Dozens of races for the United States House of Representatives remain uncalled on Thursday, two days after Democrats won control of the chamber in the midterm elections, leaving the final size of their majority still to be settled.
According to 270toWin, 36 races remained uncalled by Decision Desk HQ as of Thursday morning. Another tracker put the figure at 68 House races still uncalled as of midday Wednesday, according to NewsNation. The Associated Press, which calls races on its own data, had Democrats on 235 seats won and leading in 26 more, with Republicans on 146 won and leading in 28.
NBC News projected Democrats gaining 28 seats for a total of 258, compared with 177 for Republicans. That projection will move as the remaining races are called, and the final margin may shift in either direction.
California holds the key
Several of the uncalled races are in California, where counting traditionally takes longer because of the volume of postal ballots. In California’s 11th district, Democrats are guaranteed to keep the seat, with the winner set to succeed former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, according to 270toWin.
In California’s 4th district, Democrats are also guaranteed to keep the seat, although whether incumbent Mike Thompson keeps his job remains to be decided. As of Thursday morning, Democrats had flipped five of ten Republican-held seats in the state, with the remaining five still uncalled.
Why the wait matters
The new Congress does not take over immediately. Democrats will gain full control in January, so Republicans remain in charge until then, according to NewsNation. But the size of the Democratic majority will shape how much room Speaker-in-waiting Hakeem Jeffries has to manage his caucus.
A larger majority gives the leadership more room to lose votes on difficult bills. A narrower one makes every member’s vote count. Until the last races are called, neither party can be sure exactly how much room it will have.
