Capitol control Democrats face uphill struggle to gain edge

Close fights were waged in both houses of the US Congress on election day, with Democrats facing an uphill battle to cling to a one-seat majority in the Senate while Republicans sought to expand their majority in the House of Representatives.

- Joan E Greve Robert Tait Washington

All 435 members of Congress, the lower chamber, and one-third of the Senate, the powerful 100-member upper chamber, were up for grabs yesterday, and the results will influence the new administration's makeup and shape policy on areas such as international affairs and abortion.

Control of the lower chamber appeared to be a toss-up by voting day, with Democrats only needing to win five more seats than they did in 2022 to regain their majority. In one scenario, the country may have to wait days to learn who won the House, given that it took more than a week to make that call in 2022.

Without control of the House, the winner of the presidential race will face significant hurdles in implementing a legislative agenda.

In 2022, the "red wave" that Republicans had promised failed to materialize, leaving the party with a House majority of just four seats at the start of 2023. That tight margin allowed a small group of hard-right Republicans to wreak havoc on the election of the speaker, forcing Kevin McCarthy to endure 15 rounds of voting before being elected.

But nine months later, McCarthy was ousted from the speaker's chair after a revolt. McCarthy's removal kicked off weeks of chaos, with the House at a complete standstill until Mike Johnson, then a relatively unknown lawmaker, was elected to lead the chamber.