Jeffries Says Democrats ‘Defying Political Gravity’ as House Still Uncalled

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said congressional Democrats are “defying political gravity” as control of Congress remained unclear on Wednesday.
Even as Donald Trump won the presidency and Republicans are set to take control of the Senate, Democrats are more hopeful about their chances of flipping control of the House of Representatives, where dozens of races were uncalled as of about 2 p.m. Wednesday.
Jeffries, a New York Democrat, expressed optimism about Democrats’ chances of flipping the House. In a statement, he wrote that House Democrats are “once again defying political gravity” in a “challenging electoral environment.”
“As a result of the enduring strength of our battle-tested incumbents, critical open seat holds in Virginia and Michigan, victories in Alabama and Louisiana and flipping four Republican-held seats in New York this year, the House remains very much in play,” he wrote.
Jeffries added that the path to a majority runs through seats in Arizona, California, Iowa and Oregon.
As of 2:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Republicans had won 207 House seats, while the Democrats won 188 seats, according to CNN.
Newsweek reached out by email to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee for comment.
Democrats have so far flipped two House seats—New York’s 22nd District, where Democrat John Mannion unseated GOP Representative Brandon Williams, and Alabama’s 2nd District, where Democrat Shomari Figures won a newly drawn seat against Republican Caroleene Dobson.
Republicans flipped three seats in North Carolina that were redistricted from Democratic-leaning or competitive seats to more comfortable GOP seats.
In Pennsylvania’s 8th District, Republican Rob Bresnahan unseated Democratic Representative Matt Cartwright. Meanwhile, in Michigan’s 7th District, Republican Tom Barrett defeated Democrat Curtis Hertel in an open seat vacated by GOP Elissa Slotkin, who remained locked in a tight Senate race.
Democrat Kristen McDonald Rivet held on to the competitive seat in Michigan’s 8th District, which contains cities such as Flint and Saginaw.
House seats across the country have still not been called, and Democrats would need to win a majority of these races to win a majority.
Democrat Jared Golden held a slim lead over Republican Austin Therlault in Maine’s 2nd District, which backed Trump in the presidential race. This seat has long been viewed as a toss-up, but Golden has managed to win tough races in the GOP-leaning seat in the past.
Democrats also led in two GOP-held seats in New York—the Long Island-based 4th District and suburban 19th District, according to CNN.
In Pennsylvania, Democratic Representative Susan Wild has conceded the race for the Allentown-based 7th District, while Republican Representative Scott Perry held a lead in the 10th District, based around Harrisburg.
Iowa’s 1st District, where Republican Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks was facing a challenge from Democrat Christina Bohannan, hasn’t been called. In 2020, Miller-Meeks won by a mere six votes. GOP Representative Don Bacon led Nebraska’s 2nd District, which backed Harris.
It may be California, however, that will be decisive in determining which party controls the House. Although it’s a deeply Democratic state, Republicans flipped a number of congressional districts in suburban areas, as well as the Central Valley, in 2022.
Republicans held modest leads in most of those competitive districts, but more than 40 percent of California’s ballots haven’t been counted. Democrats hope those votes will ultimately put some of those races in their column. But it could take days for those ballots to be counted, meaning it may take a bit longer to learn which party will control Congress come January.
Democratic Representative Marie Gluesenkamp Perez held a slight lead in Washington’s 3rd District, while Republican Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer trailed Democrat Janelle Bynum in Oregon’s 5th District.