The Democrats has a 91% chance of winning the House in the latest surveys. They managed to win the house by a small number of seats. Their performance in terms of taking the house by a tiny margin is a significant under performance historically.
Courtesy of ExGoper The New York Times projects a national popular vote margin of roughly 8.5% for the Democrats. The FiveThirtyEight average for the generic congressional ballot gave Democrats a 8.7% lead. Sam Wang notes the popular vote margin in the last four midterm elections which were considered wave elections: 1994: R+7.1% 2006: D+8.0% 2010: R+7.2% 2014: R+5.7% By historical standards, that would be a wave election for the Democrats.
The dismally low number of house seats the Democrats took indicate this election is far from a blue wave.
The seat count is lower because of gerrymandering,you know that. With the popular vote Dems won bigger than then waves in 94,06,10 or 12
Keep in mind that many of the more populated western and northern states have been gerrymandered to favor Democrats in the House for decades.
Things went about as expected. There wasn't really a blue wave or a red wall. The story of the night was the Democrats taking control of the house. The Republicans came away with some key victories as well. They've gained 2 seats in the senate, and they're set to gain 2 more if their leads hold in Florida, Arizona, & Montana. They're also projected to win gubernatorial elections in the key swing states of Florida, Ohio, & Iowa. I think the midterms were a success for Trump as well. Presidents almost always lose ground in congress during their first midterm elections. Obama's first midterm election was a blood bath. Trump lost control of the house, but if he picks up 4 seats in the senate, it will be the most seats a president has picked up during the midterms since FDR's first term in 1934.