Republicans will maintain control of the House next year, a result made clear when The Associated Press called a 217th seat for Republicans, a Democrat conceded a key race loss and House Democratic leaders threw in the towel.
“House Democrats gave it our all, running aggressive, forward-looking and people-centered campaigns. While we will not regain control of the Congress in January, falling just a few seats short, House Democrats will hold Republicans to a razor-thin majority. That is unprecedented in a so-called presidential wave election,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a Wednesday evening statement.
Earlier in the day, the AP called the race in California’s 41st District for Republican Rep. Ken Calvert, putting the GOP at 217 seats. Democrat Kirsten Engel also conceded her race challenging GOP Rep. Juan Ciscomani in Arizona’s 6th District. “The voters have made their decision and we must respect it — I will not be the next Representative for Arizona’s 6th Congressional District,” Engel said in a post on the social media platform X.
That, and the trend lines in the remaining uncalled races, was enough to call the House majority eight days after Election Day.
With the House majority secured, the GOP officially wins the trifecta in Washington: control of the White House, Senate and House, although House Republican leaders have been forecasting their win for several days now. Come January, the party is expected to begin an aggressive legislative agenda encompassing tax, immigration and energy policies.
Outstanding race calls will determine for sure how large their majority will be, but it appears the party will have a narrow majority that could complicate their efforts to enact President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda.
When Trump first took office in 2017, Republicans had a 23-seat majority and could lose more votes on major votes. Their margin next year could shrink even more as GOP Reps. Elise Stefanik of New York and Michael Waltz and Matt Gaetz of Florida have been tapped to join the Trump administration. The vacancies they create could make it more difficult for Republicans to pass legislation until they are filled.
Even so, Trump is poised to have far more allies in the House come January compared to the outset of his first term. Many of the House lawmakers who opposed Trump have either retired or been voted out of office.
Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday at a press conference on Capitol Hill that Republicans would be better prepared to begin enacting their agenda next year than they were in 2017, the last time the party had full control of Washington.
“When President Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016 we all look back and recognize that the Republican Party was not fully prepared for that moment and precious time was wasted in the beginning of that Congress,” he said. “We are not going to make those mistakes again. We will be ready on day one. We are prepared this time.”
Majority Leader Steve Scalise said last week that Republicans would look to budget reconciliation, a parliamentary tool that would allow the Senate to pass legislation with a simple majority, rather than have to navigate the chamber’s parliamentary hurdles that require supermajorities to cut off debate, to enact changes to tax law and energy policy and would seek to overhaul the country’s immigration system.
Key race calls
Republicans flipped Pennsylvania’s 7th and 8th Districts, with Ryan E. Mackenzie defeating Rep. Susan Wild and Rob Bresnahan defeating Rep. Matt Cartwright, two districts the GOP aggressively targeted over the years.
Republican Tom Barrett also flipped an open seat in Michigan’s 7th District, while Gabe Evans defeated Rep. Yadira Caraveo in Colorado’s 8th District.
Democrats flipped three seats in New York. John Mannion defeated Rep. Brandon Williams in the 22nd District, while Josh Riley defeated Rep. Marc Molinaro in the 19th District and Laura Gillen beat Rep. Anthony D’Esposito in the 4th District.
George Whitesides, meanwhile, defeated Rep. Mike Garcia in California’s 27th District.
Off-year redistricting in Alabama, Louisiana and North Carolina also led to flips. Republicans won three seats in North Carolina that were redrawn to favor their party. Democrats won Alabama’s 2nd District, which was redrawn to give Black voters greater sway in the election but was contested by both parties, and also won Louisiana’s 6th District.
Some incumbents of both parties who were vulnerable did hold onto their seats. Republican Don Bacon held onto Nebraska’s 2nd District seat, despite Vice President Kamala Harris winning its electoral vote.
Some Democrats who had been among their party’s most vulnerable incumbents also defied political gravity to hold onto their seats. Washington Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez defeated Republican Joe Kent a second time.
Two other potential GOP pickup opportunities remained to be called in states that use a ranked-choice voting system. Republican Nick Begich was ahead of incumbent Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, while Democratic Rep. Jared Golden was narrowly ahead of GOP challenger Austin Theriault in the 2nd District of Maine. Trump prevailed at the presidential level in both Alaska and the largely rural Maine district.
Niels Lesniewski contributed to this report.
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