Republicans have made remarkable strides in their bid to secure a governing trifecta.
Donald Trump has been elected the 47th president of the United States after a fierce battle with Vice President Kamala Harris. By Wednesday, he had secured more than 290 electoral votes, emerging victorious in key battleground states like North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. He also won the popular vote, marking the first time a Republican candidate has achieved such a victory since 2004, when George W. Bush won re-election against Democratic challenger John Kerry.
The GOP’s success didn’t stop there. Along with securing the presidency, they also took control of the Senate. Now, the election results have set the stage for a pivotal race in the House. Here’s everything you need to know about the shifting congressional landscape.
All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for grabs every midterm and presidential election year. This year, House races are focused in states like New York and California, where Democrats are working to reclaim some of the 10 or so seats Republicans have gained in recent years.
Representative Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY and House minority leader, has expressed hope that his party can still prevail.
“The House remains very much in play,” he said in a statement. “The path to take back the majority now runs through too-close-to-call pickup opportunities in Arizona, Oregon and Iowa — along with several Democratic-leaning districts in Southern California and the Central Valley.”
Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., expressed confidence that his party would retain control of the lower chamber.
“House Republicans have been successful in securing critical flips in swing states including Pennsylvania and Michigan, while our battle-tested incumbents have secured re-election from coast to coast,” Johnson said in the statement. “The latest data and trends indicate that when all the votes are tabulated, Republicans will have held our majority, even though we faced a map with 18 Biden-won seats.”
The election results could still take days before the House races are officially called.
In total, 34 Senate seats were up for election.
Democrats flipped two key seats in New York, defeating Representatives Marc Molinaro in the Hudson Valley and Brandon Williams in Syracuse. They also held onto two critical seats — one in Michigan and another in New Mexico — that Republicans had hoped to gain. However, with major wins in Ohio, Montana, and Texas, Republicans took control of the upper chamber.
Republican senators are expected to elect a new leader next week, as longtime GOP leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is stepping down after a record 18 years in the role.
If Republicans manage to win complete control of Congress, they will find themselves in a similar situation to 2016, with Trump leading the way. In this second Trump administration, a fully Republican-controlled House will give the president-elect greater freedom to push his agenda.
Over the next two years, the House will face critical battles over government funding, tax policies, immigration, and corporate regulation.
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