The 2010 US midterm elections saw Republicans reverse the Democratic majority in the House of Representatives and make important gains in the Senate, where President Barack Obama’s party barely held on to its lead. As opinion polls and analysts predicted in the run-up to the vote, a Republican tide boosted by the rise of the conservative Tea Party was the major trend of the latest US elections.

Obama called Republican leaders, including new Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner, after their victories to offer congratulations and promised to seek "common ground". Boehner takes over as Speaker from Democrat Nancy Pelosi.

Florida Republican Marco Rubio and Kentucky Republican Rand Paul became the first Tea Party-backed candidates to win Senate seats, signaling a political future for the anti-establishment movement that has been the big story of the midterms. Republican candidates also won Senate races in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, adding salt to injury by taking Obama's old Senate seat in Illinois.

But Senate wins by incumbent Democrats Barbara Boxer in California, Ron Wyden in Oregon and Harry Reid in Nevada, brought a huge sigh of relief to their party as it struggled to preserve its majority in the upper chamber.