House balance of power: GOP keeps majority

WASHINGTON - Republicans will keep their majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Associated Press projected Wednesday.

That means Republicans will have full control of Congress and the White House, giving them their best shot yet to make big moves on immigration and tax cuts. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a key Trump ally, has promised to support this "America First" vision, while Senate Republicans, now led by Sen. John Thune, are prepared to confirm Trump’s cabinet appointments, including Rep. Matt Gaetz as attorney general and Fox News host Pete Hegseth as defense secretary.

Despite the Republican majority, the GOP faces challenges with narrow margins in both chambers, potentially complicating efforts to pass controversial proposals. 

Moderate Republicans may resist some initiatives, while Democrats, led by Hakeem Jeffries in the House, are expected to oppose Trump’s policies as a unified bloc. Trump’s team, however, is pushing for swift action, emphasizing the need to streamline government and reduce spending, setting a goal to achieve a "leaner, more efficient government" by the nation’s 250th Independence Day in 2026.

House of Representatives election results map

Republicans' agenda

According to The Hill, House Speaker Mike Johnson has been planning for full GOP control – he’s got a conservative economic agenda ready to move through the House, Senate and White House. 

Republicans are expected to renew the Trump tax breaks that expire at the end of 2025. President-elect Donald Trump also supports lowering the corporate tax rate. 

But border security will likely be at the top of the list, observers say, and Trump’s plans to deport millions of undocumented migrants on Day 1 of his new term will likely be boosted by the support of both chambers. 

Another area where Republicans could have a big impact is judicial appointments, NPR reports. A couple of current conservative Supreme Court justices are expected to retire if Trump wins. With a Republican Senate, Trump can keep a conservative majority on the Supreme Court and appoint more judges to the federal bench. 

The one issue where Trump could clash with fellow Republicans is tariffs. According to NPR, not all Republicans support Trump’s call for aggressive global tariffs, which economists say would raise consumer prices in the U.S.  

Trump has said he could take action on tariffs without Congress, NPR reports. 

Republicans have controlled the House since 2022. 

Top House race results

Alaska: Mary Peltola v. Nick Begich

Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola, the incumbent, was running against Republican Nick Begich for Alaska’s only House seat. The GOP was trying to reclaim the seat that Republican Rep. Don Young held for 49 years before his death in 2022.

Peltola, who is Yup’ik, won special and regular elections for the seat that year and became the first Alaska Native in Congress. Begich, who has been endorsed in this race by former President Donald Trump, was among the opponents Peltola defeated in 2022.

Peltola has tried to distance herself from presidential politics, declining to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris, while also saying she is not voting for Trump. 

California: Adam Gray v. John Duarte

In California’s 13th District, Republican Rep. John Duarte was facing Adam Gray, the Democrat he defeated two years ago by one of the closest margins in the country, 564 votes. Duarte often is listed among the House’s most vulnerable Republicans, given that narrow victory.

Both candidates stressed bipartisan credentials.

California has 52 House seats — more than any other state — and 10 are considered in play. About half of those are viewed as toss-ups.  Overall, Republicans hold just 12 of the state’s House seats, but Republicans retain pockets of strength and picked up four House seats in 2020.

California: Rudy Salas v. David Valadao

GOP Rep. David Valadao and Democrat Rudy Salas were running to represent California’s 22nd District in the Central Valley. 

Democrats hold a 14-point registration edge over Republicans, but Valadao has kept a grip on the seat. He held the district from 2013 until January 2019, lost the seat for a term, then won it back in a 2020 rematch with Democrat T.J. Cox. 

Valadao stressed his efforts to secure more water for farmers and willingness to work across the aisle, while depicting Salas as a tax-and-spend Democrat. Salas, considered a moderate, depicted Valadao as a Trump follower posing as a centrist. In Congress, he says, he would fight for lower drug prices, expanded health care and clean drinking water, which remains a chronic problem in some rural communities.

California: George Whitesides v. Mike Garcia

Republican Rep. Mike Garcia, the incumbent, was running against Democrat George Whitesides in the race for California’s once-conservative 27th District. 

