An updated tally on final House races as they’re called
WASHINGTON – Control of the House of Representatives remains up for grabs as the vote counting heads into the weekend in two dozen pivotal U.S. House races, with both parties hoping to seize the lower chamber for 2025. It’s a last chance at power for Democrats after Donald Trump claimed the White House while Republicans gained a majority in the Senate.
It will take 218 seats to rule the House, and although neither party has reached the threshold, the numbers appear to favor the GOP. The Associated Press count showed Democrats at 199 seats while Republicans had claimed 212 by early Friday evening, including three seats that the GOP flipped from the Democrats.
You can follow the latest results from coast to coast and check out the races in your state here. Keep up with live coverage from across the USA TODAY Network.
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Former President Donald Trump appears with Republican vice president nominee JD Vance and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson during the first day of the Republican National Convention on July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Rep. Don Bacon keeps seat in ‘blue dot’ Nebraska
Republican Rep. Don Bacon will serve a fifth term in Congress representing Nebraska’s 2nd congressional district, according to the Associated Press, which called his race at 6:11 p.m. EST Friday. He beat Democratic challenger and state Sen. Tony Vargas by 2.4 points.
Bacon’s margin of victory in 2024 is just below his win two years ago, when he also faced Vargas and won by 2.6 percentage points. In this year’s May primary, he fended off hardline conservative and Omaha businessman Dan Frei, who had the backing of Nebraska’s state party.
Jason Brown handcrafts political signs featuring a simple blue dot, at his home in Omaha, Nebraska, on September 30, 2024.
The district, encompassing Omaha and area west of the city, earned the nickname “blue dot” after going for Biden by over six points in 2020.
– Savannah Kuchar and Maya Marchel Hoff
Jeffries said there is still a ‘clear pathway’ for Democrats to win the House
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in an interview with Spectrum News NY1 on Thursday that he thinks Democrats still have a “clear pathway” to winning back control of the House, noting that he’s been keeping an eye on races in the west.
“And if I have the opportunity to continue to lead House Democrats in either the majority or the minority, it certainly would be an opportunity to and continue to be a great honor,” Jeffries added in the interview.
Republicans, who flipped the Senate to their control and won the presidency, are confident they can keep control of the House too. So far, 211 seats have been won by Republicans while 199 have been won by Democrats, according to the latest count from the Associated Press.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced the House of Representatives managers for the Senate impeachment trial of U.S. President Donald Trump during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 15, 2020.
Jeffries said in the interview that Democrats have to “fully and comprehensively reevaluate what have we done right, and where have we fallen short.”
“I think that there are lessons to be learned from this election in all directions,” he said.
– Sudiksha Kochi
Johnson, Scalise ask for support from Republican colleagues to continue leading House
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., sent a letter on Wednesday morning to his Republican colleagues asking them to back him for another term leading the chamber, even as key races remain uncalled and there’s been no final call on which party will be in the majority next year.
“I’m ready to take the field with all of you, and I am humbly asking for your support to continue leading this Conference as your Speaker,” Johnson wrote in the letter. “It has been the honor of my lifetime to serve with you thus far, and I look forward to playing the biggest offense of our lives. We have a country to save—and we will.”
Republicans appear poised to keep control of the House, after flipping the Senate to their control and winning the White House.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., walks towards the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol on November 14, 2023 in Washington, DC.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., also sent a letter to his GOP colleagues on Wednesday asking them to back him again for the No. 2 spot.
“I have already met with President Trump multiple times during the last year to discuss our shared goals so we will be ready to begin this work quickly and hit the ground running on day one in January,” Scalise wrote.
– Sudiksha Kochi
Ohio: Congress’ longest serving woman may eke out a win
Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, faces a young state House member, Derek Martin, in the 9th Congressional District, which includes Cleveland.
Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, has been in Congress for 41 years. As the legislature’s longest-serving woman, the 78-year-old Democrat is looking to win another term by defeating her Republican opponent, Derek Merrin.
Theirs is one of the closest matchups left to be called. As of Friday morning, Kaptur was ahead by 0.3 percentage points with 99% of votes in.
– Rachel Barber
Oregon: Incumbent GOP congresswoman trailing
Janelle Bynum (left) and Lori Chavez-DeRemer (right) are running in Oregon for a seat in Congress.
Democrat Janelle Bynum’s challenge to first-term Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, a Republican endorsed by Donald Trump, resulted in a tight race that continued into Friday.
Bynum, a state representative, is attempting to flip the seat representing suburbs and areas south of Portland. Both candidates are small business owners who promised to represent common interests and work across the aisle.
