New York: The Republican Party appears to have narrowly survived a hotly contested congressional race in Ohio on Tuesday night, although Democrats were heartened by their strong showing in a district President Donald Trump easily carried at the 2016 election.

Hanging on: Democrat Danny O'Connor speaks during an election night watch party. Credit:AP

The special election in Ohio's 12th congressional district was highly anticipated in US political circles because it was seen as a dry run for the November mid-term elections, where the Democrats need to win 23 seats to form a majority in the House of Representatives.

Triggered by the retirement of sitting Republican congressman Pat Tiberi, it was the last significant election to be held before the mid-terms and attracted significant inflows of donations for both parties.