US midterm election: Key races still too close to call

Washington, Nov 09: Preliminary results show that the Democrats have received more votes than forecasts had predicted, but with vote counting still ongoing in several pivotal states, control of Congress remains unclear for now.

A Republican-controlled Congress would make it much more difficult for President Joe Biden to pass legislation during the second half of his term.

Projections suggest Republicans will win enough seats to take the lower chamber of Congress, the House of Representatives.

Top Republican Kevin McCarthy, who hopes to become the House's next speaker, told supporters in the early hours of Wednesday: "It is clear that we are going to take the House back."

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the outcome was far from decided: "While many races remain too close to call, it is clear that House Democratic Members and candidates are strongly outperforming expectations across the country.''

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham conceded to broadcaster NBC that the election is "definitely not a Republican wave, that's for darn sure."

In the House, Democrats kept seats in districts from Virginia to Kansas to Rhode Island. Many districts in states such as New York and California had not yet been called.

Several new Republicans were elected in redrawn Florida districts. Twenty-five-year-old Democrat Maxwell Frost also won in his Florida seat, making him the first member of Generation Z to be elected to Congress.

What is happening in the Senate?

A number of seats in the Senate, the upper chamber, are shaping up to be extremely tight races. It is still too early to call the key states of Wisconsin, Nevada, Georgia and Arizona.

Georgia could head to a runoff next month if no candidate reaches a majority.

Democrats flipped the Republican-controlled Senate seat of Pennsylvania, with John Fetterman defeating Republican Mehmet Oz.

In Ohio, Republican J.D. Vance — a venture capitalist and author of "Hillbilly Elegy," — won against Democrat and 10-term congressman Tim Ryan.

All 435 seats in the House and one-third of the Senate were being decided in Tuesday's election.

It is unclear when the final result will be announced. Vote counting could extend beyond Wednesday in many states.

los,nm/aw (AP, Reuters)

Source: DW