We tracked the undecided races of the 2024 election

Republicans are on track to have a narrow 220-215 majority in the House.

Last Updated: November 27, 2024, 2:30 PM EST

We found out that President-elect Donald Trump had won the White House late on election night, but several downballot races across the country took weeks to be resolved. 538 reporters, analysts and contributors tracked all the late-breaking races as they were projected with live updates, analysis and commentary.

When the dust settled, Republicans won a 53-47 majority in the Senate, and the GOP looks like they’ll finish with a narrow 220-215 majority in the House. Other important races, from ballot measures to state Supreme Court elections, also went to recounts.

Read our full live blog of the post-Election Day count below.

Geoffrey Skelley Image
Nov 13, 2024, 2:46 PM EST

The House will remain in Republican hands

PHOTO: (R) Key Race Projected
ABC News

ABC News reports that Republicans are projected to have at least 218 seats in the next U.S. House of Representatives. Projections for GOP victories in Arizona's 6th District and California's 41st District have ensured that Republicans will have an edge — at least before Trump's initial Cabinet selections create openings in the House that will have to be filled by special elections in 2025. Overall, we have projections in 426 of 435 seats, with Republicans holding a 218-to-208 edge. As things stand, Democrats lead in five of the remaining nine unprojected contests, so it's possible that a 222-to-213 Republican majority — the same one they won in the 2022 midterms — is the most likely outcome at this point.

Nathaniel Rakich Image
Nov 13, 2024, 1:08 PM EST

How did state legislative races shake out?

The 2024 election was big not just for control of the federal government, but also various state governments. Before the election, Cooper identified 10 state legislative chambers that were in danger of flipping control. How did those elections turn out?

Generally speaking, pretty well for Republicans. The GOP expanded their majorities in the New Hampshire state Senate and state House, giving them a workable trifecta when paired with Republican Gov.-elect Kelly Ayotte. (Republicans technically had a trifecta in New Hampshire before too, but their majority in the state House was so narrow they had trouble getting things done.) They also expanded their majorities in the Arizona state Senate and House and kept control of the Wisconsin Assembly under a newly un-gerrymandered map, although Democrats whittled the GOP majority down to 54-45. But their biggest win was flipping control of the Michigan state House, breaking the Democratic trifecta there.

Democrats had some victories too, though. They retained their uber-narrow 102-101 majority in the Pennsylvania state House, even as Trump was carrying the state. They won the special election that determined control of the Minnesota state Senate, albeit by a too-close-for-comfort margin of 52% to 48%. And a group of Democrats, independents and moderate Republicans announced they would form a coalition to govern the Alaska state House, replacing a Republican-dominated coalition.

One state legislative chamber remains unresolved: the Minnesota state House. According to the AP, Republicans have won 67 seats, Democrats have won 65 seats and two seats (House Districts 14B and 54A) are heading for recounts. Currently, Democrats lead in House District 14B by 191 votes, and in House District 54A by just 14 votes. If Democrats hold onto both leads, the chamber would be tied, and the two parties would have to hammer out a power-sharing agreement. If Republicans win just one, they would obviously win a majority. Either way, though, Democrats will lose full control over Minnesota state government.

Jacob Rubashkin Image
Nov 13, 2024, 11:03 AM EST

Valadao survives again in California's 22nd District

PHOTO: (R) Key Race Projected
ABC News

California Republican Rep. David Valadao has ground out another tough victory in the Central Valley's 22nd District, where ABC News reports he is projected to win another term. Valadao faced a rematch with former state Assemblyman Rudy Salas, whom he beat by 3 points in 2022.

Big political shifts in the heavily Hispanic district likely helped Valadao exceed that mark this time: He currently leads by about 6 points, 53% to 47%, and while Biden would have carried this district by double digits in 2020, Trump probably came close to winning it this year (or won it outright!). With this victory, Valadao is one of just two of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump to remain in the House. The other is Dan Newhouse of Washington.

Tia Yang Image
Nov 13, 2024, 10:48 AM EST

Another Democratic hold in California

ABC News also reports that in California's 47th District, Democratic state Sen. Dave Min is projected to defeat Republican Scott Baugh, a former minority leader in the state House. With 88% of the expected vote reporting, Min leads by just under 2 percentage points. Like Levin's seat next door, the Orange County-based 47th is located in relatively blue territory. (Biden won both districts by around 11 points in 2020, but the 47th was seen as a GOP pickup target after incumbent Democratic Rep. Katie Porter chose to run for U.S. Senate instead of seeking reelection.) Min, a Korean American, will represent a district whose population is more than one-quarter Asian. Democrats are now up to 208 seats in the House.

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