Republicans have won enough seats to retain control of the House of Representatives, ABC News projects, securing a unified GOP government in Washington.
Republicans are projected to reach the 218-seat limit in the House and Republicans have also picked up at least 52 seats in the Senate, with Pennsylvania Democrat Bob Casey trailing Republican Dave McCormick with a large number of votes to count.
Each party eventually saw incumbents lose tough House districts, but in the end, Democrats were unable to take advantage of a map that put 17 Republicans up for re-election in the president’s districts. Joe Biden won in 2020.
Ahead of the projection, Republicans were claiming victory Tuesday, and Republican House leaders vowed to work quickly with the president-elect. Donald Trump after opening in January.
“This leadership will step up to deliver President Trump’s agenda in the 119th Congress, and we will work closely with him and his administration to turn this country around and, as he says, unleash a new golden age in America,” said spokesman Mike. Johnson, R-La., said at a press conference on the Capitol steps.
With a Senate map heavily favoring Republicans, the House majority was the central question in Congress for much of the 2024 election cycle.
Several first-term Republicans from purple districts were running for their first elections — in a presidential year, the White House margin would play a big role in helping determine winners in down-ballot contests. Democrats had several members running in pro-Trump territory, though many were battle-tested during their re-election efforts.
In the end, both sides saw successes and failures, although once the race is over, the Republican lead is expected to be narrow once again.
Republicans like Reps. Mike Lawler of New York and Reps. David Valadao of California won elections in narrow districts — Democrats lost — but fell to Reps. Anthony D’Esposito of Long Island and Reps. Mike Garcia of Los Angeles.
Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of rural Washington and Jared Golden of rural Maine won hard-fought races again — stealing top picks from Republicans — while Reps. Matt Cartwright and Susan Wilds of Pennsylvania lost seats as Trump took their state.
However, by the slim margin expected, Republicans will once again be forced to reckon with the same internal divisions that plagued their control of the current Congress: it took the party more than a dozen rounds of voting to elect Kevin McCarthy as Speaker, alone. Launching a few months later and then enduring another grueling process to ultimately deliver the Johnson mat.
However, through it all, Johnson has held onto the speaker.
Trump said on Wednesday that he is “with him all the way”, an endorsement that also prevails among Johnson’s critics.
Now, Republicans will gather around what kind of legislation they want to push.
The top priority is to extend the tax cuts that Trump passed in his first term but expire next year. The House is also likely to seek to pass tougher border enforcement measures, although crafting legislation that can overcome Senate filibuster may be a challenge.
The focus will almost immediately be on whether the Republicans can retain their majority in 2026.
The party that historically controls the White House does poorly in midterm elections — though Democrats did well in 2022 — and with a margin expected to be in the single digits, Republicans will be on the defensive in two years.
