As we're continuing to bring you all the latest details about last night's midterm elections in the US, our reporters are taking a deeper look at the defining issues and races of this cycle.

On the major victories...

• Left-wing Democrat Abdul El-Sayed wins in Michigan to become first Muslim senator
• James Talarico becomes first Democrat to win Texas Senate seat since 1988
• The last time a Kansas Democrat was in the Senate, Judy Garland was filming the Wizard of Oz

On the reaction from Trump and Republicans...

• Anthony Zurcher: Midterm carnage weakens Trump but he still wields power for now
• 'This is a disaster': Angry Republicans blame Trump for midterms defeat

On what exactly happened...

• How America voted in maps and charts
• Five reasons why Republicans lost so badly

On the answers we're still waiting for...

• Democrat leads by razor-thin margin in Mississippi Senate race

Plus, check out detailed state- and county-level results here.

Adam Moyer
Reporting from Jackson, Mississippi

More votes are not expected to be tallied in the state today, Mississippi Democratic Party Chair Cheikh Taylor tells the BBC.

"On good intel it's my understanding that the election won't be decided until Monday," he says of the close Senate race here.

This is where the current race in Mississippi sits right now.

Democratic candidate Scott Colom is slightly ahead in the race to unseat incumbent Senator Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith.

Colom, with 462,857 votes, at the time of writing, is ahead by 65 votes between him and Hyde‑Smith's 462,792 votes.

Independent candidate Ty Pinkins has almost 20,000 votes.

The race is too close to call after almost 96% of the votes counted.

Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson says in a statement that 70 of the 82 counties in the state have uploaded their unofficial result through a state system, and notes that counties get 10 days from election day to submit their certified results to his office.

There are some 3,600 outstanding absentee-by-mail ballots yet to be received and an unknown number of affidavit ballots to be processed in that 10-day timeframe, he says.

Carl Nasman
Reporting from Jackson, Mississippi

We're literally talking about a handful of ballots separating the two Senate candidates here in Mississippi.

Scott Colom has a very small lead - fewer than 100 votes - over the Republican incumbant Cindy Hyde-Smith.

If you looked back a few weeks ago, very few people had Mississippi on their radar, but Colom has run a grassroots campaign here.

In this election we've seen candidates like Hyde-Smith - who are aligned with President Trump - underperform.

This is another example of that - Democrats have had a strong showing in Republican strongholds.

Brandon Drenon
US reporter

We are still waiting to hear results for the Mississippi Senate race, and it could be a while before we know the winner in the race between Democrat Scott Colom and incumbent Repulican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith.

Mississippi does not have automatic recounts for tight races or allow candidates to request recounts.

The state also allows mail-in ballots to be counted if they are postmarked by Election Day and received within five business days later.

That means the race is very likely not to be called until at least 10 November, says Julie Wronski, an associate professor of political science at the University of Mississippi.

"Because the difference between the two candidates is so narrow, really, we're going to have to wait for every single vote received in any capacity to be counted," Wronski says.

The vote spread between the two candidates is currently less than 100 ballots, according to data from the Associated Press.

After the election night surge of results, ballots are still being counted for some gubernatorial, House of Representative and Senate races.

Here's where things stand:

Several House races were called earlier on Wednesday, though outstanding ballots remain for some 59 uncalled races.

In the race for Kansas governor, Democrat Cindy Holscher is leading Republican Ty Masterson by 0.51 percentage points, with about 98% votes counted. There will be recount if the margin falls below 0.5 points.

The Mississippi Senate race remains too close to call. Democrat Scott Colom leads Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith by 65 votes, with ballots still outstanding.

With about a quarter of ballots still left to count, Democrat Mary Peltola leads Republican Dan Sullivan by just over 600 votes in Alaska's Senate race.

Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins leads three Republicans with 49.15% of the vote for Alaska governor, with a quarter of votes still to be counted.

Election night was a fever dream for Democrats. But reality will set in when they take their seats in January. There are things the party may be able to accomplish - and others they will probably not.

