Republicans win control of the US House of Representatives

(NewsNation) —The Republicans have won control of the U.S. House of Representatives after the party took 218 seats in national elections, according to a Decision Desk HQ projection on NewsNation.
All 435 House seats were up for reelection, leaving the chamber’s balance of power up for grabs. House members are elected to two-year terms.
Going into the election, the GOP had a narrow majority in the House with 220 seats over the Democrats, who held 212, and three seats vacant prior to Tuesday’s election.
In taking the House, Republicans have solidified total control of Congress and the White House, which will create a smoother path for the GOP to lay down its platform.
Republicans took back the House by a slim margin during the 2022 midterm elections, flipping key seats in Washington, New York and California.
In 15 House races in 2022, winners came out on top by fewer than 2 percentage points over their opponents, and this year, seven of those races were rematches between incumbents and the same challengers.
In California’s 13th District, Republican freshman Rep. John Duarte faced Democratic challenger Adam Gray once again, while in the state’s 22nd District, Republican Rep. David Valadao and former California Assemblyman Rudy Salas also met in a rematch.
While there were hundreds of races, just a tenth were deemed “competitive” by the Cook Political Report.
Twenty-five were considered toss-ups, and 18 races were rated as either leaning Democratic or leaning Republican.
Much of the lack of competition has been attributed to redistricting that took effect this year.
Five states changed their congressional district lines since the 2022 midterm elections.
Alabama, Louisiana and Georgia were mandated to redraw their lines by federal courts, which found that the old lines violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965. North Carolina and New York had their old maps thrown out by their state supreme courts, which allowed each state legislature to redraw the lines.
Republican Rep. Barry Moore left Alabama’s 2nd District to run in the 1st District to give himself a better shot at reelection.
In Louisiana, freshman Democrat Rep. Don Davis was challenged by Republican and retired Army Col. Laurie Buckhout in the 1st District, which was redrawn in hopes of giving Republicans a better chance of winning.