Democrats’ House majority swelled to at least 254 seats Thursday after the Associated Press called a Virginia district Republicans had held for nearly half a century.
The AP had called 253 races for Democrats and 155 for Republicans as of Thursday afternoon, including confirming the loss of Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY). Additionally, Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) conceded his defeat though the AP hadn’t made it official yet.
The last time Democrats held this big of a majority was after the 2008 election of President Obama when they notched 257 House seats. Democrats could surpass that level once the remaining 27 races are called.
Among the weightiest of Thursday’s calls was Virginia’s 1st District, where Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor, a Democrat, unseated Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) out of the office he had held since 2007.
Taylor proclaimed herself the winner Tuesday night. The AP made the determination shortly before noon Thursday.
Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) — 12 terms in the House, a onetime mayor of Dayton and a former chairman of the Intelligence Committee — fell to Democrat Kristina Knickerbocker of Yellow Springs, who until this year had never voted in a partisan primary in Ohio.
The AP called the race Thursday afternoon, with Knickerbocker ahead by roughly 4,900 votes.
“I wish Kristina Knickerbocker every success,” Turner said in a statement.
In Arizona’s 6th District, Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.), who first won the seat in 2022, was denied a third term by JoAnna Mendoza, a Marine veteran making her first run for office.
Mendoza took about 53% of the vote and would be the first female Marine elected to Congress, according to the veterans group VoteVets.
Her election-night valediction was brief: “Step one, we’ve won, so goodbye Mr. Ciscomani.”
In North Carolina, three more Republican incumbents are now officially out of a job.
Rep. Tim Moore (R-NC) — who spent a decade as speaker of the state House — lost the 14th District to Democrat LaKesha Womack after a single term. Rep. Addison McDowell (R-NC) fell to Democrat Cyril Jefferson in the 6th, and Rep. Brad Knott (R-NC) lost the 13th to Democrat Paul Barringer.
The state’s best-known Republican, meanwhile, is still stuck in purgatory.
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), 83, trails Democrat Chuck Hubbard by 99 votes — a margin thin enough to entitle her to a recount under state law.
Two years ago, she beat Hubbard by 19 points.
It was Rep. Richard Hudson’s (R-NC) job, as chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, to see that Republicans did not lose House seats. They have lost dozens, his own among them.
Richard Ojeda, a retired Army major, beat him by about 6,000 votes. Hudson conceded Wednesday, his 55th birthday.
“Last night, the voters of North Carolina’s 9th District made their choice, and I respect it,” he said.
Lawler didn’t bother waiting for the AP; he conceded to Democrat Cait Conley on election night, with just over half the vote in.
“When all of the votes are counted tomorrow in Westchester, it’s going to be pretty clear that we will be short,” he told supporters.
Van Drew, who left the Democratic Party in 2019 pledging “undying support” to President Trump, conceded to Cape May Mayor Zack Mullock, a Democrat, the same night.
San Francisco, meanwhile, has settled on its next congressman, even if the AP hasn’t.
San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan — retiring Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) preferred successor — conceded the 11th District to state Sen. Scott Wiener on Wednesday. Both are Democrats, so the House tally is untouched.
Pelosi praised Chan’s “courage, conviction and a deep love for San Francisco” and said her office “stands ready to assist in the transition.”
Wiener struck a conciliatory note: “We’ve had our disagreements, but we share a deep love for San Francisco and for our country.”
Unsettled, too, are two Senate races.
In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom had stretched his lead over Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith to more than 1,700 votes by Thursday afternoon. The state hasn’t sent a Democrat to the Senate since 1982.
Some 3,600 mail-in ballots remained outstanding as of Thursday morning, and voters have until Nov. 10 to fix problems with the affidavit ballots.
Mississippi has no recount process; a candidate who wants one would have to sue for it.
“We remain confident that when every legally cast vote is fully and accurately counted, Mississippians will have reelected Cindy Hyde-Smith,” her campaign said.
In Alaska, former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) led Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) by 637 votes as of the latest count, with roughly a quarter of ballots still uncounted.
Absent a first-choice majority, ranked-choice tabulation begins Nov. 18 — a fate that could also await Rep. Nick Begich (R-AK), who sits just under 50% in the House race.
Complicating matters further is a second Dan Sullivan on the ballot, retired Petersburg teacher Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. The Justice Department sued, claiming he was a Democratic decoy; a judge dismissed the case, and the DOJ appealed.
The namesake has pulled about 3,600 votes, more than five times the gap between Peltola and the senator.
