Republicans are optimistic about securing control of the US House as the count continues | US election 2024

Control of the U.S. House of Representatives hung in the balance as ballot counting entered a fourth day Friday, with more than two dozen House races still to be held and Republicans increasingly convinced they were on course to win the speaker’s hammer.

Success in the chamber would pave the way for a new era of unified Republican governance in Washington after the party stormed into the Senate majority and Americans voted decisively to return Donald Trump to power.

Democrats are still hoping they can win a whisker-thin majority as the only check on Trump’s sprawling second term.

As of Friday morning, House Republicans led 211-199, according to the Associated Press, with 25 races outstanding. Many are in California and other western states, where counting can take many days, especially in close races. It took more than a week to run for the 2022 midterm elections for Congress.

On Thursday night, Republican Congresswoman Young Kim was named the winner in a competitive district in California. Earlier in the day, Republicans flipped two House seats in Pennsylvania after Ryan Mackenzie defeated incumbent Democratic Congresswoman Susan Wild and Robert Bresnahan unseated Democratic Congressman Matt Cartwright.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, Pennsylvania Republican David McCormick ousted three-term Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, according to a call from The Associated Press on Thursday. The victory brings the Republican majority in the chamber to 53, with two races outstanding.

All 435 members of the House faced re-election, with Republicans looking to expand their narrow majority after two chaotic years in power.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson was re-elected to a fifth term and announced in a letter Wednesday afternoon that he would run for re-election as speaker. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise is also running for re-election.

Elise Stefanik, another loyal Trump ally and the highest-ranking woman among House Republicans, won a sixth term in New York, where Democrats have flipped three Republican seats.

Scalise outlined the priorities for the Trump administration’s first 100 days, including measures to “secure the border” and end the pause on LNG exports. “(Trump) can begin to get our economy back on track by cutting certain regulations and making the administrative state more efficient,” he said in a separate letter of support.

Scalise said House Republicans would “lock in” tax cuts, “unleash American energy,” increase energy exploration and production and undo unspecified Democratic policies put in place through the Inflation Reduction Act. The new administration would also “throw resources” to the southern border to build the “Trump border wall,” he added, while increasing border patrols to “stop the flow of illegal immigration.”

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, meanwhile, argued that “the House remains very much in play.” The path to victory for Democrats was in seats in Arizona, Oregon, Iowa and California, he said.

“The party that will have the majority in the House of Representatives in January 2025 has not yet been determined. We have to make every vote count,” Jeffries said.

In an election characterized by intense Republicans anti-transgender rhetoricDelaware voters elected the first trans member of Congress, Democrat Sarah McBride, 34.

So far, both Democrats and Republicans have gained seats due to redistricting, the process of adjusting district lines to keep pace with population changes, with Alabama Democrat Shomari Figures winning a district that had been redrawn to ensure fair representation for black voters, while North Carolina Republicans flipped three districts that had been redrawn by the Republican-controlled state legislature.

Democrats also flipped two New York state seats, with Democrat Josh Riley, an attorney, beating Republican incumbent Marc Molinaro, and John Mannion, a Democratic state senator, defeating New York state Republican incumbent Brandon Williams.

Ten of the most contested House races are in California, where Democrats need to flip at least one Republican seat to secure a majority, according to the Associated Press.

Without control of the House, Trump, the winner of the presidential election, will face significant obstacles in implementing its legislative agenda. Election forecasts suggest that both parties could end up with a majority of just a few seats, which could recreate some of the problems of the 118th Congress.

Read more about the Guardian’s 2024 US election coverage