Republicans Win Control of US House, Biden Congratulates McCarthy

Republicans officially won enough seats on Wednesday evening to finally gain control of the U.S. House when the new Congress begins next year.  GOP candidates have now won at least 218 seats, which is the minimum needed for a majority.

The re-election victory of California Congressman Mike Garcia, a former Navy fighter pilot from the state's 25th district, put the GOP over the top.

President Joe Biden acknowledged the victory in a message to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, writing, "I congratulate Leader McCarthy on Republicans winning the House majority, and am ready to work with House Republicans to deliver results for working families."

The Washington Examiner reports that the House Conference passed its first major rule change Wednesday, voting to approve a rule proposed by Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) which would prevent a Democrat minority from controlling who becomes House speaker.  Other rule changes are expected after the Thanksgiving recess.

The latest AP tally of the races indicates Democrats have won 211 races, which means 6 more outcomes are still unknown. At least three of those are leaning Republican, and at least two more are leaning Democrat, but they're all still too close to call. California is the state where most of those races are unresolved, and officials say the counts there could go on for weeks.

Follow Updates on Races Using the Interactive Map HERE at Our CBNNews.com ELECTION CENTER.

There are 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, and every one of them was voted on last Tuesday in the midterm elections. Before Election Day, Democrats held a slim majority by eight seats. They held 220 seats in the chamber while Republicans had 212 seats with three seats vacant. 

The overwhelming red wave that analysts had predicted for the mid-term elections turned out to be more like a ripple, but Republicans have still gained at least 6 seats.

When Republicans take charge in 2023, they will run key committees with the ability to shape legislation and launch probes of Biden, his family, and his administration. That includes investigating the overseas business dealings of the president’s son Hunter Biden. 

GOP Wins and Takeaways

Here are a few examples of the tide turning in the GOP's favor:

In Oregon's 5th District, Lorie Chavez-DeRemer will become Oregon's first Latina congresswoman as she turned back a challenge from progressive Democrat Jamie McCloed-Skinner. The race was called on Sunday.

In earlier races, a prominent Democrat incumbent was defeated in the New York District 19. U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney was the chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which means he was in charge of the Democrats' entire congressional election campaign. Republican challenger Mike Lawler defeated Maloney, and Maloney conceded the race a week ago in a phone call to Lawler, according to his campaign.

In northern Florida, Rep. Neal Dunn defeated Democratic Rep. Al Lawson for a congressional seat in a redrawn district that pitted the two incumbents against each other.

Also, in Florida’s 13th District, Republican Anna Paulina Luna scored another takeaway from Democrats by defeating Eric Lynn. Luna is an Air Force veteran who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump.

In Virginia's 2nd District race, Republican state Sen. Jen Kiggans defeated Incumbent Democrat Rep. Elaine Luria, a member of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 breach of the Capitol building. The Associated Press called the race for Kiggans at 11:03 pm Eastern on Tuesday and Luria conceded. 

In New York's 3rd congressional district, Republican George Santos flipped the seat for the GOP, defeating Democrat Robert Zimmerman.

Tom Kean, Jr., son of a former New Jersey governor, won the 7th district race there, flipping another seat for Republicans.

Down in South Texas, as CBN News reported last month, most residents have long voted reliably blue. But this election cycle, there were three conservative Latina candidates vying to transform the politics there and turn the region red. In the end, one of them was victorious.

Republican Monica De La Cruz won her effort to represent Texas' 15th District against Democrat Michelle Vallejo. 

INTERACTIVE ELECTION MAP: Follow Updates on Key Races HERE at our CBNNews.com ELECTION CENTER. 

Democrat Victories 

Rep. Mayra Flores, who was the first Republican to win Texas' 34th district in more than a century, lost to Democrat Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, who had represented Texas' 15th District but ran for Flores' seat after redistricting.

And in Texas's 28th District, Democrat Rep. Henry Cuellar, the incumbent, defeated Republican challenger Cassy Garcia. 

In Indiana's 1st congressional district, incumbent Democrat Rep. Frank Mrvan held on to his seat by under 5 percentage points, defeating Republican Jennifer-Ruth Green, who had hopes of turning the district red. 

Former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin apparently couldn't translate support from President Trump into a victory for Alaska's House seat. She is losing again to Democrat incumbent Mary Petola, who also finished first in the state's open primary in August.

In another important race that doesn't really affect the balance of power between Democrats and Republicans, GOP candidate Harriet Hageman will replace current GOP Rep. Liz Cheney to represent Wyoming. After beating Cheney in the primary, largely due to voter anger against Cheney for supporting impeachment efforts against fellow Republican Donald Trump, Hageman was declared the winner against her Democratic opponent, Lynette GreyBull, racking up nearly 70 percent of the vote.

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