New low for Obama as his party 
thumped in mid-term elections

The results also put a series of Democratic-leaning states under control of Republican governors in a result that was a clear repudiation of President Barack Obama.

The vote gives Republicans momentum heading into the 2016 presidential race, which becomes the focus of American politics for the next two years.

At issue now is whether Mr Obama, his congressional Democrats and the newly-robust Republican majorities will be able to break the legislative gridlock that has gripped the US capital in recent years.

The president scheduled a news conference for later yesterday to offer his take on an election day thumping of his Democratic Party.

It is a low point for a president who electrified the world with his election in 2008 as the first African-American president and was comfortably re-elected in 2012.

Although Democrats lost the House in 2010, partly in a backlash to his health care overhaul, this will be the first time Mr Obama must also deal with a Republican-led Senate.

Heading into the vote, polls showed Republicans picking up the six Senate seats they needed for a majority.

They snatched away at least seven, giving them at least 52 seats in the 100-member Senate.

Republican gains could continue. In Alaska, Democratic Senator Mark Begich was trailing Republican Dan Sullivan, and Louisiana is headed for a December 6 run-off after no candidate won a majority.

In a further sign of Democratic woes, the Republican candidate still has not conceded defeat in Virginia, where Democrat incumbent Mark Warner garnered just a one-point advantage. His Republican challenger still might call for a recount.

Nearly two-thirds of voters interviewed after casting ballots said the US was seriously on the wrong track. Only about 30 per cent said the US was headed in the right direction.

“It’s a reflection of the president’s lack of leadership, his lack of leadership abroad, his lack of leadership at home,” said Republican New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a possible presidential contender who campaigned for Republican candidates across the US.

Democrats had few bright spots. New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Governor Maggie Hassan, who campaigned with potential 2016 candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton last weekend, both won re-election. In Pennsylvania, businessman Tom Wolf dispatched Republican Governor Tom Corbett.

In the House, Republicans were on track to meet or exceed the 246 seats they held during Democrat President Harry S Truman’s administration more than 60 years ago.

“We are humbled by the responsibility the American people have placed with us, but this is not a time for celebration,” said House Speaker John Boehner.

“It’s time for government to start getting results and implementing solutions to the challenges facing our country, starting with our still-struggling economy.”

In one of the more closely-watched contests, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell won re-election in Kentucky, likely elevating him to become the new Senate majority leader.