The last Republican congressman anchored in heavily Democratic Los Angeles County, Garcia, a former Navy pilot who flew more than 30 combat missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom, has displayed a surprising ability to beat the odds in a district with an 11-point Democratic registration edge. He is being challenged by Democrat George Whitesides, a former NASA chief of staff and a former CEO of Virgin Galactic. 

California: Will Rollins v. Ken Calvert

GOP Rep. Ken Calvert, the incumbent, and Democrat Will Rollins were in a rematch for California’s 41st District, which is about equally divided between Republicans and Democrats. 

Calvert is the longest-serving Republican in California’s congressional delegation, having been first elected in 1992. Two years ago he held off Rollins, a former federal prosecutor, by about 5 percentage points, and Rollins is back for another try.

National Republicans called Rollins an "extreme liberal." Calvert brings the advantages of incumbency, but his conservative credentials and support from Trump could be liabilities in a district that includes many transplanted Los Angeles residents and the city of Palm Springs, which has a large concentration of LGBTQ+ voters. Rollins is gay.

California: Derek Tran v. Michelle Steel

Republican Rep. Michelle Steel, a South Korean immigrant, was seeking a third term in the California 45th District race against  lawyer and worker rights advocate Derek Tran, the son of Vietnamese refugees.

Steel has been outspoken in resisting tax increases and says she stands strongly with Israel in its war with Hamas. She advocates for more police funding and has spotlighted her efforts on domestic violence and sexual abuse.

Tran has warned of Republican threats to abortion rights. Tran also says a Trump return to the White House would put democracy at risk.

California: Dave Min v. Scott Baugh

The race for California’s 47th District, which includes Huntington Beach and other famous surf breaks, was between Democrat Dave Min and Republican Scott Baugh. 

The seat became open after Rep. Katie Porter, who narrowly defeated Bough in 2022, retired to run for US Senate but lost in the primary. Porter abandoning her seat left the door open for a competitive race in an up-for-grabs swing district. 

Baugh, a former Republican Assembly member, was running again, this time against Min, a California state senator. Min ads call Baugh a "MAGA extremist" who would endanger abortion rights. Baugh says Min’s "extreme liberal views" are out of step with the district.

Michigan: Curtis Hertel v. Tom Barrett

Former Democratic state Sen. Curtis Hertel Jr. and another ex-state senator, Republican Tom Barrett, were running for the 7th District in Michigan being vacated by Rep.Elissa Slotkin. Slotkin, a Democrat, is giving up her seat to run for Senate. 

Hertel was recruited by Slotkin to run for the seat. He represented Lansing and East Lansing in the state Legislature from 2015 to 2022 before being term-limited. He briefly served as Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s director of legislative affairs before stepping down from that role on June 30.

Barrett launched his second bid for the seat after losing the district to Slotkin by more than 5 percentage points last year. The 42-year-old Barrett served in the Army for more than two decades before entering politics and representing mid-Michigan in the state Legislature from 2015 to 2022.

Michigan: Kristen McDonald Rivet v. Paul Junge

Democratic state Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet and Republican Paul Junge were running for the 8th District seat in Michigan left open by retiring Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee. Kildee decided not to run for a sixth term after a bout with cancer last year.

Rivet described herself as a "moderate" and pointed to her time in the Michigan legislature championing tax credits for families with children.

Junge, a former prosecutor and TV anchor, lost to Kildee when he ran in 2022. 

Nebraska: Tony Vargas v. Don Bacon

Republican Rep. Don Bacon was running against Democrat Tony Vargas again in Nebraska’s 2nd District, which is typically Nebraska’s only competitive U.S. House district and is one the GOP has tried to tighten its hold on through redistricting.

Bacon, a retired Air Force brigadier general, was seeking a fifth term. He beat Vargas, a former teacher and state lawmaker from Omaha, in 2022. 

Bacon has a conservative voting record but has been criticized by former President Donald Trump because he backed an infrastructure bill supported by Democrats.

New York: Laura Gillen v. Anthony D'Esposito

Republican U.S. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, the incumbent, was facing a serious challenge from Democrat Laura Gillen, whom he defeated by less than 4 points in 2022. 

