What does Tuesday's outcome mean for the 2020 presidential election?

Midterm results announced with positives for Democrats and warnings for Republicans

Omar is greeted by her husband’s mother after appearing at her midterm election night party. Reuters

Democratic congressional candidate Ilhan Omar reacts after appearing at her midterm election night party in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Reuters

Omar, centre, arrives for her victory party on election night. AFP

Democratic congressional candidate Rashida Tlaib, centre, celebrates at her midterm election night party in Detroit, Michigan. Reuters

Tlaib celebrates with family and friends at her midterm election night party. Reuters

Tlaib celebrates with family and friends at her midterm election night party. Reuters

California's Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom and his family arrives on stage at his election night watch party in Los Angeles, California. AFP

Democratic candidate Anthony Brindisi gives his victory speech at the Delta Hotel in Utica, NY. AP Photo

Democrat Chrissy Houlahan declares victory at her election night headquarters in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. EPA

Shanna Niroumandzadeh, center, celebrates as Lt. Gov Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, is declared the next California governor. AP Photo

Democrat Madeleine Dean celebrates after winning Pennsylvania's 4th Congressional District race, in Fort Washington. The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP

Missouri Senator-elect Josh Hawley with his wife Erin waves to supporters after giving his victory speech in Springfield, Missouri. AP Photo

Republican US Senator Ted Cruz is embraced by his wife Heidi at his midterm election night party in Houston, Texas. Reuters

Republican Mike Braun reacts during an election night party in Indianapolis after defeating Sen. Joe Donnelly. AP Photo

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, left, celebrates being re-elected with his brother, former Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick, in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP

Senator-elect Rick Scott, governor of Florida, kisses wife Ann Scott while speaking to attendees during an election night rally in Naples, Florida. Bloomberg

Wyoming State Treasurer Mark Gordon greets supporters in Cheyenne after he was projected to win the gubernatorial race. The Casper Star-Tribune via AP

Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn greets supporters after she was declared the winner for the US Senate in Franklin, Tennessee. AP Photo

A supporter of Trump and Republican senate candidate Mike Braun attends the election night party in Indianapolis, Indiana. Reuters

In her attempt to win a Senate seat in Arizona, Kyrsten Sinema hatched a plan. A Democratic congresswoman during two rancourous years under Donald Trump in Washington, Ms Sinema chose not to attack the president. Instead, she pointed out that she had supported him 62 per cent of the time when voting in the House of Representatives. This political paradox led to her being dubbed a purple candidate rather than a blue one.

On Wednesday it looked like her gamble might not be enough to end the Republican chokehold in her home state. Ms Sinema, a 42-year-old tipped for the top in Democratic politics, was one per cent behind her Republican rival Martha McSally, with 75 per cent of votes in and possibly days of counting to go.

The vote remained split. Non-affiliated independents could still tip the balance her way but although the middle ground, offend-no-one strategy she adopted has taken her close, it - just as in other Republican-held states - was not a game changer.

Texas (lost), Indiana (lost) and Florida (too close to call) proved that playing the anti-Trump card is not enough for Democrats. Republican candidates managed to hold on to Senate seats in states that the president won in 2016. What's more, Mr Trump's appearances and endorsements on the campaign trail for those soon to be sworn in were widely credited with taking them over the victory line.

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US Midterms:

US midterm elections 2018: live updates as Americans vote

Why Democrats had a struggle to take both houses

Donald Trump accused of playing race card as US midterm campaign ends

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There lies last night's warning for Democrats as they head into the 2020 presidential election cycle: in an age of identity politics Mr Trump has cornered the market. His personality appeals to core Republican voters. He could repeat the narrow path he took to victory two years ago in the electoral college. And instead of selecting purple candidates who seemed to stand for little – Ms Sinema was accused of vagueness, assumed a low profile and went to great lengths to avoid reporters' questions, all a bit resonant of Hillary Clinton in 2016 - the Democrats need a candidate with personality who can cash in on, rather than just talk about, Mr Trump's least admiral traits and deeds. The early names are out there – Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, Andrew Cuomo, Deval Patrick, even maybe Joe Biden or Michael Bloomberg – but are any of them going to take on Mr Trump? When I visited a heavily Republican area on Sunday the name that a former Democratic Party member brought up was Bill Clinton. “He had that southern charm and gift of the gab. The Democrats need someone like that to take on Trump,” the man said.

Although they failed to land their Senate targets there were some positives for the Democrats and warnings for Republicans. In Ohio, a rustbelt state that Mr Trump won in 2016, Sherrod Brown, a champion of workers' rights and financial regulation on Capitol Hill, was re-elected. Mr Trump could not have become president if he had not won Ohio. His stump speech in Cleveland on Monday didn't move the needle for Republicans this time around. But it is in Pennsylvania that Democrats might take most heart and see a harbinger of what their 2020 campaign strategy should look like.

In their taking back of the House of Representatives people turned out in droves in traditionally blue collar cities like Philadelphia to vote Democratic. White, educated urban voters – once the preserve of the Republicans – now sway toward Democrats while lower educated citizens pick Mr Trump, as do those living in rural areas. That blue red split only got bigger last night. It was the rural surge that doomed the Democrats' effort to take back the Senate while an urban voter uptick took them so close in Texas. Driven by unusually strong voter turnout, the midterms elections produced blue and red waves. It just depended on which map you were looking at.