US election 2020: the US Senate and House of Representatives explained

Democrats hopes of winning the all-important upper house fade as Biden nears victory in battle for White House

A man walks past the US Senate on Capitol Hill, Washington
Democrats hopes of winning the all-important upper house fade as Biden nears victory in battle for White House

US Democrats are facing mixed fortunes today, with Joe Biden extending his lead in the presidential race but hopes fading that his party can seize control of the Senate.

The Democrats are projected to maintain control of the lower house, the House of Representatives, “but with some key losses” in Minnesota and Iowa, the BBC says.

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  Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.