If current projections hold, Republicans are on track to retain their majority.
Republicans appear on track to retain control of the U.S. House of Representatives, which would enable them to lock down a GOP trifecta in Washington for the first time since 2016.
As of 03:35 p.m. on Nov. 8, The Associated Press projected that Republicans had picked up at least 213 seats while Democrats had at least 199. A party needs 218 to claim the majority.
Current Decision Desk HQ projections give Republicans a total of 212 seats and Democrats a total of 199. If the results hold, Republicans would enter the new Congress with the same number of seats as they controlled at the start of the current Congress. However, the final results could differ, as many seats are separated by as few as hundreds of votes. It may not be known for days.
Most of the races that remain uncalled are on the West Coast, with the majority clustered in California.
Should Republicans take the House, as they seem on track to do, they would come back to Washington in January with a trifecta—control of the House, Senate, and White House.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) projected confidence that his party would retain the majority in a Nov. 6 letter to his colleagues.
“As we have planned and expected, the latest data indicates that we will also hold and likely grow our Republican majority in the House, even though we faced a map with 18 Biden-won seats,” Johnson said.
Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), nevertheless state that they still have a pathway to 218.
“We must count every vote,” Jeffries said, saying the battle for control of the House “has yet to be decided.”
Republicans had a sweeping victory in the presidential contest, with President-elect Donald Trump winning at least 295 electoral votes, carrying five of the seven swing states as of publication time. He’s expected to win the remaining two—Arizona and Nevada—which have yet to be called.
Republicans won control of the Senate, flipping at least four seats and bringing their total in the upper chamber to 53 seats as of publication time. Two Senate races, in Arizona and Nevada, remain too close to call.
By Joseph Lord
