Following the US midterm elections, the Democratic Party gained a majority in the House of Representatives for the first time in eight years and added some State governor seats.

Hailing Republican wins in the Senate as a "tremendous success", US President Donald Trump then proceeded to force out Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who had recused himself from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections.

Can the 2018 midterm elections be considered a victory for Democrats? What will Democrats now do to ensure checks and balances are in place? And what next for the US after this reconfiguration of their political landscape?

The Guardian's political reporter in Washington, DC, Sabrina Siddiqui says the challenge for Democrats will "be restoring a check and balance through their investigative powers that Congress has".

"I think they can pull it off," says Vann Newkirk, a journalist and writer for The Atlantic, who is optimistic about the midterm results. "You don't need a caucus that's joined at the hip to be able to oppose what the Senate's going to push through."

Republican strategist Rick Wilson hopes that the Democrats can hold Trump accountable across "a whole spectrum of issues". Wilson expresses his disappointment that the Republicans have failed to play their role as a co-equal branch of government - "instead they acted as if they worked for Donald Trump".

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