Currently, Republicans are just one seat in the U.S. House of Representatives away from securing a majority. However, 13 races still have yet to be called, and the GOP will be looking to regroup from an underwhelming Midterm performance by gaining as much ground as possible in the House. Out of these 13 races that are still undecided, with just one win the GOP will have a majority in the House, however, every win goes a long way, and the GOP will be looking to gain as much ground as possible throughout these undecided elections. The GOP will largely look to prevent the House from being largely determined by Republicans who choose to side with Democrats.
With a total of 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, either party must win a minimum of 218 seats to gain a majority in the 435-seat body. The right, despite a weak Midterms performance, currently has 217 seats in the house occupied by GOP candidates. Democrats currently are occupying a total of 205 seats.
The GOP already has taken a loss in the Senate, and while a win from Herschel Walker in his December 6th run-off election can still be extremely valuable, losses from Dr. Oz and other major GOP Senate candidates mean the GOP will look to congress for their Midterm power grab.
FOX News lists the 13 elections remaining that have yet to be called, and how the GOP is looking in the remaining raises that could determine the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives:
AK-AL – Alaska’s At Large Congressional District has been rated by Fox News’ Power Rankings as “lean Democratic” due to the state’s newly implemented ranked-choice voting system giving incumbent Democrat Rep. Mary Peltola an advantage against her Republican opponents, former Gov. Sarah Palin and Nick Begich. Peltola lead in the first round of the vote, with Palin in second and Begich in third, but failed to secure 50%, meaning those who voted for the candidate with the least number of votes will have their second choice vote reallocated to the other candidates until one reaches 50%. The second round tabulation is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, Nov. 23.
ME-02 – Maine similarly implemented a ranked-choice voting system following a state-wide referendum in 2016. Incumbent Democratic Rep. Jared Golden failed to reach 50% of the vote last week, but is currently leading former Republican Congressman Bruce Poliquin, who represented the district from 2015 to 2019. The second round tabulation is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 15. Fox News’ Power Rankings has rated the race as a toss-up.
CA-03 – Republican Kevin Kiley holds a commanding lead over Democrat Kermit Jones; however, approximately only a little over half of ballots have been counted in the “likely Republican” race. California accepts mail-ballots for the week following Election Day, although the ballots must be postmarked by Election Day. The ballots must also go through a signature verification process before being counted.
CA-06 – Incumbent Democratic Rep. Ami Bera is leading Republican challenger Tamika Hamilton in this seat considered to be safe Democrat.
CA-09 – Incumbent Democratic Rep. Josh Harder holds a large lead over Republican challenger Tom Patti in this “lean Democratic” seat.
CA-13 – This toss-up race is among the tightest remaining as Republican John Duarte narrowly leads Democrat Adam Gray by less than 800 votes.
CA-21 – This safe Democratic seat is still yet to be called due to the ongoing vote count; however, incumbent Democratic Rep. Jim Costa leads Republican challenger Michael Maher by more than 7,000 votes.
CA-22 – In another tight race, incumbent Republican Rep. David Valadao leads Democratic challenger Rudy Salas by more than 3,000 votes. Fox News’ Power rankings has rated the race as a toss-up.
CA-27 – Incumbent Republican Rep. Mike Garcia holds a commanding lead over Democratic challenger Christy Smith by a little more than 13,000 votes in the “lean Republican” seat.
CA-47 – Incumbent Democratic Rep. Katie Porter leads Republican challenger Scott Baugh by less than 3,000 votes in this toss-up race.
CA-49 – This toss-up race currently has incumbent Democratic Rep. Mike Levin leading Republican challenger Brian Maryott by a little more than 13,000 votes.
CO-03 – Incumbent Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert was not expected to have such a close race with her Democratic opponent, Adam Frisch, in the “likely Republican” seat, however, the one-term congresswoman is narrowly leading the vote count by a little more than 1,000 votes. Mail-in ballots from out of state and overseas military service members can arrive as late as Wednesday as long as they were postmarked by Election Day, meaning the count could continue into later this week.
CO-08 – Democratic candidate Yadira Caraveo narrowly leads Republican candidate Barbara Kirkmeyer in this “lean Republican” race, but, like the 3rd District race, mail-in ballots can arrive from overseas or out of state as late as Wednesday if they were postmarked by Election Day.
As we can see in Arizona, the GOP can not assume anything is a given. Especially in a time of last-second mail-in ballots that can sway an election. If the GOP can pull away with a handful of wins throughout these 13 undecided races, they can largely put an end to the January 6th witchhunt, and put roadblocks in the way of the Biden Administrations’ agenda.
But slim majority alone
vs Senate under Dems
I cannot believe that deep red Alaska – which has voted democrat just once since statehood – came up with such a convoluted system.