Six takeaways from the 2018 midterm elections: political strategists

• The parties showed they are as polarized as ever, delivering a Democratic House and a larger Republican Senate.
• Trump's coalition in Congress is now stronger due to more conservatives in the Senate and fewer suburban Republicans in the House.

Scott Olson | Getty Images

A woman dressed as a suffragette casts her ballot for the midterm elections at the Polk County Election Office on October 8, 2018 in Des Moines, Iowa.Today was the first day of early voting in the state. 

When all the ballots are counted, Democrats are likely to pick up over 30 seats in the House and take control of the chamber. Democrats handily won Independents, white college educated women, non-whites and younger voters. Exceeding expectations, Republicans could see a net gain of three Senate seats. A strong economy buoyed Republican victories in the Senate and blunted losses in the House. Fully 68 percent of voters in last night's exit poll reported the economy was excellent or good and 60 percent of those voters supported Republicans.

The 116^th Congress is likely to be the most gender and ethnically diverse in history and even though the final House tally is undetermined at this hour, divided government is a certainty.

As the country looks to the future, here are six things we know:

1. The 2018 midterm election was the sixth change election of the last seven elections. The parties showed they are as polarized as ever, delivering a Democratic House and a larger Republican Senate.

2. Democratic control of the House and the upcoming contest for the democratic nomination for president will likely move the party further to the left.

3. Make no mistake about it, the 2020 presidential election has already begun with Democratic hopefuls already jockeying for support among the Democratic faithful. The 2020 Democratic primary will be protracted due to the fact that Democrats removed super delegates and they have no winner-take-all states.

4. Trump's coalition in Congress is now stronger due to more conservatives in the Senate and fewer suburban Republicans in the House.

5. Trump will embrace and benefit from the Pelosi-led House. The base of the Democratic party will demand aggressive investigations and possibly impeachment.

6. Trump's positions on issues like trade and immigration will only harden, given his success in Senate elections.

Republican strategist Sara Fagen is a partner at DDC Public Affairs. Previously, she served as the White House Political Director for President George W. Bush. During her years in the White House, Fagen was involved in helping enact President Bush's most significant legislative accomplishments including tax, education and Medicare reform. She also served on the confirmation teams for Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Sam Alito.

Doug Sosnik is a former political advisor to President Bill Clinton.

For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.