Trump tells NYT he will accept election results

 U.S. President Donald Trump told the New York Times in a Tuesday night interview that he would accept the results of the midterm elections, as early counting pointed to a Democrat sweep in Congress. 

“I am absolutely willing to accept those results,” Trump said, adding that he would “work with the Democrats,” the NYT reported. 

Trump blamed the Republican losses on the fact that he was not on the ballot, and told the NYT he had no regrets about endorsing the Republican candidates. 

The president has repeatedly accused the Democrats of unspecified vote rigging, and had earlier told NBC he would accept the midterm results only if they were "honest." 

Counting by the Associated Press, as of 22:54 ET (03:54 GMT), showed the Democrats just two seats shy of a 50-seat majority in the Senate.

They also led the Republicans in the House of Representatives with 143 districts, compared to 86 for the Republicans. 

Texas– a hotly contested senate seat– was seen leaning largely towards Democrat James Talarico over Republican Ken Paxton. Other potential Democrat victories include North Carolina flipping to Democrat Senator candidate Roy Cooper, and Annie Andrews beating incumbent Republican Darline Graham– the sister of the late Lindsey Graham– for the South Carolina Senate seat. 

Opinion polls going into the elections showed Trump and the Republicans at record-low approvals, amid growing voter discontent over high fuel prices, government corruption, and a prolonged war with Iran.