Trump success is reflected lower down the ballot

Significance Donald Trump’s victory in both the electoral college and the popular vote, the latter at his third attempt, has forestalled challenges to the outcome of the election. Further Republican success at the congressional and state levels sets the stage for his new administration. Impacts With the Senate in Republican hands, the confirmation process for the new administration should be swift. Experience suggests that Democratic party post-mortems will struggle to produce agreement on policy priorities moving forward. A party losing the White House tends to do well in subsequent midterms as the new administration leads with its most controversial policies.