Key moments from a night of midterm election firsts

Democrats have won both the US Senate and House of Representatives, taking control of Congress for the rest of Donald Trump's presidency.

Even before the full vote tallies are known, projected results have provided the party with a number of things to celebrate - and rival Republicans some reasons to commiserate. These are some of the key moments so far.

Democrats have tallied up victories in states that were comfortably won by Trump two years ago, registering sizeable swings in the likes of Texas, Kansas, Ohio and South Carolina.

Among the senior party figures who have cheered the results are Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the House of Representatives, who is now poised to take over as the speaker of the lower chamber of Congress.

"Today begins the great American comeback," he told a crowd of supporters.

If Jeffries' colleagues choose to keep him as the leader of their party's delegation in House, he will be the next speaker, taking over from Republican Mike Johnson.

Trump spoke throughout the evening to a number of US media outlets, striking a conciliatory tone and conceding that the Democrats did a "good job".

He said he would accept the results and that he was looking forward to working with the opposition party - albeit he would still have the power, as president, to veto legislation that Democrats advance through Texas.

Trump distanced himself from some of the Republican candidates who contested the election, saying: "In some cases they didn't like the candidates, and in some cases those candidates were not my friend."

He acknowledged that the US-Israel war on Iran, which has impacted on consumer prices in the US, had affected the vote, saying: "Iran was a piece of it."

Susan Collins, who has served as the Republican senator for Maine for three decades, is one indicator of the scale of the Republican losses.

She was felled by Democratic candidate Troy Jackson, a logger who sought to point to his background to persuade blue-collar Mainers to vote for him.

In a statement reported by US media, Collins conceded defeat and said it had been the "honour of my life" to serve the state for 30 years.

Collins entered the race one of the most vulnerable incumbent Republicans seeking re-election, and found that her tactic to distance herself from Trump did not work.

The BBC's Helena Humphrey described a sombre atmosphere at Collins's watch party in the city of Maine - where the song Closing Time was played.

With James Talarico winning a seat in the US Senate seat and Gina Hinojosa being elected state governor, Democrats scored two statewide victories in Texas - ending a string of defeats they have endured for almost two generations.

Talarico's supporters went beserk as the projected results arrived at an election-night party, wrote the BBC's Gary O'Donoghue. Attendees hugged, kissed and drank to a reality they dared not believe would come true.

Hinojosa becomes the first Latina to be elected governor of the state.

Among the other states where history was made by the Democrats were Kansas, where Adam Hamilton took a closely-fought Senate seat - giving the state its first Democratic senator for nearly a century.

Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, has won the governor's race in Georgia, becoming the first black governor and first woman to be elected to the state's highest office.

The BBC's Carl Nasman described ecstatic scenes as the race was projected blue, which came after the state's former senator said the party was "nauseously optimistic" about their chances this year.

Bottoms defeated Republican Rick Jackson, a billionaire businessman and healthcare executive. The state has also not had a Democratic governor in more than 20 years.

Elsewhere in the state, Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff won a second term in another closely-watched race.

The speculation surrounding Ossoff's plans for the next presidential election in 2028 will likely increase. He is considered a potential leading contender if he throws his hat in the ring, though he has denied having any such plan.

Democrat Chris Pappas has also made history as the first openly gay man elected to the Senate. He celebrated on stage alongside his husband in New Hampshire.

Pappas defeated former Republican Senator John Sununu in the race, whom he thanked on Tuesday, saying: "We all owe John Sununu a big debt of gratitude for his public service for the people of New Hampshire."

The 46-year-old Pappas had represented New Hampshire in the House since 2019 but chose not to run for re-election so he could launch his campaign for the Senate.

Among the other firsts of the night were in Florida, where Republican Byron Donalds has become the state's first black governor, following a hearty endorsement from Trump.

The result was one of the few high points of an otherwise difficult evening for the Republicans.

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