We tracked the undecided races of the 2024 election

Amazingly, it has been more than three weeks since Election Day, and a handful of races are still unresolved — but with Thanksgiving break upon us, we're wrapping up our coverage on this live blog. Here's where things stand:

In the U.S. House, there are still three races without a projected winner, but we have a pretty good idea at this point who's favored. Democrats lead in California's 13th and 45th districts, and it's unlikely (though not impossible) that Republicans will catch up based on how many ballots are left to count. Meanwhile, election officials are currently wrapping up a recount in Iowa's 1st District, but it isn't expected to reverse Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks's lead.

If these races all end up the way we expect them to, Republicans will have won just 220 House seats to Democrats' 215 — a very narrow majority that will make it hard for Speaker Mike Johnson to get things done.

A handful other interesting races are still subject to recounts or court challenges, but they could take weeks to resolve. In North Carolina, Democrat Allison Riggs leads Republican Jefferson Griffin by 722 votes for a seat on the state Supreme Court; the recount for that seat is expected to wrap up today. In Minnesota, the state House is on track to be tied 67-67 assuming Democrats hold onto their leads in two close districts, but Republicans have vowed to challenge the results in court. And two state ballot measures appear up in the air: Alaska voters apparently voted to keep ranked-choice voting, and Missourians apparently voted to legalize sports betting, but recounts could be requested in both cases.

Thank you for following the results along with us all month long! We'll be back after Thanksgiving with more analysis of the historic 2024 election and coverage of the incoming administration.

The super tight 13th District race in California between Republican Rep. John Duarte and Democrat Adam Gray saw a critical update yesterday evening, as newly processed votes gave Gray the slimmest of leads. Gray's home turf of Merced County added around 2,400 votes to its tally, a batch that Gray won about 57%-43%. That was enough to spring the Democrat into a lead of around 100 raw votes district-wide — his first lead in the contest since election night. A few smaller updates from other places in the district brought Gray's overall lead to 182 votes (50.04% to 49.96%) at the end of the night.

There are now very few unprocessed ballots remaining in the 13th District — maybe 1,000 at most — although perhaps a couple thousand votes that need signature cures to count are also outstanding. It ain't over until it's over, though, and a race this close could precipitate a recount.

Last night, Orange County reported 354 more votes in California's 45th District, and Democrat Derek Tran's lead over Republican Rep. Michelle Steel expanded from 545 votes to 581 votes. While that lead isn't overwhelming, Steel needs to start making up ground pronto: As California elections analyst Rob Pyers noted, Tran has gained ground in every vote update in the district since 1:20 a.m. Pacific on Nov. 6.

Although there are over 30,000 ballots left to process in Los Angeles and Orange counties, only a small fraction of each county is in California's 45th, so I estimate that there are only about 3,000 unprocessed ballots left in the district. Both counties are expected to release more results tonight, and if Steel doesn't start to turn things around, this race could be projected for Tran fairly soon.

Yesterday, election officials in Minnesota conducted a partial recount of Minnesota state House District 14B, one of two unprojected races that will determine control of the chamber. It barely changed the result: Democratic state Rep. Dan Wolgamott's lead went from 191 votes to 190 votes. The AP has not yet declared a winner in the district, but there doesn't appear to be anything in the way of Wolgamott being certified as the winner next month.

Last week, a recount similarly upheld Democrats' considerably narrower lead in state House District 54A, but we may not have heard the last of this district. The Republican candidate is expected to file a court challenge this week over the result — specifically, about 20 absentee ballots that aren't accounted for.

If Democrats win both districts, as expected, the Minnesota state House would be tied with 67 Democrats and 67 Republicans, forcing the two parties to share power. Under this scenario, each committee would have co-chairs — one Democrat and one Republican — but it is unclear who would serve as speaker.