US midterms: Democrats pin Senate hopes on tightly fought races

The Biden administration was braced for a bad night on Tuesday as the US midterm election results threatened to rob the Democrats of control of Congress, just as former president Donald Trump appears ready to announce another run for the White House.

But the Democrats were holding out hope that they might just retain control of the US Senate if a handful of closely fought races fell their way.

The ground was already being laid in Pennsylvania, where a close US Senate race is being fought between Mehmet Oz, a Trump-backed Republican, and Democrat John Fetterman, who has been battling to assure voters he is fit for office after a stroke. Earlier on election day on Tuesday, the agency overseeing the voting in Philadelphia said it will delay counting thousands of paper ballots because of a Republican lawsuit that said the process was open to duplicate voting.

The party that controls the White House typically loses seats in midterm elections and independent forecasts suggested this year will be no exception.

Thirty-five Senate seats and all 435 House of Representatives seats are on the ballot, with Republicans widely favored to pick up the five seats they need to control the House.

The outcome of state elections for governors and judges was also expected to have important implications for abortion access in several states, including Arizona and Ohio.

Other Democrats were concerned that their party mishandled the issue of crime and public safety.

Election officials, including elected Republicans, have faced a wave of intimidation, including threats of violence.

On Monday, Trump gave his strongest signal yet that he will run in 2024. Trump told a rally in Dayton, Ohio to stand by for an announcement next week.