Why Hasn’t the Control of Congress Been Called Yet?

What’s the story? 

• The Associated Press (AP) hasn’t yet called which party controls Congress. The news company can’t make the call until one party has 218 seats in the House or enough required to control the Senate — 50 for Democrats and 51 for Republicans. 
• If Democrats keep their 50 seats, they will remain in control of the Senate because of Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote. 
• It’s unclear when AP will be able to call the control of Congress as it doesn’t make race predictions like other organizations. AP can only declare a winner when it’s certain that a trailing candidate will not be able to get ahead. 

What has AP already called? 

• As of Thursday afternoon, AP has declared 186 House seats to Democrats and 209 to Republicans, and 48 Senate seats to Democrats and 49 to Republicans. 

• The upcoming calls will determine whether Democrats keep their tight majority in the House and Senate or if Republicans will seize control of either, or both, chambers of Congress. 

What are we waiting on?

• Critical races in Georgia, Nevada, and Arizona still need to be called, which will determine the majority of the House and Senate. 
• The Georgia election will have a runoff on Dec. 6 between Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker, as neither candidate received 50% of the vote. 

How do you feel about the incoming results of the midterms?

-Jamie Epstein