The Republican party won control of the US Senate after receiving at least a 51-seat majority, with the initial results of the US presidential and congressional elections appearing following the closing of polling stations in a number of states amid a fierce competition between Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democrat rival Kamala Harris.

In the current structure of the US Senate, Democrats have 51 seats in the council, and Republicans control 49 seats.

Republicans also posted early gains as they battled to retain control of the House of Representatives. They expected to get 159 seats out of 435 and 103 for the Democrats.