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Republicans are just one seat away from gaining a majority in the House of Representatives and removing the speaker’s gavel from Nancy Pelosi.
The GOP notched key congressional victories late Monday night in Arizona, California, and New York, giving them a total of 217, just one shy of the required 218 seats needed to win the majority in the House.
In California, Reps. Kevin Calvert and Michelle Steel won reelection, and in New York, Brandon Williams won his race, keeping New York’s 22nd district red. The seat is currently held by retiring GOP Rep. John Katko.
In Arizona, Republican Juan Ciscomani flipped a Democrat seat, and incumbent GOP Rep. David Schweikert will return to Capitol Hill after fending off a Democrat challenger in a redrawn district that made the race more competitive.
As of Tuesday morning, Republicans hold a 217-205 lead in the battle for the House, with 13 races still to be determined.
Of these 13 remaining races that have yet to be called, there are close races in California that include high-profile Democrat Reps. Katie Porter and Mike Levin, and GOP Reps. David Valadao and Mike Garcia.
In Colorado, Rep. Lauren Boebert, widely viewed as the favorite to win, is locked in a tight race with Democrat Adam Frisch. Boebert currently leads by just over 1,000 votes. According to Fox News, “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 next week.”
And in Alaska, former Alaska governor and Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin is battling against incumbent Democrat Rep. Mary Peltola, which will not be decided until Nov. 23, thanks to Alaska’s new ranked-choice voting system.
According to Fox News, “Rep. Mary Peltola has an advantage against her Republican opponents, former Gov. Sarah Palin and Nick Begich. Peltola led 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.”
