A good day for America, a good day for democracy, says Joe Biden

The US President stresses his ‘intention’ to run for the White House again in 2024 whatever the polls say.

Joe Biden hails the best mid-term results for a sitting president in 40 years. Picture: AFP

Joe Biden has declared the mid-term elections a “good day for democracy” and stressed his ­“intention” to run for White House again in 2024 whatever the polls say, after Democrats performed better than expected, ­potentially leaving the ruling party in control of at least one chamber of congress.

A visibly relaxed US President, making his first public remarks since Tuesday’s surprisingly knife-edge contest, said he would not “change anything in a fundamental way” in his administration, ­although conceded he would be willing to compromise with ­Republicans, who look set to take control of the House of Representatives with a small majority.

“It was a good day I think for democracy. And I think it was a good day for America,” he said from the White House on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT), as part of an unusually long press conference after the first national test of his presidency. “While the press and the pundits were predicting a giant red wave, it didn’t happen. We lost fewer seats than any Democrat president in a mid-terms in 40 years, and it was the best mid-terms for a government since 1986.”

He added that held out hope of the Democrats maintaining control of the lower house.

Since 1918 the ruling party has lost an average of 29 seats in the house and four in the Senate in mid-term elections.

Republicans had won 207 seats to the Democrats’ 184, with 44 undecided, in the 435-seat chamber. Analysts ­expect the Republicans to end up with a single-digit majority.

In the Senate, Republicans had 49 seats to the Democrats’ 48, with contests in Arizona, Nevada and Georgia – the last of which will go to a run-off election on December 6 – still too close to call, implying control of the Senate might not be known for month.

Mr Biden, who turns 80 on ­November 20, said he did not care that polls showed most Americans didn’t want him to seek re-election in 2024 because of his age, and would most likely make a decision “early next year”.

“It doesn’t factor in … watch me,” he said, suggesting it “would be fun watching” former president Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who won re-election in a landslide, battle it out for the Republican nomination. “I think everyone wants me to run but we’ll have discussions, I don’t feel any hurry no matter what my predecessor does,” he said.

Mr Trump had before the mid-term election results repeatedly signalled an intention to ­announce another run for the White House. Republicans sought to play down their underwhelming performance amid a cloud of uncertainty over Mr Trump’s heavily telegraphed intention to announce on Monday he would seek the Republican nomination for 2024, which insiders suggested was still bound to occur.

“I’m prepared to work with my Republican colleagues,” Mr Biden said, adding that he would speak to Democrat house leader Kevin McCarthy, the most likely next ­speaker, later in the day.

“The American people have made clear they expect Republicans to work with me as well.”

While Democrats easily beat expectations, with polls and punters pointing to Republican majorities in both houses, the White House will lose its scope to pass legislation in the lower house and potentially to confirm judicial appointments in the Senate.

The mid-terms outcome ­appeared to vindicate Democrats’ political strategy, which centred around the threat to democracy from extreme MAGA Republicans, whom Mr Biden had ­branded “semi-fascist” in a controversial speech in September, and abortion rights in the wake of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v Wade in June.

A national exist poll conducted by Edison Research found record inflation, 8.2 per cent over the year to September, the highest in about 40 years, only slightly topped the threat to abortion rights as voters’ top concern. In Pennsylvania, where Trump-backed Mehmet Oz lost to Democrat lieutenant governor John Fetterman, abortion outranked inflation 36 per cent to 27 per cent.