NBC Chicago’s Mary Ann Ahern offers key political takeaways from a historic election week as President-elect Donald Trump has secured a second term in the White House.
With Republicans poised to take control of the White House and Senate in January, all eyes turn toward the House of Representatives as several key races remain uncalled.
According to the latest calculations by NBC News, a total of 19 races in the U.S. have not been called, with Republicans holding a 212-204 lead in the race for 218 seats.
That number would secure a majority for Republicans in the House, giving them control of both houses of Congress and the presidency.
Here’s where things stand as of Saturday morning.
U.S. House
Of the 19 races that remain uncalled by NBC News, there are 12 that ultimately are key to Republicans’ efforts to take control of the House.
Local
As things stand, Republicans lead in eight of those 12 races, including in Iowa’s 1st district, Arizona’s 6th district and California’s 45th district.
While Democrats have successfully flipped five seats during this election cycle, Republicans have flipped six, and as they entered the election with a slim majority, they are potentially working to at least retain that advantage, or to build upon it.
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Republicans are guaranteed to win at least one of the 12 races being followed by NBC News, as both candidates in Washington’s 4th district are members of the GOP.
U.S. Senate
Republicans have successfully flipped Senate seats in Montana (Tim Sheehy), Ohio (Bernie Moreno) and West Virginia (Jim Justice), and are potentially aiming for a fourth if Dave McCormick can hold off Sen. Bob Casey in Pennsylvania.
Those results guarantee the Republicans to take control of the Senate, with Democrats successfully holding seats in Wisconsin, Michigan and Virginia.
There are two Senate races that have not been called, including Casey’s race in Pennsylvania and a race for an open Senate seat in Arizona, where Democratic candidate Ruben Gallego leads Kari Lake.
In the most recent call, Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen managed to stave off a challenge from Republican Sam Brown in Nevada.
Presidency
President-elect Donald Trump has managed to flip five states in the 2024 election, winning in Nevada, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin over Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump could still flip a sixth state as well, with Arizona remaining too close to call. Arizona is also the only state that has not been called during the 2024 election cycle.
If Trump wins Arizona’s Electoral College votes, he will eclipse his 2016 vote total, where he collected 304 votes. Winning Arizona would put him at 312 votes to Harris’ 226.
