iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Republicans are projected to hold onto control of the House of Representatives, but Democrats are projected to gain between five and nine seats, chipping away at the GOP’s historic 247-seat majority, the party’s largest since 1928.
But even with the Democrats picking up a handful of seats, Republicans maintained a strong firewall, even in districts where they feared moderate voters would oust the GOP candidates.
ABC projected the House would stay in Republican hands around 8:35 pm. We have included in our calculation several seats in districts with later poll-closing times which our analysts believe will not affect the outcome.
In her northern Virginia district full of suburban women, GOP Rep. Barbara Comstock won reelection by double digits even though Republican strategists said last week that they would be satisfied with a single-digit win there.
Republicans also held on to Rep. Carlos Curbelo’s seat in Miami, which was at the top of Democrats’ wish list this entire year, and won a toss-up race in the Fort Lauderdale area that will send Brian Mast, an Afghanistan war veteran and double amputee, to Washington.
The GOP also held strong in Colorado’s sixth district, a Denver suburb where Republican Rep. Mike Coffman taught himself Spanish and still works with a tutor to help him connect with the large Hispanic population there.
Despite the Democrats’ modest gains in the House, the even slight reduction in the surplus of Republicans holding the chamber will likely make it harder for House Speaker Paul Ryan to convince his membership to compromise, as a larger ratio of GOP members will be hardline conservatives.
“We need to have a healthy majority and a strong majority,” the Wisconsin Republican recently told The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page. “If we have a razor-thin majority, then every vote can be problematic. Every vote on everything can be difficult.”
Democrats needed a nearly clean sweep of competitive districts to reach the 218 seats necessary to regain the majority of the chamber. Just 17 races were toss-ups, according to an ABC News analysis of House races.
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