On a positive note for the Democrats was the news that John Fetterman, according to projections by NBC News and Fox News, would win a critical seat in the United States Senate in Pennsylvania, beating famed Republican physician Mehmet Oz and strengthening his chances of his. party to retain control of the House.
The mood in the White House improved as the night went by: formerly nervous collaborators let out optimism and said the first results for the Democrats were better than expected.
In the House of Representatives, Republicans were favored to win a majority that would allow them to block Biden’s legislative program. According to Edison Research projections, the party won four previously Democratic seats this morning, one less than the number needed to win the House.
The number could change. Only 12 of the 53 most contested seats, according to a Reuters analysis of major non-party forecasting institutes, have been decided, suggesting that the final outcome may not be known for some time. Democrats were named as winners in 10 of these 12 seats.
As for the Senate, it is still a heads up, with decisive clashes in Arizona, Georgia and Nevada still in play.
The Senate race in Georgia could end in a ballot on December 6. Democrats currently control the Senate at 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris able to resolve any level playing field.
Early results have suggested that Democrats will avoid the kind of outright Republican victory that some party members feared given Biden’s plummeting approval rating and voter frustration over inflation.
“It’s definitely not a Republican wave,” Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told NBC in an interview. The senator kept the hope that the party could get a majority in the Senate low: “I think we will be at 51, 52, when it is all over”.
Even a narrow Republican majority in the House would be able to block Biden’s reforms and launch politically damaging investigations into his administration and family.
Thirty-five seats in the Senate and three dozen governors are also at stake. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, one of the main candidates for the Republican nomination for the presidential elections of 2024, according to Edison’s predictions would have defeated Democratic Representative Charlie Crist.
According to data from the US Election Project, more than 46 million Americans voted before Election Day, by mail or in person, and state election officials warn that counting the ballots will take time.