These people could make Donald Trump’s life hell next year

Throughout Donald Trump’s presidency, he had the backing of dozens of senators and hundreds of congressmen who sought to make his life easier.

But after next week’s midterm elections, many of those backers will likely be replaced by Democrats seeking to make his life harder.

It includes a substantial number of young politicians who were chosen in primary elections not necessarily for their policy views, but for their eagerness to take on Trump.

So who are the as-yet unelected candidates who will seek to make the president's life hell?

Abdul El-Sayed

When Abdul El-Sayed won the Democratic nomination in Michigan, Republicans cheered.

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The swing state seemed unlikely to elect a progressive Muslim when Republicans had fielded a mainstream former congressman.

But polling has shown El-Sayed gaining in momentum and is now favoured to win.

The scrappy epidemiologist threatens to shake up the Senate by advocating for publicly funded health care and against foreign aid for Israel.

James Talarico

Political pundits love to compare Democratic ambitions in Texas to Charlie Brown and the football.

They run hard every time and end up falling flat on their back.

But this year finally seems different.

James Talarico is on track to be the first Democrat elected to the Senate from the state for a generation.

Talarico is young, telegenic and non-threatening to conservatives in suburban Texas.

And a Talarico victory would make Republicans' biggest and most important state a major liability in future elections.

Adam Hamilton

Ever since Jimmy Carter lost the presidency, Democrats have struggled to win the largest demographic in the US - white Christians.

But in Kansas, the party has found a candidate who not only goes to church, but leads the largest congregation in the state.

Twenty thousand people every Sunday go to Adam Hamilton’s church, in a state that hasn’t elected a Democratic senator since 1932.

Now Hamilton is considered an even bet to break that winning streak.

Angie Nixon

If Democrats are having a fantastic night, it may be Angie Nixon who is celebrating the most.

The Florida politician is slightly behind in the polls but still in the fight for the Senate.

And Nixon is a firebrand, taking a megaphone during a debate in the Florida legislature and getting arrested for a sit-in at the governor's office.

A Nixon victory would also make Republicans very nervous about Florida, which has been getting more conservative in every major election since 2008.

Mamdani’s New Yorkers

Just about every member of Congress from inner New York knows Donald Trump from cocktail parties they went to in the 1980s.

But a new generation of representatives are set to sweep, backed by the city's popular socialist mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Claire Valdez, Brad Lander and Darializa Avila Chevalier all won by running to the party's left.

Chevalier particularly makes Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez look conservative, pushing for the abolition of prisons, police, borders and Israel.

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In their deeply Democratic districts, they are all but guaranteed to win in the general election.

Election Day is November 3, but elected candidates won't be sworn into office until January.

Nine.com.au will be giving live updates in our live blog throughout the day on Wednesday AEDT, when polls close and the first results come in.