What Democrats could do

• Block Trump's cabinet and Supreme Court nominees
• Push back against Trump's policy priorities
• Oversee congressional investigations
• Impeach the president or cabinet officials

What Democrats will struggle to do

• Pass major legislation without Trump's cooperation
• Influence foreign policy

Read more about the Democrats' governing prospects here.

Rachel Clun and Priya Patel
Business reporters

Oil prices have fallen below $100 a barrel while stock markets closed higher following the Democrats' decisive midterm elections victory.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude fell by more than 8% to about $95 a barrel on Wednesday afternoon, its lowest level in two months, after US Vice-President JD Vance said earlier that Republicans lost the elections due to the war in Iran.

Vance's comments prompted investors to reassess the risk of a wider Middle East conflict.

Markets seized on Vance's call to "end the war", focus on the cost of living and rethink America's relationship with Israel, interpreting the post-election political landscape as reducing the likelihood of a significant escalation involving Iran.

Key US stock market indexes closed higher on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumping 3%. The S&P 500 closed up 1.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.4%.

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

As Democrat Hakeem Jeffries announces his bid to become House Speaker, here's what you need to know about the representative from New York:

• Jeffries, from Brooklyn, entered Congress in 2013 after working as a lawyer and in local New York politics
• He was elected as chairman of the Democratic caucus in 2018 before becoming House Democratic minority leader after the 2022 midterms
• The 56-year-old is considered a moderate, telling The Atlantic, external in 2021 he would never "bend the knee to hard-left democratic socialism"
• Jeffries is expected to succeed in his bid to become House Speaker - a position second in line to the president
• He would be the first black speaker in US history

Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from Washington DC

Image source, Getty Images

Come January, there will be a new majority party in Congress.

That means new leadership in both chambers - the Senate and House of Representatives.

Let's look at the House.

The top lawmaker right now is Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. When Democrats take over, that role could go to current House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat who is currently House minority leader.

Jeffries announced his bid for the position on Wednesday.

In a letter to his caucus "humbly" asking for their support, Jeffries says, "We must now deliver the dramatic change the American people are demanding in the majority".

So what will happen to Johnson?

There were questions at first that he may become the next House Minority Leader, but he has now said he will not run for that role.

The new name being floated in another Louisiana Republican and current House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.

He released a five page letter today saying he will go for the job.

"Next Congress will be difficult," he writes. "But we are not powerless."

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries has announced he will seek to be Speaker of the House.

It comes after the Democratic Party took majority of the US House of Representatives in the midterm elections last night.

Jeffries is currently House minority leader, so it's no surprise he's thrown his hat in the ring.

Trump has given mixed messages about how he'll navigate leading with Democratically led Congress.

Before polls closed on Tuesday, he said he would become "Mr Veto" if the Democrats won, and exercise his constitutional right to refuse to sign any legislation passed by the Democrats.

But after it became clear the Republicans had lost the House of Representatives and the Senate, Trump said he would be willing to collaborate with the the rival party.

Here's how the presidential veto works

As chief executive, Trump can use the power of the presidential veto to stop any bills passed by Congress from becoming law.

But if two-thirds of members agree, the veto can be overridden by further congressional vote.

It's all designed as a part of the checks and balances that allow each branch of the US government to hold a level of control over the others, which you can read more about below.

After staggering defeat - what will Trump do next?published at 20:08 GMT

20:08 GMT

Nada Tawfik
North America correspondent

Donald Trump admits that his unpopular decision to launch a war on Iran hurt his party in yesterday's midterm elections. There was some speculation that he could escalate that conflict after voting day - and that potential still exists.

But could the president now instead seek a way out of the Iran war that saves face?

His Vice-President JD Vance - in a long social media post reflecting on Republican losses - all but endorsed a diplomatic resolution to the conflict. And reportedly, Trump has been asking advisors whether he should get rid of Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, though the president denies that.

Another big decision awaits - will Trump spend his last two years vetoing every Democratic legislative initiative?

The president's tone has been surprisingly conciliatory, saying he is ready to work with Democrats. But he also posted a picture of a red "Veto" hat on social media. So, stay tuned.

And what now happens to the Maga wingof the Republican party?

