(NEXSTAR) – While the race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris is taking up a sizable share of the spotlight, down-ballot races are influencing who wields legislative power next year.
Control of Congress in the House of Representatives and Senate was hanging in the balance with this election. Every single seat in the House was up for grabs in 2024 as were 34 Senate seats.
In the current Congress, Republicans have control of the House and Democrats hold the Senate – but each by an extremely slim margin. And that could change when new members are sworn in next year.
As races around the country are called, the interactive tracker below will show which party is gaining more seats.
As of midnight Eastern Time, Republicans had more House seats called in their column, and were marching closer toward a House majority. However, nearly 100 races were yet to be called.
Control of the House is expected to come down to the wire. Fourteen incumbent Republicans are considered to be in "toss-up" races, The Hill reported about a week out from Election Day. Eleven House Democrats find themselves in the same position. A lot of attention is also on a handful of completely open seats created by redistricting and retirements.
Republicans will take a majority in the Senate, flipping the legislative body into their control, according to multiple election projections.
As races around the country are called, the interactive tracker below will show which party is gaining more seats:
The Senate map this year was favorable to Republicans, analysts said. Republicans only needed to pick up two seats to capture a surefire majority, and one of those — West Virginia — was called for Republican Jim Justice shortly after polls in the state closed.
Later Tuesday night, when Decision Desk HQ on NewsNation called more key Senate races for Republicans. Incumbent Ted Cruz was projected to hold his seat in Texas (over Democratic challenger Colin Allred) and challenger Bernie Moreno defeated Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown in Ohio. Those two defeats officially killed Democrats' hope of maintaining control of the Senate.
Close races in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Montana or Nevada were yet to be called as of midnight Eastern Time.
Both parties have dumped a lot of money into just a handful of Senate races in attempts to gain control of the body. In three races alone — Ohio, Pennsylvania and Montana — more than $1 billion is projected to be spent by Nov. 5.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
