Key facts
- Democrats are poised to hold a strong majority in the next Congress, per NPR.
- The Associated Press had not called 18 House races as of November 5, 2026.
- Several uncalled California races feature two candidates from the same party.
- Two Senate races, Alaska and Mississippi, remained uncalled as of November 5, 2026.
- Alaska uses ranked choice voting and no candidate has reached a 50% majority.
- Fewer than 2,000 votes separate the top two candidates in Mississippi's Senate race.
Democrats are poised to hold a strong majority in the next Congress, but the final seat count in the House of Representatives is still being determined, according to an NPR report dated November 5, 2026. The Associated Press had not called 18 House races as of that date.
Several of the uncalled races are in California, where two candidates from the same party are competing, so the party that will hold the seat is known even though the winner is not. Other races are too close to call or have too few ballots counted to determine a winner. The report said slow vote counting in many parts of the country is normal and expected.
In the Senate, two races remain outstanding: Alaska and Mississippi. Alaska uses ranked choice voting, and because no candidate in the four-person race has reached a 50% majority in the count, another round of counting may take place later in November. Mississippi uses a more traditional electoral system, but a large number of provisional ballots, called affidavit ballots in the state, are taking time to count. Fewer than 2,000 votes separate the top two candidates in the Mississippi race.