Dem’s Midterm Haul Climbs To 31 House Seats As Handel Concedes In Georgia

attends the Build Series to discuss  at Build Studio on September 12, 2018 in New York City.
attends the Build Series to discuss at Build Studio on September 12, 2018 in New York City.
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Key House races have continued to break Democrats’ way as final votes trickle in across the country two days after Election Day, giving them 31 more seats and counting in the House.

In Georgia’s 6th district, Democrats have pulled out a win this time around after losing a heated special election in early 2017. On Thursday morning, Rep. Karen Handel (R-GA) conceded to Democrat Lucy McBath, who became a gun control activist after her son was murdered.

Democrat Xochitl Torres-Small has prevailed in a GOP-leaning southern New Mexico district after having the Associated Press incorrectly called the race against her on election night. Rep. Steve Knight (R-CA) conceded to Democrat Katie Hill late Wednesday, making her one of Congress’s youngest members at age 31. And Democrats officially flipped Washington’s 8th district when the Associated Press called the race late Thursday morning.

Not everything has gone Democrats’ way in late-breaking races. Democrats lost a nail-biter of a race in Minnesota’s southern, mostly rural 1st district, giving the GOP a third pickup from the election. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) has won another term. Rep. Duncan D. Hunter (R-CA) hung on in spite of his ongoing legal troubles, and businessman Dan McCready (D) conceded to pastor Mark Harris (R) after losing a close race in North Carolina.

Other races look good for Democrats but aren’t done yet. Democrat Andy Kim declared victory over Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-NJ), the architect of the compromise weakening preexisting conditions protections that got Obamacare repeal through the House last year. MacArthur hasn’t conceded, but trails by more than 2,000 votes. Controversial Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) is also refusing to concede but trails by 1,400 votes.

Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R-ME) and former Marine Jared Golden (D) are separated by less than 1,000 votes, and their race has yet to be decided. Maine’s new ranked-choice voting law means that either candidate could still win.

Rep. Mia Love (R-UT) trails Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams (D) by more than 5,000 votes, though ballots continue to trickle in there as well. Conversely, Rep. Rob Woodall (R-GA) has a tiny lead in his race, with some votes still outstanding.

Four tight races in California are still counting ballots and could go either way. Reps. Jeff Denham (R-CA) and Mimi Walters (R-CA) currently hold small leads, as does Republican Young Kim in an open Orange County seat, while Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) trails by a bit. But there are plenty of votes left to be counted and those races all could still go either way.

Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX) leads Democrat Gina Ortiz-Jones by just over 1,000 votes in a race that may be heading for a recount, and indicted Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) has seen his lead shrink to under 3,000 votes, with a recount possible after his opponent took back his concession as well.

Many of these races could still change hands. If every race’s current leader ends up winning that would give Democrats a net gain of 35 seats, a huge number of pickups and numbers that are in line with what TPM and other prognosticators predicted before election night. That could climb a little higher if late-breaking votes go Democrats’ way in California, something that has happened in previous elections.

Latest DC
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: