Former President Donald Trump takes the stage to speak at Mar-a-lago on election day (Picture: AP)

Donald Trump’s bid for a White House return suffered a setback as president Joe Biden’s Democrats performed better than expected in US midterm elections.

Republicans look likely to seize the House of Representatives but the battle for control of the Senate was on a knife-edge as counting continued last night.

Pollsters had forecast a ‘red wave’ of Republican wins but the Democrats gained a key senate seat in Pennsylvania, where John Fetterman triumphed over Trump-backed candidate Dr Mehmet Oz.

The ex-president’s picks in Arizona, Georgia and Nevada also struggled, with votes there remaining too close to call.

Mr Trump, tipped to announce next week that he will run for the 2024 presidential election, said before polls closed: ‘If they win, I should get all the credit. If they lose, I should not be blamed at all. But it will probably be the opposite.’

After Democrats were projected to win 11 out of 13 close contests, Republican senator Lindsey Graham said: ‘Definitely not a Republican wave, that’s for darn sure.’ And defeated Republican Texas candidate Mayra Flores tweeted: ‘The red wave did not happen.’

Democrat John Fetterman celebrates with a voter in Pennsylvania (Picture: Getty Images)

Ron DeSantis with wife Casey, as he addresses supporters after winning the race to be governor of Florida (Picture: Getty Images)

A big winner for the party was Ron DeSantis – expected to be Mr Trump’s main challenger for the Republican nomination in 2024 – who enjoyed a convincing victory to remain Florida governor.

Though losing control of the House of Representatives will affect Mr Biden’s policy plans for the rest of his term, Democrat speaker Nancy Pelosi said: ‘It is clear our candidates are outperforming expectations around the country.’

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‘If they win, I should get all the credit.’