United States: Democrats win House in mid-term elections blow to Trump

The US Democrats have taken control of the House of Representatives in the mid-term elections, dealing a serious blow to President Donald Trump. 

Taking control of the lower chamber of Congress for the first time in eight years will enable Democrats to thwart the president's agenda. But Trump's Republicans are set to strengthen their grip on the Senate. 

Tuesday's vote was seen as a referendum on a polarising president, even though he is not up for re-election till 2020. 

Female candidates stole the spotlight in the House in an election cycle that had been billed as the Year of the Woman. 

Democrats converted the energy of the liberal anti-Trump resistance into solid electoral gains in the first nationwide elections since the president was elected two years ago. 

The Democrats are project to win the 23 seats they need to take over the lower chamber of Congress. Americans voted for all 435 seats in the House. 

The Democrats could now launch investigations into Trump's administration and business affairs, from tax returns to potential conflicts of interest. They could also more effectively block his legislative plans, dooming his signature promise to build a wall along the border with Mexico. 

A record number of women ran for office in this election. New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is projected to become the youngest ever congresswoman, at 29 years old. 

Democrats Ilhan OImar and Rashida Tlaib are also expected to make history in Minnesota and Michigan respectively as the first Muslim women elected to Congress. 

Democrats Sharice Davids of Kansas and Debra Haaland from New Mexico are set to become the first Native American women elected to Congress. Davids, a lesbian former cage-fighter, is also the first openly gay representative from Kansas. 

Republicans are on course to expand their slim 51-49 majority in the upper chamber of Congress. The party in power historically tends to lose a number of congressional seats during the first mid-term election of a new president, particularly if his national popularity rating is low. 

Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz fended off a strong challenge by Democratic rising star Beto O'Rourke. Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, has won his Senate race Utah, as expected. 

Democrats were always facing an uphill battle in the Senate this year because they were defending 26 seats, while just nine Republican seats were up for grabs.