Who will win control of the House? Outstanding races to watch

The party that will control the US House of Representatives for the next two years has not been decided – but the Republicans appear to be on their way to a majority that will give them full power in the US government.

As of Saturday morning, the party was short of the 218 seats needed to control the lower house of Congress.

The Senate, or the upper chamber, and the White House have already turned to the Republicans – which means that President-elect Donald Trump will have more power to achieve his political goals after his inauguration on January 20, 2025.

House control gives the party the power to initiate spending legislation and initiate impeachment proceedings against officials.

Under Trump, a united Republican Party could easily push through tax cuts and introduce border controls.

Here are some of the races that have yet to be called.

Democrats are eyeing five seats in California that they see as critical to taking back the House.

The opposition hopes to defeat incumbent Republicans and turn the seats blue, but polls show incumbents holding onto their seats by narrow margins.

Key races to watch are:

• California’s 45th congressional district: Congresswoman Michelle Steel, the incumbent, was leading against Democrat Derek Tran
• California’s 27th: Democrat George Whitesides is challenging Republican Congressman Mike Garcia. Garcia has been leading by a narrow margin
• 41st California: Incumbent Republican Congressman Ken Calvert is running against Democrat Will Rollins, and has been leading by a narrow margin.
• 22nd California: Democrat Rudy Salas is challenging Republican Congressman David Valadao, who has been enjoying the lead.
• California 13th: Incumbent Republican Congressman John Duarte is running against Democrat Adam Gray, and has been leading

There are two highly regarded races in this state of swing.

Republican Juan Ciscomani, a Republican, appears to be neck and neck with his Democratic challenger, Kirsten Engel, Arizona’s 6th District, located in the southeast corner of the country.

In The first state of ArizonaDavid Schweikert has a smaller lead than Democratic challenger Amish Shah. This district includes northeastern Maricopa County, outside of Phoenix.

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Jared Golden is fighting to keep his seat Maine’s 2nd congressional district – one of the two congressional districts in the state. This includes most of the county north of Augusta and Portland.

Golden is currently leading the race against his Republican challenger, Austin Theriault. Almost all votes have been counted.

Democrats are looking to hold on to one seat Ohio’s 9th congressional districtwhich includes Toledo in the north of the state.

Democratic incumbent Marcy Kaptur, who has served in Congress since 1983, is leading the race against her Republican opponent, Derek Merrin.

North American journalist Anthony Zurcher makes sense of the race for the White House in his biweekly newsletter US Election Unspun. UK students can register here. Those outside the UK can register here.