The Republican Party is strongly favored to maintain control of the U.S. House of Representatives following several key flips, likely positioning the party to control all three branches of government after gaining ground in the Senate. As of 6 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, the GOP is projected to secure 222 House seats, increasing their current majority by two. The projected outcome follows significant flips, especially in battleground Pennsylvania, where President-elect Trump and the party experienced historic electoral success on Tuesday.
Three-term incumbent Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA) was defeated by Pennsylvania State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in the Keystone State’s 7th Congressional District, while six-term Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA) lost to businessman Rob Bresnahan in the 8th District. Cartwright was notable as the only member of the House Progressive Caucus representing a district that had voted for Trump in both 2016 and 2020.
In Pennsylvania’s 10th Congressional District, House Freedom Caucus member Scott Perry (R-PA) successfully fended off a strong primary challenge from local news anchor Janelle Stelson. Perry faced scrutiny from the Biden Administration for his role in contesting the 2020 presidential election results, which led to a subpoena from the Democrats’ January 6 Committee. Additionally, the FBI confiscated his cell phone, and millions of dollars in outside funding flowed into the race. Despite this, Perry managed to fend off what was his most competitive primary challenge to date with a late-night comeback.
In the U.S. Senate, Republicans made significant gains in Montana and West Virginia, where former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy and Governor Jim Justice secured decisive victories in their respective states. Republicans also succeeded in unseating three-term Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Bob Casey (D-PA), and they are likely to defeat Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), as the remaining votes are trending in favor of Republican challenger Sam Brown.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told Axios on Wednesday that his political team has spent over a year preparing for Tuesday’s elections. “We’ve been working for a year … preparing this playbook that we’ll talk about all the time for the next Congress,” he said, laying out a “keep your quarterback” message that has become easier after flipping several contested seats. “So if we’re going to … run those plays and execute them with precision, you got to keep the quarterback on the field and keep the same team,” he added.
Two years after Republicans were unable to deliver the much-anticipated “red wave” in the 2022 midterms, it finally materialized, sweeping away Democratic House members in swing districts. Republican Tom Barrett (R-MI) defeated Democrat Curtis Hertel, flipping a suburban seat currently held by Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), who is still in a tight race against former Rep. Mike Rogers as votes are counted for the Senate seat. In Pennsylvania’s 8th district, Republican Rob Bresnahan Jr. unseated incumbent Democratic Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA), reclaiming a seat that Republicans lost in the 2018 midterms.
