‘No Republican blowout’: our panel reacts to the initial US midterm results | Panel

While much remains unclear about Tuesday's elections, we know that Democrats did much better than expected

It was not supposed to be this close. Midterms are always hard for the party in power. In the past, when Democrats have faced a midterm election when they controlled both the White House and Congress, the Republicans had a blowout.

Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist

Cas Mudde is a Guardian US columnist and the Stanley Wade Shelton UGAF professor in the school of public and international affairs at the University of Georgia