Before entering the political sphere, D'Esposito was a detective with the NYPD and chief of the Island Park Fire Department, according to this campaign biography.

In 2016, he began serving on Hempstead's town council and held the position until he was elected to Congress.

Gillen, an attorney, began serving as supervisor for Hempstead in 2017, the first Democrat elected to the position in 112 years. 

New York: Mondaire Jones v. Michael Lawler

Republican Rep. Michael Lawler, the incumbent, and former U.S. Rep. Mondaire Jones were running to represent New York’s 17th congressional district. 

Lawler won the seat, which covers part of New York’s Hudson Valley, in 2022, defeating Democrat Rep. Sean Maloney in a district with 70,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans, according to Lawler’s campaign website. 

Jones, 36, is a Harvard Law School graduate and was one of the first two gay Black men elected to Congress in 2020. 

Jones had initially won the 17th District seat in 2020 but ran in another district in 2022 after redistricting changed the geographic boundary lines. He lost in the Democratic primary for the 10th Congressional District in New York City to former federal prosecutor Daniel Goldman, who went on to win the spot in the general election.

New York: John Mannion v. Brandon Williams

Rep. Brandon Williams, the GOP incumbent representing New York’s 22nd District, was considered one of the most endangered Republicans this cycle in his race against former state Sen. John Mannion. 

Williams grew up in Texas, served as a U.S. Navy submarine officer, then was a tech entrepreneur before starting a truffle farm in central New York. He won the congressional seat in 2022 by 1 percentage point in central New York. 

Mannion is a former school teacher and two-term state senator who is known as a moderate in Albany. The race between Mannion and Williams started off mostly cordial but has become increasingly caustic in the final stretch.

Oregon: Janelle Bynum v. Lori Chavez-DeRemer

In the 2022 midterms, the first elections to be held in Oregon’s 5th after redistricting, GOP U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer flipped a seat that had been held by Democrats for roughly 25 years. But this year, she faced state Rep. Janelle Bynum, who previously beat her in legislative elections and has the backing and funding of national Democrats.

Bynum was elected to the Oregon House in 2016, representing the suburbs southeast of Portland. She says she would seek to codify the abortion protections of now-overturned Roe v. Wade into federal law if elected.

Before her election to Congress, Chavez-DeRemer was a former mayor of the Portland suburb of Happy Valley and small business owner. She has endorsed Trump and highlighted her endorsements from law enforcement groups. She says she doesn’t support a national abortion ban, but she previously expressed support for the U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.

Pennsylvania: Janelle Stelson v. Scott Perry

Perry chaired the right-wing House Freedom Caucus while it seized control of the GOP’s House majority in 2022, often grinding the chamber to a halt to force Republican leaders to hear out their demands. Perry also played a prominent role in then- President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, to the point that the FBI seized his cell phone as part of an investigation.

He was being challenged by Democrat Janelle Stelson, a former TV news anchor who is well-known in a fast-growing district that includes Harrisburg and its surrounding communities.

Perry’s district has modestly favored Republicans since it was redrawn in 2018, and Trump won it by 4 percentage points in 2020. But Perry has faced a vigorous challenge from Stelson, who was once a registered Republican herself. 

Washington: Marie Gluesenkamp Perez v. Joe Kent

An intense rematch played out in southwest Washington, where first-term Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez was defending her seat against Donald Trump-backed Republican Joe Kent. Both candidates were trying to frame the other as the extreme choice.

Gluesenkamp Perez sought to showcase herself as an independent-minded moderate. She was ranked by the Lugar Center and the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy as having one of the most bipartisan voting records in the U.S. House.

Kent, a former Green Beret who has promoted Trump’s falsehoods that the 2020 election was stolen, blamed his opponent for things he sees as bad policy by the Biden administration, including its border policy. He has cited inflation and illegal immigration as top concerns while seeming to dull down some of his more extreme positions. In the past on social media he has called abortion an "evil stain on our humanity," but in a debate on Monday, he said he doesn’t support a federal ban.