Some right-wing commentators say the Republican losses were because Trump betrayed the movement - but does it even exist without the 80-year-old at its helm?

Republicans can't spend too much time licking their wounds - they'll need to sort out a new strategy.

After last night's deluge of election results, ballots are still being counted for seats in the Senate and the House of Representatives.

In the Senate, we're waiting for final results from Mississippi and Alaska. It could take a while to know the final tallies from both of these states, and as of the latest update, the two candidates in Mississippi had about 65 votes between them with more than 96% of the ballots counted.

When it comes to the House of Representatives, around 375 of the 435 results are in.

In both chambers, the Democrats have already secured the numbers that they need for a majority.

Scroll to the top of this page to see the figures updated as and when we get them, and explore the full map of results - down to the state and county level - here.

Image source, Reuters

Earlier, we heard from Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the US House of Representatives who is now poised to potentially become the next Speaker of the House.

He said Democrats would deliver a "dramatic change in direction" after receiving an "historic majority" in yesterday's midterms.

Jeffries said voters had "chosen the economy over extremism" and that his party would make its focus fighting for an "affordable America".

"We're going to fight hard for every single American," he said.

As a reminder, Democrats will take control of Congress for the rest of Donald Trump's presidency after winning a majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

With 376 out of 435 seats counted, Democrats have 237 seats in the House - read a more detailed breakdown of the election results here.

On domestic front, Vance appears to stake out his own position on immigrationpublished at 19:14 GMT

19:14 GMT

Daniel Bush
Washington correspondent

In his post reacting to the election losses, JD Vance said he remained opposed to "amnesty" for undocumented immigrants.

But the vice-president said he was "open to the idea that we should change enforcement - by focusing more on businesses that hire illegal labour, for instance".

That amounted to something of a concession that the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown backfired politically.

Trump didn’t go that far last night in his own election analysis, and has rarely acknowledged public disapproval of his handling of the issue.

Vance's candid comments distance him from Trump - and will spark debatepublished at 19:04 GMT

19:04 GMT

Daniel Bush
Washington correspondent

It's hard to recall any recent examples of a sitting vice-president speaking so candidly about their party’s midterm election defeat - and in ways that seem to create distance from the president.

JD Vance said an "honest conversation" about the party's future had to start with acknowledging the Iran war cost Republicans' control of Congress.

Trump conceded the Iran war and rising gas prices played a part in the defeat, but he said he didn't regret launching the conflict.

Vance went one step further. The VP said Republicans could debate whether the war was worth the political costs.

He stopped short of openly saying he opposed the war, which he has long backed in public.

News reports indicate he has expressed opposition to the war behind closed doors.

His statement will spark a broader debate on the right about the party’s foreign policy post-Trump.

Results are still coming in today with Democrats flipping several more Republican seats in the House of Representatives.

Here are some results from today:

• California's 22nd district: Democrat Randy Villegas beats out the Republican incumbent David Valadeo in this Central Valley district
• Michigan's 4th district: Democrat Sean McCann wins this Kalamazoo district, flipping a Republican-held seat
• Michigan's 10th district: Democrat Christina Bertrand Hines flips this Macomb County district from a Republican-held seat

Rebecka Pieder
Reporting from Washington DC

Trump just made his first public speech following the midterm elections, where his Republican party lost both houses of Congress.

He spoke from the construction site of the new White House ballroom, one of the big focuses of his second term, and had little to say about politics.

While he didn't mention the election results in his remarks, he did take some questions from reporters on the topic afterward.

Here's what he said:

• On JD Vance's comments blaming sweeping Republican losses on the Iran war, Trump said it was "largely true". But he blamed the resulting spike in gas prices, not the war itself
• On Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Trump said he's not considering removing him, saying he's done a "very good job"
• On the Democrats, the president expressed that he was open to working with them, as long as they are not "destructive". But he added that he retained veto power to block their legislation

Image source, Reuters

Trump has finished speaking, but he is still meeting with people and posing for photos at the White House ballroom construction site.

We'll bring you a recap of what he said at his first post-election public appearance shortly.