Hugs, cheers and selfies mark election victories across several states

Abdul El-Sayed’s win in Michigan will make him the first Muslim US senator, according to BBC News’ coverage of the US midterms. The BBC report paired the results with photographs of the celebrations that followed, including supporters reacting in Portland, Maine, Chris Pappas celebrating his New Hampshire win on stage with his husband, and a supporter raising a jubilant fist in North Carolina.

The pictures, credited to Getty Images, Reuters, AFP and Bloomberg via Getty Images, showed supporters in Portland reacting to the news that Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson had won his seat. In New Hampshire, Pappas celebrated his win on stage with his husband. In North Carolina, a supporter raised a jubilant fist to celebrate the result. BBC News reported that hugs, cheers and smiles broke out as the party picked up its string of victories across several states.

Beyond the scenes, BBC News reported the result those photographs documented: the string of victories delivered Democrats the Senate and the House, and the win gives them control of Congress for the rest of Donald Trump’s presidency.

In Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms defeated Republican Rick Jackson, a billionaire businessman endorsed by President Trump, and became the first Black woman elected governor of the state. Georgia had not had a Democratic governor in more than 20 years before Bottoms’s victory. Senator Jon Ossoff was also re-elected, giving him a second term. BBC News noted that speculation surrounds Ossoff, considered a potential leading contender to run for the Democrats in the next presidential election in 2028.

In Maine, Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson won his seat, beating Republican veteran Susan Collins, who has been in the Senate for nearly 30 years. In New Hampshire, Chris Pappas made history as the first openly gay man elected to the Senate, beating his rival Republican Senator John Sununu.

In North Carolina, the Democrats secured the night’s first flip of a Senate seat. The state’s former Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, won against Republican candidate Michael Whatley.

The outcomes BBC News reported combined the party’s control of both chambers with three individual firsts: Bottoms in Georgia, Pappas in New Hampshire and El-Sayed in Michigan. El-Sayed told voters: “You took a chance on the unlikeliest of candidates.”