Heading into the vote, Democrats held 212 seats in the 435-member House and required 218 to secure the majority. Republicans faced the difficult task of sweeping all 18 toss-up House districts and flipping five Democratic-leaning seats to maintain control. In the Senate, Democrats must secure at least three of six toss-up races across the 35 seats on the ballot to claim the chamber. Additionally, voters across 36 states and three territories are determining gubernatorial leadership.
Key points
Pre-election analysis indicated Democrats could win the House outright without winning an…: Pre-election analysis indicated Democrats could win the House outright without winning any of the 18 toss-up districts if they hold their favoured seats.
Republicans require a complete sweep of 18 toss-up House seats plus five Democratic-leani…: Republicans require a complete sweep of 18 toss-up House seats plus five Democratic-leaning seats to retain control of the chamber.
Democrats must secure at least three of the six toss-up Senate races to flip the upper ch…: Democrats must secure at least three of the six toss-up Senate races to flip the upper chamber of Congress.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
Overview
Senate
See full resultsHouse
See full resultsLatest results
Battlegrounds
Most US election seats are reliably won by one party, so control of Congress comes down to a few competitive "battleground" seats. Experts track these to predict overall results; if a party wins seats they were expected to lose, it often signals a successful night. In the charts below, blue shapes on the right signal a good night for the Democrats, and red shapes on the left signal that the Republicans have done well.
- Lead
- Hold
- Flip
- No votes counted
- Lead
- Hold
- Flip
- No votes counted
Senate
See full resultsBefore the election, the Cook Report classified six Senate races as genuine "toss-ups". The Democrats need to win at least three of these, alongside the other races they are expected to win.
Likely DemocratLikely Dem.
Lean DemocratLean Dem.
Toss-upToss-up
Lean RepublicanLean Rep.
Likely RepublicanLikely Rep.
House
See full resultsDemocrats were favoured in enough House seats to take the chamber without winning any of the 18 seats the Cook Political Report classed as “toss-ups”.…
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