Strict Midterm Election Results, President Biden Expects Republicans To Cooperate

United States President Joe Biden. (Wikimedia Commons/The White House)

JAKARTA - United States President Joe Biden called the United States midterm elections a test of democracy for the country, while the results of the vote showed the tight competition between Republicans and Democrats.

The two-chamber US Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives is closely contested, with it unclear who will rule the Senate at the time of writing. Both Democrats and Republicans are expected to win 48 seats so far. The Senate itself consists of 100 members.

Senate control would give Republicans the power to block Biden's nominees for judicial and administrative posts. But in a landmark victory for Democrats, John Fetterman flipped the Republican-held US Senate seat in Pennsylvania, beating retired Trump-backed celebrity surgeon Mehmet Oz and solidifying his party's chances of holding the house.

In the US House of Representatives, Democrats have so far won 188 seats, against Republicans' 208.

Republicans take at least 10 seats in the US House of Representatives, according to Edison Research projections. That would be three more than it would take to wrest control of the chamber from the Democrats, although, with 42 races yet to be determined, the Democrats still have little chance of holding a majority.

Even a slim House majority would let Republicans control Democratic President Joe Biden for the next two years in office, blocking legislation and launching potentially politically damaging investigations.

Speaking at a White House news conference, President Biden vowed to work with Republicans, saying the Democrats' unexpectedly strong performance was validation of his first two years in office.

"The American people have made it clear, I think, that they expect the Republicans to be ready to work with me as well," President Biden said.

He also reiterated his intention to run for re-election in 2024, but said he would make a final decision early next year.

The election was a far cry from the "red wave" victory that Republicans wanted, as Democrats avoided a heavy midterm defeat and often upset the president of either party.

The results show that voters are punishing President Biden for leading an economy hit by sharp inflation. But it also criticized Republican efforts to ban abortion and cast doubt on the country's vote-counting process.

President Biden himself framed Tuesday's election as a test of US democracy.

"Our democracy has been tested in recent years, but with their voices, the American people have spoken," President Biden said.