(NewsNation) — Tuesday’s midterm elections gave America results from key races such as Democrat John Fetterman’s Senate win in Pennsylvania and Republican Ted Budd’s Senate win in North Carolina, both of which will go a long way in deciding the control of power in Washington.
Yet Tuesday’s results did not yield a final answer as to who will leave election season with control of the House and Senate, as a handful of pivotal races remain uncalled Wednesday night.
Senate races in Nevada, Arizona and Georgia all remain uncalled in a fight for the Senate in which Democrats currently hold 48 seats and Republicans hold 49. Whichever party wins two of the three remaining Senate races will control the Senate.
Nevada Senate
Incumbent Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto was trailing Republican Adam Laxalt on Wednesday night, with large tranches of ballots still to be counted in Clark and Washoe counties. Clark is home to Las Vegas, while Washoe County in the northwestern part of the state is home to Reno. Cortez Masto will need to run up margins in Clark County, a Democratic stronghold, in the remaining ballots to retain her seat.
Laxalt, who had former President Donald Trump’s endorsement, has denied the results of the 2020 presidential election and lost the state governor’s race in 2018. Cortez Masto became the state’s first female and Latina senator in 2018 when she won by 27,000 votes against Joe Heck.
Arizona Senate
Incumbent Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly and Republican challenger Blake Masters are mired in a tight race that has yet to be called because of an influx of mail-in ballots still being tabulated in Maricopa County. State officials have said it will likely take until at least Friday to have almost all of the ballots counted.
Kelly, a former astronaut, held a 51% to 46% lead over Masters on Wednesday night.
Maricopa County officials told NewsNation’s Robert Sherman on Wednesday night that they had counted 62,000 ballots and expected to count another 400,000 to 410,000 early mail-in ballots.
Decision Desk HQ’s Scott Tranter told NewsNation they expect the votes in Maricopa County to swing in Kelly’s favor, but uncounted votes in rural counties will likely go to Masters.
Georgia Senate
Georgia’s Senate race between Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker will go to a runoff Dec. 6, as neither candidate was able to secure 50% of the vote Tuesday night.
Walker ran well behind the performance of Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who beat Stacey Abrams in a 2018 rematch with 54% of the vote. Walker was endorsed by Trump, but his campaign was seemingly shunted by his unfavorability among voters.
Warnock was elected to the Senate in a runoff in 2021, too, and beat out then-incumbent Sen. Kelly Loeffler. The election was to fill the remainder of former Sen. Johnny Isakson’s term, which is why Warnock is running again this year.
House races
Republicans expected to secure big wins in the House, anticipating a “red wave” would sweep across the nation on election night and win them control of the House. No such wave appeared and as of Wednesday night, neither party had secured a House majority.
However, there were 36 House races still not called and Republicans only need to win eight of them to obtain a majority. Tight House races remain uncalled in California, Colorado, New York, Nevada and Washington.
Mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day in California can be counted through Nov. 15, meaning it likely won’t be until next week before some races can be called.
California House
In California’s 13th House District, Republican John Duarte holds a narrow lead over Democrat Adam Gray with 42% of votes counted. Both are running for Congress for the first time to fill the seat of Barbara Lee, who ran in the 12th Congressional District following reapportionment.
In California’s 22nd House District, incumbent Republican David Valadao is fending off a challenge from Democrat Rudy Salas. Valadao currently serves in the 21st District but moved to the 22nd following redistricting. The old 22nd District was once held by Devin Nunes, who resigned from Congress at the beginning of the year to lead a media and technology company founded by Donald Trump.
Democrat Julia Brownley is looking to hold on to her seat in California’s 26th House District against Republican Matt Jacobs. Brownley was first elected to the post in 2012, while Jacobs is making his first run for office.
Washington House
Two tight House races remain uncalled in Washington.
In the 8th Congressional District, incumbent Democrat Kim Schrier was ahead of Republican Matt Larkin 53% to 47% Wednesday night. Schrier became the first Democrat to represent the district in 2018, and won reelection in 2020. Larkin was the 2020 Republican nominee for Washington attorney general.
Meanwhile, in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, Democrat Marie Perez and Republican Joe Kent are squaring off for the seat formerly held by Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, a Republican who voted to impeach Trump. Kent was endorsed by Trump.
Nevada House
Incumbent Democrat Suzanne Lee was trying to hold on against Republican April Becker in the 3rd Congressional District. Republicans view this as a prime pick-up opportunity. It’s been held by a Democrat since 2016.
In the 4th Congressional District, incumbent Democrat Steven Horsford is facing Republican Sam Peters. The district includes most of northern Clark County and central portions of the state. Peters has questioned election integrity in the state.
Colorado House
Republican incumbent Lauren Boebert, a firebrand conservative, is in a neck-and-neck contest with Democrat Adam Frisch in the 3rd Congressional District. Boebert is a 2020 election denier, and Frisch is a former Aspen city councilman.
New York House
In New York’s 22nd Congressional District, Brandon Williams is looking to keep the seat in Republican hands against Democrat Francis Conole. John Katko is a moderate who formerly held the seat and outperformed in 2016 and 2020.
In the 19th Congressional District, Republican Marcus Molinaro and Democrat Josh Riley are vying to represent the central part of the state. Molinaro lost a special House election in August.
In the 18th Congressional District, incumbent Democrat Pat Ryan held a slim lead over Republican Colin Schmitt on Wednesday night. Ryan scored an upset victory in an August special election for the 19th District. Schmitt is a state assemblyman.
