The midterm elections painted a picture of a divided America, but it’s not 50/50 – it’s closer to 55-45, with an advantage to the Democrats.

The country is split by economics, as always, but perhaps more intensely by culture.

And the Republicans have to confront the growing evidence that Trump’s brand of conservatism makes winning elections and governing America pretty hard.

I’m in Pennsylvania, a rust-belt state that Trump won in 2016 against expectations. This year the Republicans lost the governor and Senate races, and fell from 15 House seats to just nine.

My hotel is the first House district, centred on Bucks County, where the Republicans held on by their finger-tips.

The winning candidate, Brian Fitzpatrick, presented himself as a moderate - he says he visits a mosque once a week - and that helped, but look around and this is also the kind of small town America Trumpism appeals to.

It’s a pretty, historic suburb where several shops shut at 3pm and, in a repudiation of European health-freakery, the local grocery store advertises “CIGARETTES Lowest Price Allowed by Law.”