In an interview with The NYT U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he would accept the results of the midterm elections even though preliminary vote counts point to a Democratic victory in Congress.
"I’m absolutely prepared to accept the results," Trump said, adding that he would "work with the Democrats," according to The New York Times.
Trump attributed the Republican losses to the fact that his own name was not on the ballot, and he told The Times that he had no regrets about supporting the Republican candidates.
The President had previously accused Democrats of unspecified election fraud—without providing any concrete details—and had earlier told NBC that he would only accept the voting results if they were "fair."
According to the Associated Press, as of 6:54 a.m. Moscow time, the Democrats were just two seats shy of a 50-seat majority in the Senate.
They were also leading the Republicans in the House of Representatives, having secured 143 districts compared to 86 for the Republicans.
In Texas—the site of one of the most intense Senate races—the advantage appeared to lie with Democrat James Talarico, who pulled ahead of Republican Ken Paxton. Other likely Democratic victories include the flipping of a North Carolina Senate seat to Democratic candidate Roy Cooper, as well as Annie Andrews’ win over incumbent Republican Darlene Graham—sister of the late Lindsey Graham—in the South Carolina Senate race. Pre-election public opinion polls showed record-low approval ratings for Trump and the Republicans, amid growing voter discontent over high fuel prices, corruption within government institutions, and a protracted war with Iran.