Who will gain control of the House of Representatives? Outstanding races worth watching

The party that will control the US House of Representatives for the next two years has yet to be decided – but Republicans appear to be inching towards a majority that would give them full control of the US government.

On Saturday morning, the party was several seats short of the 218 seats needed to gain control of the lower house of Parliament.

The Senate, or upper house, and the White House have flipped to the Republican side – meaning President-elect Donald Trump could have significant power to carry out his political agenda once he is sworn into office on January 20, 2025.

Control of the House of Representatives gives a party the power to initiate spending legislation and initiate impeachment proceedings against officials.

Under Trump, a unified Republican Party could easily push through tax cuts and border controls.

Here are some races that have yet to be called.

Democrats are closely watching five seats in California they see as crucial to winning back the House.

The challengers are hoping to defeat the incumbent Republican and flip the seat blue, but polls show the incumbents are holding on to their seats by a narrow margin.

The main races to watch are:

• California’s 45th Congressional District: Republican Rep. Michelle Steel, the incumbent, is leading against Democrat Derek Tran
• California Day 27: Democrat George Whitesides is challenging incumbent Republican Congressman Mike Garcia. Garcia is leading by a narrow margin
• 41st California: Incumbent Republican Congressman Ken Calvert is running against Democrat Will Rollins and is also leading by a narrow margin.
• California 22nd: Democrat Rudy Salas is challenging incumbent Republican Congressman David Valadao, who is leading
• California 13th: Incumbent Republican Congressman John Duarte is running against Democrat Adam Gray and is leading.

There are two closely watched races in this swing state.

Republican Juan Ciscomani, a Republican, appears to be neck and neck with his Democratic opponent, Kirsten Engel, in Arizona’s 6th District, located in the southeast corner of the state.

IN Arizona’s 1st DistrictDavid Schweikert is slightly ahead of Democratic challenger Amish Shah. This district includes northeastern Maricopa County, outside of Phoenix.

Incumbent Democratic Congressman Jared Golden is fighting to keep his seat Maine’s 2nd Congressional District – one of the state’s two congressional districts. This includes much of the state north of Augusta and Portland.

Golden is currently leading in the race against his Republican opponent, Austin Theriault. Almost all votes have been counted.

Democrats are looking to keep a seat in Ohio’s 9th Congressional Districtincludes Toledo in the northern part of the state.

Incumbent Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, who has served in Congress since 1983, narrowly leads the race against her Republican challenger, Derek Merrin.

North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher gets the inside scoop on the White House race in his twice-weekly U.S. election Unspun newsletter. Readers in the UK can Register here. Those outside the UK can Register here.