At dawn on November 4, Congress is in Democratic hands: 54 Senate seats and 228 House seats, according to the morning tally

The United States woke up on Wednesday, November 4, with the map of Congress essentially settled: Democrats will control both chambers when the new Congress takes office in January, according to the results tally released in the morning, based on projections from media outlets working with Associated Press data.

In the Senate, the Democratic bloc — including two independent senators who vote with that bloc — held 54 seats against 44 Republicans, with two races still uncalled: Alaska, where Republican Dan Sullivan faces Democrat Mary Peltola, and Mississippi, where Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith faces Democrat Scott Colom. A majority in that chamber is 51 seats.

In the House of Representatives, the morning projections gave Democrats 228 seats and Republicans 139, with 68 districts still to be decided; since a majority is 218, the change of control is already irreversible. The AP, for its part, had already called 222 Democratic seats in its own count, which updates at a different pace.

The Senate flip was built on seven seats taken from Republicans: Texas, with James Talarico over Ken Paxton; Kansas, with Adam Hamilton over Roger Marshall; Iowa, with Josh Turek over Ashley Hinson; Maine, with Troy Jackson over Susan Collins; Ohio, with Sherrod Brown over Jon Husted; North Carolina, with Roy Cooper over Michael Whatley; and South Carolina, with Annie Andrews over Darline Graham.

Democrats also held key seats, such as Georgia, with the re-election of Jon Ossoff; Michigan, with Abdul El-Sayed; and New Hampshire, with Chris Pappas. In governors’ races, the aggregate count showed 28 states under Democratic control and 20 under Republican control, with two races pending.

These are projections, not official certifications: the final results will be confirmed in the coming weeks, as election authorities complete the count. President Donald Trump, according to election-night coverage, said he will accept the results and noted that he retains the veto power over laws passed by the new Congress.

Photo: Archivo A Lo Claro

Source: DSN and Associated Press