Republicans saw a modest gain in House seats on Friday as several closely contested midterm elections were decided in their favor. However, Democrats continue to hold a substantial majority in the chamber, with 19 House seats still undecided.
As of Friday afternoon, the Associated Press had called 254 races for Democrats and 162 for Republicans, an increase from 155 Republican wins reported Thursday. Among the GOP victories announced Friday were wins for Rep. Jeff Hurd in Colorado, Mark Lamb in Arizona, and Anthony Constantino in New York's 21st Congressional District. Constantino secured the seat in upstate New York being vacated by retiring Rep. Elise Stefanik.
Democrats hold leads in approximately half of the remaining undecided races, potentially expanding their current majority further. Several incumbent Republicans remain at risk of being unseated, including Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Ben Finstad (R-Minn.), Scott DesJarlais (R-Tenn.), and Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.).
The campaign for Rep. Lauren Boebert has alleged "unusual voting patterns" in her race against Democrat Eileen Laubacher. A lawyer for Boebert's campaign stated they are investigating these patterns and anticipate the election could proceed to a recount. The campaign noted that ballot returns have been consistently narrowing the margin to under one percentage point.
In the Senate, two races are yet to be called: one in Alaska and another in Mississippi. In Alaska's ranked-choice contest, Democrat Mary Peltola leads incumbent Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan by a narrow margin of 0.3 percentage points, or about 600 votes, with 74% of ballots counted. In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom holds a lead of 0.3 percentage points, approximately 2,500 votes, over incumbent Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, with 97% of ballots tallied.
Senator Hyde-Smith issued a statement on X asserting that the election is not over and her team is monitoring the remaining ballots to ensure the integrity of the process. Nationally, Democrats have secured 54 seats in the Senate, compared to 44 for Republicans.