Republicans likely will retain control of the House of Representatives, giving the party control of both chambers of Congress and the presidency, according to The Cook Political Report.
President-elect Donald Trump won the Electoral College and the popular vote in Tuesday's Election Day race against Vice President Kamala Harris, and Republicans were guaranteed a majority in the U.S. Senate despite several races remaining undecided.
"If we hold the House, we will hit the ground running on budget reconciliation — the best vehicle to jump start the economy and help secure the border,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., posted Wednesday morning on X.
Republicans won control of the Senate with victories in Montana, Ohio and West Virginia. As of early Wednesday afternoon, races in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada remained undecided.
Republicans David McCormick and Sam Brown held slim leads in Pennsylvania and Nevada, respectively, while Democrats Elissa Slotkin and Ruben Gallego were ahead in Michigan and Arizona, respectively, according to Decision Desk HQ.
The GOP was set to hold a majority of at least 52-48 in the Senate and had added three seats to their 220-212 House majority, though with 31 of the 435 races yet uncalled.
If Republicans ultimately prevail in the House, they would be in a position to dictate the agenda in Washington, D.C., helping Trump deliver on his promise to slash taxes and restrict immigration, for at least the next two years until the 2026 midterm elections.
The results also ensured Republicans in the Senate would be able to help Trump appoint conservative judges and other government personnel.
Republican Tim Sheehy unseated Democrat Senator Jon Tester in Montana and Republican West Virginia Governor Jim Justice won an open Senate seat in the state shortly after polls closed, taking over the seat previously held by Joe Manchin, a Democrat-turned-independent. In Ohio, Republican Bernie Moreno was projected to defeat third-term incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown.
Regardless, Republicans will not secure the 60-vote majority needed to advance most legislation in the chamber.
The Senate was set to see two Black women serving simultaneously for the first time, as Democrat Lisa Blunt Rochester won in Delaware, and Democrat Angela Alsobrooks won in Maryland.
Republicans also won several races that could allow them to expand their House majority, though the final outcome may not be known for days.
They won a Democrat-held district in Pennsylvania that includes Scranton, President Joe Biden's hometown, and picked up seats from Democrats in North Carolina, where they had redrawn district lines to their advantage, with another victory in Michigan.
Democrats won a Republican-held seat in upstate New York and a seat in Alabama that had been redrawn to comply with a Supreme Court order to create a Black majority district.
Democrats now need to flip at least seven seats to take control of the 435-seat chamber. But their opportunities to do so were gradually diminishing, as Republican incumbents won competitive reelection races in Colorado, Iowa, New Jersey and Virginia.
In Delaware, voters made history by electing Democrat Sarah McBride, the first openly transgender member of Congress.
With at least 200 seats safe for each party, the winning side will likely end up with a narrow majority that could make governing difficult. That has been evident in the past two years as Republican infighting has led to failed votes and leadership turmoil and undercut the party's efforts to cut spending and tighten immigration.
Tight races in the heavily Democrat states of New York and California could determine House control, and California typically takes several days to count its ballots.
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