Republicans win House majority

On Wednesday, CNN and NBC News have both projected that Republicans have secured enough seats to take control of the House of Representatives.

This comes as California's 27th District, a seat including the northern exurbs of Los Angeles, is called in favor of incumbent Republican Mike Garcia, which is the 218th call made by the networks.

The exact size of the GOP's House majority remains uncertain, but based on the results of the final handful of districts, it is unlikely to be higher than the mid 220s.

This is a significantly lower majority than most election analysts were expecting, as historical patterns had suggested Democrats could be heading for a blowout, losing dozens of seats, similar to the losses that occurred for the party controlling the White House under Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. It parallels the House elections in 2020, where Democrats were similarly expected to pad their House majority won in the previous election but instead lost seats and were left with a bare 222-seat majority.

Nonetheless, Republicans achieving control of the House will be a roadblock for President Joe Biden's legislative agenda, and will hand over key oversight and investigatory powers to the GOP for the final two years of his first term.

In the Senate, Democrats have retained control, and could possibly gain another seat depending on the outcome of the Georgia runoff in December, Democrats also had a net gain of two gubernatorial seats and at least three state legislative chambers.