US midterms 2010: winners and losers

WINNER: John Boehner. The Republican congressman from Ohio replaces Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House of Representatives, making him one of the most powerful politicians in America. Photograph: Cliff Owen/AP

WINNER: Harry Reid. By the skin of his teeth the Democratic Senator from Nevada makes it through. Reid defeated Tea Party favourite Sharron Angle to retain his job as Barack Obama’s point man in the upper house. That it was so close for so long will see the senator's reputation tarnished. Photograph: Jae C. Hong/AP

WINNER: Rand Paul. The son of famed maverick Texan congressman and one-time presidential candidate, Ron Paul, is now a major figure in his own right. The doctor-turned-politician is now a senator from Kentucky and one of the most powerful politicians in the Tea Party movement. Will he remain a rebel Republican or become co-opted by the GOP establishment? Photograph: Mark Lyons/EPA

WINNER: Marco Rubio. With his comfortable win in the Florida senatorial race Republican, and Tea Party poster boy, Marco Rubio instantly became one of the biggest winners of the night. With his rightwing credentials, Tea Party backing and Latino heritage, Rubio is a figure to watch – very carefully. Photograph: Alan Diaz/AP

WINNER: Joe Manchin. Bang! The new senator from West Virginia preserved a Democratic presence in this region by literally shooting a bullet through Obama’s cap and trade legislation in a political advert. That’s good for him but the lesson for Democrats is a grim one. He showed you can win as a Democrat, but only if you stand against most of what Democrats actually stand for. Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty Images

WINNER: Jerry Brown. Never write anyone off. Brown defeated his big-spending Republican opponent to take back a governor's job he first won in the 1970s. It was an amazing achievement, until you look at the sheer scale of California’s problems. Then you wonder: why would anyone want this job? May be Governor Moonbeam II. Photograph: Peter Dasilva/EPA

WINNER: Michael Steele. Elected as the first black head of the Republican National Committee, Steele has been a laughing stock for most of his period in office. He has been remarkably gaffe-prone in a way that would make even the vice-president, Joe Biden, blush. Yet now Steele has presided over a historic Republican victory. Photograph: Win McNamee/Getty Images

LOSER: President Barack Obama. His name was not on any ballot paper but the US president was the biggest loser of the night. After nearly two years in office he has delivered the Democrats a historic defeat that will stymie what few plans he had for legislative achievement in his remaining two years. He will take the blame for the losses. Deservedly so. Many Democrats – let alone Republicans – ran against his record. Photograph: Pete Souza/AP

LOSER: Christine O’Donnell was a star of the Tea Party movement that burned ever so brightly and ever so shortly. She catapulted into the limelight with a stunning upset win in the Republican Delaware senate primary that saw her symbolise the movement's triumph. Then a series of bizarre gaffes – from witchcraft to one-night stands – saw her candidacy become a national joke. In the end she likely cost the Republicans a vital senate win. Photograph: Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images

LOSER: Carl Paladino. That Paladino lost the New York state governor’s race to Democrat Andrew Cuomo was probably the least surprising result of the night. His campaign was surreal in its sheer ineptitude. He made O’Donnell look the model of political professionalism. From gay-bashing to sending pornographic emails to threatening journalists, nothing seemed out of bounds. Photograph: David Duprey/AP

LOSER: Blanche Lincoln. Revenge is a dish best served … by your brother. Lincoln, a conservative Democrat from Arkansas, was sliced and diced by John Boozman, whose brother, Fay, she had defeated to originally win the seat. Lincoln was an example of a Democrat who tried to bend in front of the conservative winds blowing through the party but got snapped anyway. Some liberal Democrats cheered. So did Republicans. Photograph: Danny Johnston/AP

LOSER: Sharron Angle. The Tea Party giveth and the Tea Party taketh away. Angle soared into national prominence on the back of a the movement's bid to unseat Harry Reid in Nevada. But her inexperience and rabid conservatism, especially on the issue of immigration, rapidly started to show itself, not least in a series of gaffes that alienated the state's Hispanic voters. In the end Reid won relatively safely. Photograph: RICK WILKING/REUTERS

LOSER: Ted Strickland. Ohio is notorious as perhaps the most important bellwether state. It’s mix of eastern rust belt, midwestern farm belt and southern Bible belt make it the perfect amalgam of the nation as a whole. Strickland lost its governorship to Republican John Kasich. That was bad news for Strickland. Bad news for all Democrats. Photograph: DAVID MAXWELL/EPA

LOSER: Charlie Crist. The former governor of Florida seemed a lock to win Florida’s senatorial seat. Then came the Tea Party challenge of Marco Rubio. Crist fled the challenge to run as an independent. People tried to force the Democrat candidate to give way to him. Rubio triumphed anyway. Crist’s lesson? Changing allegiances like other people change their underwear is not appealing to the electorate. Photograph: Brian Blanco/Reuters

LOSER: Meg Whitman. What does $140m buy you? Diddly squat, if you are Whitman and running to be California’s governor. The former eBay executive spent that much of her own cash in her bid and still got handily beaten at the polls. She is proof that even today money does not automatically buy elections. You still have to run a good campaign. Her likelt biggest problem? Employing an illegal immigrant as a maid and then sacking and supporting the deportation of her. That behaviour does not help with either conservatives or Hispanics in a state that has a lot of both. Photograph: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters