Ag Policy Blog

Breaking Down House and Senate Races Still Undecided

Chris Clayton
By  Chris Clayton , DTN Ag Policy Editor
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As of 11 a.m. CST Wednesday, 57 House races still are undecided. In the Senate, six races nationwide are also undecided. Republicans will take control of the U.S. Senate for the first time in four years, but control of the House is still unknown. (DTN file photo)

OMAHA (DTN) -- Looking at control of Congress, Republicans will hold the keys to the U.S. Senate, but control of the House will take more time to resolve.

As of 11 a.m. CST Wednesday, 57 House races still are undecided. In the Senate, six races nationwide are also undecided.

HOUSE RACES

Republicans had 200 confirmed wins versus 178 for Democrats. Nationally 57 House races that still are uncalled. It takes 218 seats to control the House.

In the House, looking at members of the House Agriculture Committee, Democrats flipped a GOP seat in New York.

GOP RACES

The chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, Rep. Glenn "GT" Thompson, R-Pa., easily won reelection.

--California 13th District Rep. John Duarte (R), seeking his second term in the San Joaquin Valley, is leading former California state assemblyman Adam Gray (D) in a close race.

--Iowa 3rd District Rep. Zach Nunn (R,) another freshman, held off Lanon Baccam (D) who served as a USDA deputy undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services during the Obama administration. Nunn won 52% to 48%.

--Nebraska 2nd District Rep. Don Bacon (R) appears to have defeated state Sen. Tony Vargas (D) 51% to 49%. Bacon won his fifth term despite being in Nebraska's "blue dot" that went for Vice President Kamala Harris.

--Oregon's 5th District Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R), a freshman, is trailing Janelle Bynum (D), a member of the Oregon state legislature, in a close race that has not been called.

--New York 19th District Rep. Marc Molinaro (R) appears to have lost his bid for a second term to Democrat Josh Riley, a lawyer and former Hill staffer.

--Wisconsin 3rd District Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R) won a second term over Rebecca Cooke (D) 51% to 49%.

DEMOCRATIC INCUMBENTS ON HOUSE AG

The races among several Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee are close but it appears those Democrats have survived. Two seasoned veterans in Congress, Rep. Jim Costa of California, and Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Ohio, still find themselves in tight races that have not been called.

Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., the ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee, easily won reelection in his district.

Looking at races considered tossups or close:

--California 21st District Rep. Jim Costa (D), a ten-term member of the committee, is in a tight race against Republican Michael Maher. With 40% of the votes still to be counted, Costa leads with just about 1,000 votes.

--Colorado 8th District Rep. Yadira Caraveo (D), a freshman, is leading Rep. Gabe Evans (R) in a 50%-48% vote but still roughly one-quarter of ballots need to be tallied.

--Connecticut 5th District Rep. Jahana Hayes (D) won her fourth term. She was in a rematch against former state Sen. George Logan (R), who Hayes narrowly defeated in 2022.

--Illinois 17th District Rep. Eric Sorensen (D), a freshman, won his race against Joe McGraw (R), a retired judge and prosecutor, in a 54% to 46% vote.

--Minnesota 2nd District Rep. Angie Craig (D) won her fourth term with 56% of the vote over Joe Teirab (R), a former county and federal prosecutor.

--New Mexico 2nd District Rep Gabe Vasquez (D), another freshman from the southern New Mexico district, defeated former Rep. Yvette Herrell (R) in a 52% to 48% race.

--North Carolina 1st District Rep. Don Davis (D), also a freshman, is leading a close race against retired Army Colonel Laurie Buckhout (R). That race still has not been called.

--Ohio 9th District Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D), the longest-serving congresswoman in Congress and is seeking her 22nd term in office, is leading state Rep. Derek Merrin (R) in a race that could be decided by 1,200 or so votes.

--Washington 3rd District Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D), a freshman, is leading 52% to 48% over Joe Kent (R), but there are still roughly 40% of ballots outstanding.

IN THE SENATE

Looking at overall races in the Senate, Republicans have already captured 52 seats with Democrats holding 42 seats. Six outstanding races have not been called in Arizona, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

--In Arizona, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D) was leading Kari Lake (R) 50% to 48% with about 60% of the vote counted.

--In Michigan, Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D) was leading former Rep. Mike Rogers (R) in a close race to fill the Senate seat for retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D), the chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee.

-Montana Sen. Jon Tester (D), a three-term senator, was trailing businessman Tim Sheehy (R), a former Navy Seal who owns an aerial firefighting business and a cattle ranch in the state.

--In Nebraska, Sen. Deb Fischer (R) defeated independent Dan Osborn after a hard-fought campaign.

--Nevada Sen. Jackie Rosen (D) was trailing Sam Brown (R), a West Point graduate who was severely wounded in Iraq but founded a business to assist veterans with medicine. The race will be close.

--Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D), a three-term senator and member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, lost his seat to businessman Bernie Moreno (R) in a race that was considered the most expensive in the country.

--In Pennsylvania, David McCormick (R), a hedge fund CEO, continued leading Sen. Bob Casey (D), who has served in the Senate since 2007 with more than 95% of the vote counted.

--In Wisconsin, incumbent Tammy Baldwin (D) picked up steam and was leading businessman Eric Hovde (R) with 95% of the vote counted.

In other Senate races,

Maryland: Angela Alsobrooks (D) defeated two-term Gov. Larry Hogan (R) to hold the seat for Democrats.

New Jersey: Rep Andy Kim (D) won the seat that had been held by former Sen. Bob Menendez (D).

Texas: Ted Cruz (R) carried the state over Rep. Colin Allred (D) despite an aggressive push to unseat him.

West Virginia: Gov. Jim Justice (R) was elected as U.S. senator, replacing retiring Sen. Joe Manchin (D).

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

Follow him on social platform X @ChrisClaytonDTN

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