swell of victories has seen them take control of Congress.
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them → see → Congress
Some Democrat gains would have been par for the course: in 90% of midterm elections in the past 80 years, the president’s party has lost House seats.
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party → lose → seats
In the last couple of hours, results have come in thick and fast – with historic Senate wins for the Democrats in Texas, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Ohio and South Carolina – where Democrat Annie Andrews made a shock win in a seat where a Democrat hasn’t been elected to the Senate since 1998.
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Democrat → come → 1998
That means the party now has (at least) 53 seats, a clear majority in the 100-member house, and more victories expected.
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party → mean → house
It’s been a big night of firsts too – in Minnesota, Peggy Flanagan has become the first Native American US senator, in Wisconsin, Democrat David Crowley won the gubernatorial race, making history as the state’s first Black governor, and in Kansas, Adam Hamilton has become the first Democrat to win a US Senate seat in the state in nearly a century.
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Hamilton → become → century
The House is poised to have its first ever Black speaker in Hakeem Jeffries, who has declared that “America is back”.
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America → poise → Jeffries
He said: “Today begins the great American comeback.
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Today → say → comeback
The American people have spoken all across the land.”
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people → speak → land
All eyes on the East
Results from states on US Eastern Time have been making headlines already.
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Results → make → headlines
In Georgia, Democrat senator Jon Ossoff, who has been cited as a potential presidential contender in 2028, fought off a challenge from Mike Collins, a Trump-backed congressman.
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who → cite → Collins
Ohio saw Democrat Sherrod Brown, who represented the state for 18 years before losing in 2024, returning to the US Senate.
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who → see → Senate
If that’s not enough drama, turn your focus to Maine.
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that → ’ → Maine
Republican senator Susan Collins has been in office since 1997, despite the state itself often turning blue in presidential races.
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state → turn → races
An hour ago, she lost her seat to Democrat Troy Jackson.
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she → lose → Jackson
In Mississippi, the US Senate race is on a knife’s edge with 97% of votes counted – it’s a seat that even the most optimistic of Democrats didn’t predict could be in reach.
uncertain
optimistic → count → reach
Michigan, a swing state that has been one of this election cycle’s mostly fiercely contested, is also looking likely to be taken by the Democrats, according to projections.
uncertain
that → contest → projections
The senate seat here was already in Democratic control, though the state (narrowly) backed Trump in 2024.
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state → back → 2024
There are two key races here with Abdul El-Sayed, a former public health official firmly on the left of the Democratic party, hoping to win a Senate seat.
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Sayed → be → seat
If successful, he’ll have fought off not just his Republican rival, former congressman Mike Rogers, but efforts by his former Democratic primary opponent, Haley Stevens, to secure a Republican victory.
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he → fight → victory
And there’s Michigan’s 7th congressional district, where progressive candidate and co-founder of climate activist organisation the Sunrise Movement, William Lawrence, is taking on a Republican incumbent in a seat that oscillates red and blue by the finest of margins.
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that → ’ → margins
“If they win, the left will argue that progressives and policies like Medicare for All can win in swing territory,” says Chris.
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Chris → win → territory
“If they fail, centrists will blame left-wingers and the Democratic Socialists of America for hurting the party.”
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centrists → fail → party
…and 68 more, not listed.
The Aporia
