Republicans have secured a narrow majority in the House of Representatives, according to a projection from DecisionDeskHQ, ending the uniform Democratic control of Congress.
The outcome was projected by DecisionDeskHQ on Tuesday, one week after the midterm election. While some races are yet to be decided, the Republican Party has met the 218-seat threshold needed for the majority.
The Republican victory will also end the speakership of Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA), who has served as the second in the presidential line of succession since Democrats took control of the House in the 2018 midterm elections. On Tuesday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) secured a key hurdle to becoming speaker of the House, but will still need to overcome opposition from within the GOP to be elected outright. According to Roll Call, several dozen Republicans backed Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), who made a last-minute challenge to be the GOP leader instead of McCarthy.
Republicans were expected to sweep in the House, but following a series of unexpected losses in tight races across the country, the margin of victory is down to just a few seats.
Republicans campaigned on the state of the economy, inflation, gas prices, against the record numbers of migrants crossing the southern border, and against “woke” leftist policies impacting the nation’s schools.
FiveThirtyEight estimated in the days ahead of the election that Republicans had an 85% chance of taking over the chamber — though many believed it would be by a significantly larger margin.
Historically, midterm elections have fared poorly for the party in power. In 2010, in the second year of President Barack Obama’s term, the Republican Party swept with 242 House seats against the Democrats’ 193 seats. In 2018, following the election of President Donald Trump, Democrats gained 40 seats — though the number may have been larger than otherwise expected due to a high number of Republicans retiring.
The GOP’s narrow win will lead to some changes in the next year. Republicans have already vowed to investigate Dr. Anthony Fauci if the party won a majority. Others have also campaigned with the goal of investigating Hunter Biden, the president’s son.