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Courtesy of the Telegraph
Donald Trump has secured a greater majority in the Senate by taking three seats from the Democrats in the midterm elections. The Republicans' success in North Dakota, Indiana and Missouri has allowed Mr Trump to claim the midterms as a "tremendous success", though the loss of the House of Representatives presents the likelihood of legislative roadblock over the next two years. But the good news for the president is that he has secured net gains in Senate seats despite low approval ratings and trailing behind the Democrats in the popular vote. Through the same targeted approach as he deployed in his 2016 presidential bid, Mr Trump seems to have played for key seats instead of votes.
Mr Trump has therefore become one of just two presidents with an approval rating lower than 50 per cent to win seats in the Senate, the other being Ronald Reagan in 1982. That year, the Republicans gained one seat in the upper chamber, despite Mr Reagan's low approval rating of 42 per cent.
The president's performance means the Republicans have blocked some of the Democrats' rising stars from reaching Congress. Beto O'Rourke, who had become a pin-up for American liberals by running a surprisingly competitive race in Texas, ultimately fell short, with Ted Cruz winning re-election as the state's senator.
A sitting president has only won Senate seats in five elections since 1946 Trump's victory in the Senate bucks a wider historic trend. The incumbent president's party have won seats in the Senate in just five elections since 1946, but lost seats in 13. In 2014, Barack Obama's Democrats lost nine seats in the upper chamber, with an approval rating hovering at around the same level as Mr Trump's in the run up to these midterms.
