This week’s elections have been startlingly close. Control of both chambers of Congress remain up in the air.

Historically, the president’s party is blown away in midterms. And the Democrats were further hampered this time round by President Biden’s unpopularity.

Considering the headwinds, how did they do so well?

Guest: Nate Cohn, chief political analyst for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• President Biden appears to have had the best midterms of any president in 20 years.
• Election denial didn’t play as well as Republicans hoped. And former President Donald Trump has faced unusual public attacks from across his party following a string of losses.
• As the results continue to come in, here are the latest updates.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.