Democrats won the popular vote in the House by the largest margins since the Watergate scandal and resignation of Republican President Richard Nixon.

An analysis by NBC News reveals that Democrats stormed to victory over the Republicans in House races, by a whopping 8.6 million votes in this year’s midterms.

NBC reported that number is the largest margin that Democrats have defeated Republicans in a midterm House election since 1974.

That midterm race, shortly after Nixon resigned, allowed Democrats to win the popular vote by 8.7 million votes, NBC reported.

Some commentators have made comparisons between the administrations of Trump and Nixon as special counsel Robert Mueller examines the role of Russia in the 2016 election and whether the president attempted to obstruct justice and end the probe.

Nixon also resisted investigations after his administration attempted to distance itself with five men who broke into the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters at the Watergate hotel.

There is some recognition among Republicans that they need a tune-up moving forward.

‘I think everybody acknowledges we have a helluva problem,’ Josh Holmes, a top political adviser to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Politico. 

‘The question is whether we can get everybody to set egos and business considerations aside to solve it. I’d certainly like to try’. 

The outcome is a significant victory for Democrats after the party was locked out of power in Washington following the 2016 presidential election.

The results deal a major blow to Republicans who will lose their majority in the lower chamber and is a significant setback for President Donald Trump’s agenda in Congress.

Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi celebrated the win on Tuesday night at an event in Washington DC. 

‘Women and men mobilized in historic numbers who saw what this GOP Congress was doing and refused to stand still. Tomorrow will be a new day in America’.

Drew Hammill, an aide to Pelosi, tweeted Tuesday evening that the President called Pelosi at 11.45 pm ‘to extend his congratulations on winning a Democratic House Majority’. 

Capitol Hill will now have divided party control after Republicans maintained control of the Senate, according to projections.

That could lead to more gridlock and clashes between the two chambers or it could force the two parties to find common ground.

While a Democratic victory was far from guaranteed, the party had been viewed as a slight favorite to win the House on Election Day.

Under a Democratic-controlled House, Democrats will have more authority and fewer constraints on their ability to exercise oversight of the Trump administration and could launch investigations into the President’s finances.

They could also investigates Trump’s tax returns, as well as ramp up a probe into the possibility that the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government to win the White House, which Trump has denied.

The election was also a historic one for women, people of color and the LGBTQ community. 

Female candidates spearheaded Democratic gains and at least 80 women had been elected to the House.

Sixty-nine of the House women are Democrats, including 27 of 28 newcomers, according to a USA TODAY analysis.

Jared Polis was the first gay man to win a governor’s race. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest woman elected to Congress. 

Ayanna Pressley became Massachusetts’ first black congresswoman. Minnesota’s Ilhan Omar and Michigan’s Rashida Tlaib became the first Muslim women elected to Congress.

On Tuesday evening, Pelosi pledged that a Democratic House will act as a check on the White House and Republicans in Washington.

‘Today is more than about Democrats and Republicans. It’s about restoring the Constitution’s checks and balances to the Trump administration. 

‘It’s about stopping the GOP and Mitch McConnell’s assault on Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act and the health care of 130 million Americans living with pre-existing medical conditions’. 

Discussion about the possibility of impeaching the President is also likely to intensify in a Democratic-controlled House. 

A mother and daughter from the Caribbean and an 80-year-old Olympian with Parkinson’s are set to become Virgin Galactic’s first space tourism crew.

The Richard Branson-founded company announced the trio Monday, who will soar to the final frontier on August 10.

Among the members are Keisha Schahaff and her daughter Anastatia Mayers, who won their seats in a 2021 contest and Jon Goodwin, who participated in the 1972 Munich Games.

The launch is planned for August 10 at Virgin Galactic’s Spaceport America in New Mexico and will see the ‘mothership’ carrier plane take off with the spaceplane attached to its underbelly.

Once the planes reach at least 45,000 feet, the rocket plane will separate and travel more than 50 miles above Earth’s surface.

Virgin Galactic has already booked a backlog of 800 customers vying for their chance to go to space, which was made possible by the company’s inaugural mission in June.

Tickets were first sold for $250,000 but has since increased to $450,000. 

The company announced Galactic 02 on July 13 but did not reveal the customers who will board the spaceplane VSS Unity.

Virgin Galactic did send three researchers in June who spent the time in zero-gravity conducting research – August’s mission is purely for enjoyment. 

DailyMail.com takes a look at each of the three members on board the upcoming flight.

Keisha Schahaff

Schahaff, from Antigua, won a sweepstakes with Omaze, an American for-profit fundraising company, for a once-in-a-lifetime commercial trip to the final frontier aboard Virgin Galactic’s Unity.

The sweepstakes kicked off in July following Virgin Galactic’s historic mission that took Branson to space and finished on September 1.

Branson surprised Schahaff at her home in the Caribbean to personally award her the two seats.

Schahaff is a health and wellness coach specializing in helping women achieve balance through healthy eating, energy work, and a variety of empowering wellness practices, according to her website.

She also reveals on the site that she suffered from depression and set out on a journey for self-healing, and after overcoming the ailments, she embarked on a mission to help other women.

When I was two years old, just looking up to the skies, I thought, ‘How can I get there?’ But, being from the Caribbean, I didn’t see how something like this would be possible,’ Schahaff said in a Monday statement.

‘The fact that I am here, the first to travel to space from Antigua, shows that space really is becoming more accessible. 

‘I know my experience will change me, and I hope I can share that energy and inspire the people around me – in my role as a life coach, a mother, and an ambassador for our beautiful planet.’

Anastasia Mayers

Mayers, the second youngest person to travel to space, is one of Schahaff’s two daughters.

She is in her second year at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, studying Philosophy and Physics. 

Mayers is set on becoming an astrobiologist who thought living on the small island impossible until her mother won the tickets aboard Unity.

Jon Goodwin

Goodwin, from Great Britain, is an adventurer and the first Olympian to travel to space, having competed in the 1972 Munich Games.

He is a retired slalom canoeist, has been a regular and leading competitor in the Ferrari Hillclimb Championship since 1992, winning in 2000 and 2008, and has more Class wins than any other competitor – as of the end of the 2020 season.

Goodwin is married to Pauline, who also competed in the Olympic games in 1972 and 1976.

He also spent his life as a daredevil, winning races in the Arctic Circle and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.

Goodwin was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2014 and has since been dedicated to raising awareness for the disease and the importance of research into finding a cure – and hopes that taking part in this mission will help shine a spotlight on the condition.

He has been vying for space for nearly a decade and almost gave up after receiving his diagnosis, thinking Virgin Galactic would not accept him – but that was not the case. 

‘When I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2014, I was determined not to let it stand in the way of living life to the fullest. I hope this inspires all others facing adversity,’ Goodwin shared in a statement Monday.

How Galactic 02 will take off

The crew will board Unity, attached to the mothership Eve, which will shoot down the runway and take off toward the skies.

Unity will then ignite its thruster and shut off once it reaches space.

At the apex of the flight, the spaceplane is expected to ‘feather’ its wings open and hover above our planet’s atmosphere, allowing the crew to experience weightlessness and epic views of the final frontier for a few minutes.

Musk’s SpaceX and Bezos’ Blue Origin use rockets to launch capsules into space, while Branson chose to take a different approach with mid-air launches.

Branson’s technique has been explored over several decades of flight research, including the X-1, the first plane to break the sound barrier, and the X-15, the fastest-piloted aircraft ever flown, topping out at 4,520 miles an hour during a 1967 flight.

And it reduces the need for massive amounts of fuel since the craft is not using force from the rocket to crawl through the dense lower atmosphere.