8 days after the Nov. 6 midterm elections, Democrats gain more House, Senate seats

Democrats won all statewide races in Nevada, including a governorship that has eluded them since 1994 (photo from The New York Times.).

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- More than a week after the Nov. 6 midterm elections, Democrats have turned their modest majority in the House of Representatives into a stronger one, and narrowed the margin in the Senate.

The party gained 33 House seats so far and could gain 35 to 40 once all the counting is completed, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

And in the Senate, Democratic losses look less serious, according to The Times, with the party losing a net of one or two seats rather than three or four as they feared.

The Times said:

"The underlying shifts in the electorate suggest President Trump may have to walk a precarious path to re-election in 2020, as several Midwestern states he won in 2016 threaten to slip away, and once-red states in the Southwest turn a purpler hue. The president’s strategy of sowing racial division and stoking alarm about immigration failed to lift his party, and Democratic messaging about health care undercut the benefit Republicans hoped to gain from a strong economy."

Voter turnout

The picture is brighter for Democrats despite voter turnout of 48% -- meaning 5 out of 10 registered voters stayed home. 

Now, the Trump administration's offensive will have to turn defensive once the new Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3.

Read: Low voter turnout 

cut into Democratic victory