More than three weeks have passed since Election Day, but there are still three congressional races that have not been called by the major networks.
Republicans have already secured control of the House of Representatives for another two years, but their majority will be slim—and is expected to become even tighter if the Senate confirms the two House Republicans whom President-elect Donald Trump chose for his Cabinet. The GOP has won 219 House races, with Democrats capturing 213 seats.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson will have little room for defections on key votes when the new Congress convenes in January, meaning he has to keep together a wide coalition—from staunchly conservative Trump allies to more moderate Republicans in competitive districts—a task that hasn’t always been easy over the past two years.
Democrats lead two of the uncalled races. If those leads hold, Republicans’ majority would be even smaller than after the 2022 midterms. The outcome of these few races will determine just how many votes Johnson can afford to lose on legislation.
Here is an overview of the uncalled races. Newsweek reached out to each campaign for comment via email.
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Iowa’s First Congressional District
Iowa Republican Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks is no stranger to close races—she won her first House race by only six votes in 2020, the closest federal race of the year.
Four years later, she again finds herself in one of the last House races to be called, and one of the closest in the nation. Her 800-vote lead over Democrat Christina Bohannan, a state representative, is a bit stronger than 2020, but still more narrow than in 2022, when she won by 7 percentage points.
The district is comprised of the southeastern part of the state, including cities like Davenport, Dubuque and Iowa City that keep the district competitive despite Republicans gaining ground in its more rural areas over the last decade.
The results of the race may come down to a recount. Des Moines-based news station KCCI reported that two of the 20 counties in the district, Johnson and Keokuk, are expected to complete their recounts by Thursday.
Several counties have completed their recounts, including Mahaska County, where Miller-Meeks gained voters, according to news station WHO.
California’s 13th Congressional District
Two of the uncalled races are in California, which is notoriously slow to count ballots. Elections in California, the most populous state, are conducted almost entirely by mail, and it takes longer to verify those ballots.
Democrat Adam Gray leads Republican Representative John Duarte by 182 votes in the Central Valley district, which includes Fresno, Merced and Modesto.
In a November 20 statement, Gray’s campaign manager, Ben Rodriguez, said he was expecting a “photo finish” and that it is “critical that election officials continue their work without interruption so every voter’s voice is heard.”
In an interview with local news station KCRA earlier in November, Duarte stressed the importance of letting “every vote get counted,” saying he was optimistic that Trump flipped Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties, both of which are in the district.
California’s 45th Congressional District
Democrat Derek Tran holds a 613-vote lead against Republican Representative Michelle Steel in California’s 45th Congressional District, which is made up of Orange County and a sliver of Los Angeles County.
Tran has declared victory in the race, but major networks still haven’t called it in his favor. “Only in America can you go from refugees fleeing with nothing but the clothes on your back to becoming a member of Congress in just one generation. Today’s count has made it clear: I am the winner of this race thanks to the resilience, spirit, and dedication of our #CA45 community and volunteers,” he wrote in a post to X on Monday.
Ballots that have come in over the past few weeks have given Tran a narrow lead, but Steel has not conceded the race.
In California, recounts are only conducted if the voter who requests it is willing to pay for it, and recount requests must be filed five days after the election is certified. California’s deadline to certify its election results this year is December 5.
