Voters in hundreds of congressional districts are deciding whether Democrats or Republicans will control both houses in January, and whether the next president will get a unified legislature or bureaucratic gridlock.
The US Congress is divided into the 435-seat House of Representatives, all of which will be up for re-election this year, and the 100-member Senate, where 34 seats are up for grabs this year.
Like the presidential election, the outcome of the congressional election looks close: Republicans have a good chance of regaining control of the Senate from Democrats, but the prospect of control of the House of Representatives is very uncertain.
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Democrats hold a slim 51-49 majority in the Senate, but Republicans are almost certain to take over retiring moderate Joe Manchin’s West Virginia seat and need just one more victory to regain control of the chamber after four years in the minority.
Their main targets are Montana, Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
Democrats hope to trim losses with wins in Texas and Florida.
If Republicans win all of these races, they will have 55 of the 100 seats, which would give them enormous power to block Kamala Harris’ policies and many of her appointments if she defeats Donald Trump.
According to the University of Virginia Center for Politics, 52 seats could go to Republicans and 48 to Democrats.
Independent political finance watchdog OpenSecrets reports that $10 billion has been spent on congressional candidates this time around. dollars (9.16 billion euros) – slightly less than in 2020. However, this is almost twice as much as 5.5 billion. dollars (5 billion euros) thrown into the race for the White House.
The Senate approves contracts and certain presidential appointments, and all bills requiring funds must go before the House of Representatives. Who will win the majority in this House of Congress could be determined in a matter of days, with tight races expected in New York and California.
Democrats are now in the minority, but control of the House of Representatives seems a fairly realistic goal for them.
“The race for control of the U.S. House of Representatives remains as close as ever,” said analysts at the Cook Political Report.
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Source: www.15min.lt
