iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Republicans held on to control of the House of Representatives, but it was not yet clear how much of their historic 247-seat majority, the party’s largest since 1928, they would retain.
ABC projected the House would stay in Republican hands around 8:35 pm. We have included in our calculation several seats in later poll closing times which our analysts believe will not affect the outcome.
A smaller surplus of Republicans in the chamber, which operatives in both parties anticipated, will likely make it harder for House Speaker Paul Ryan to convince his membership to compromise, as a larger ratio would be comprised of hardline conservatives, but it would likewise make it difficult for a president Hillary Clinton to pass her own agenda.
“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 tossups, according to an ABC News analysis of the House races.
There are, however, some tight House races that will serve as a bellwether for which party is having the better night overall, and whether Republicans in left-leaning districts have been able to outperform their party’s presidential nominee, Donald Trump.
One of the most illustrative races will be in Virginia’s 10th congressional district, which ABC rates a pure tossup, where GOP Rep. Barbara Comstock has been treading a thin line between courting Trump backers and cohorts in that district who have been trending away from Trump like well-educated and affluent women. Plus Comstock’s opponent, real estate executive LuAnn Bennett, and outside groups have been flooding the airwaves with ads linking Comstock to Trump.
On the other side of the country, GOP Rep. Darrell Issa, one of President Obama’s loudest critics on Capitol Hill, has been playing up his bipartisan credentials in California’s 49th district, which still leans Republican but could tip against Issa if Republicans stay home and independents turn to his opponent, former Marine Col. Doug Applegate.
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