As of Friday morning, Bynum had a 2.4% lead over Chavez-DeRemer with 78% of votes counted.
– Rachel Barber
Colorado: State’s first Latina congresswoman faces tough reelection race
Freshman Rep. Yadira Caraveo, D-Colo., who is seeking a second term, was leading Republican Gabe Evans by less than one percentage point with 88% of votes counted Friday morning.
Representing a split electorate in an area north of Denver, Yadira has a reputation as a moderate willing to break from her party, including when she was one of six House Democrats who voted to condemn the Biden administration for its handling of the southern border.
– Rachel Barber
Maine: Democratic incumbent competing in Trump district
Representative Jared Golden, a Democrat elected in Maine’s rural and conservative second congressional district, speaks to reporters and veterans while Veterans Affairs Secetary Denis McDonough and Senator Angus King and local officials listen, at an event in Rumford, Maine, U.S., August 3, 2023, in this still image from video.
Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat, is vying to hold onto his seat in a district occupying most of Maine north of Portland. He faces Republican challenger Austin Theriault, a state representative and former NASCAR driver.
Golden has represented Maine’s 2nd Congressional District since 2018. Voters in the primarily rural region have stuck with the moderate Democrat, while going for Trump in 2020 and backing him again in 2024. As of Friday morning, Golden had less than half a percentage point lead over Theriault with 98% of votes counted.
– Rachel Barber
Maryland: Republican trying to flip blue district without incumbent
With most precincts reporting, a little more than 1% margin remained Friday morning between Democrat April McClain Delaney and Republican Neil Parrott in the race to represent Maryland’s 6th congressional district that spans the westernmost part of the state.
A lawyer whose husband previously represented the district, McClain Delaney worked in the Department of Commerce during the Biden administration. Parrott served in the Maryland House of Delegates for over a decade. Both ran campaigns promising to govern with “common sense” and portraying their opponent as out of touch or extreme.
– Rachel Barber
Arizona: longtime congressman fights for reelection
Amish Shah (left) and David Schweikert (right) the two candidates for the House of Representatives in Arizona’s first district.
Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., is in the midst of what many have called the most contentious election of his 13-year career.
As of Friday morning, the Arizona lawmaker who represents the 1st congressional district that covers Scottsdale held a 3.8 percentage point lead over his Democratic opponent, Amish Shah, with 76% of the vote counted so far.
– Rachel Barber
Arizona: First-term Republican in neck-and-neck rematch
Democrat Kirsten Engle was leading Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., by a little more than 200 votes with 72% of precincts reporting Friday morning.
Their race to represent Arizona’s 6th congressional district that includes Tuscon marks the second time Ciscomani and Engel have faced off and remains too close to call. Ciscomani is seeking a second term and a win for him would boost Republicans looking to hold onto the House.
– Rachel Barber
California: Veteran Republican in a SoCal rematch
Republican House member Ken Calvert faces Democrat Will Rollins in the Corona-based 41st District in California.
Republican Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., was leading Democrat Will Rollins by 3% as of Friday morning with 54% of the vote counted.
Calvert is the state’s longest-serving House member, having been in office since 1992 and fended off multiple challengers over the years, including Rollins in 2022. He is looking to keep his seat representing California’s 41st Congressional District, southeast of Los Angeles.
– Rachel Barber
California: A tight race remains for Katie Porter’s seat
With 71% of votes counted as of Friday at 9:30 a.m., less than 700 votes differentiated the candidates in a race to represent California District 47, which encompasses Orange County and includes Irvine, Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach. It’s a battle to take the seat previously held by Rep. Katie Porter, a Democrat, after her failed Senate run.
This year’s race is between two attorneys: Democrat Dave Min and Republican Scott Baugh, who is currently ahead but lost to Porter by more than 9,000 votes in 2022. Baugh is a former California Assembly member and served as chair of the Orange County Republican Party for a decade. Min worked for U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer as a senior economic advisor and voters elected him to the California Senate in 2020.
– Rachel Barber
What to expect if Republicans control the White House and Congress
If Republicans win control of the House, the party will control both chambers of Congress, and the White House – a trifecta.From swift appointments of Trump’s Cabinet choices to major changes in policy, Republicans in Congress are likely to use their leverage to advance Trump‘s priorities and will likely face few roadblocks from the Democratic minority.
“This historic election has proven that a majority of Americans are eager for secure borders, lower costs, peace through strength, and a return to common sense,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said in a statement Wednesday, even as the House has not yet been called for Republicans and Democrats insist it is still in play.
— Riley Beggin
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Election 2024 recap: Control of the House on the line; see the tally
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