Election Day is officially one week away, and while the race for the White House between former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris remains as tight as ever, that is not the only branch of government that will be up for grabs in November. As voters cast their ballots, they will also be determining who will control Congress come the new year.
On Nov. 5, voters across America will cast their ballot on congressional hopefuls. In the Senate, Democrats have an uphill battle retaining control, given that they have more seats to defend, and with West Virginia's seat being open, they essentially stand at a 50-50 tie with Republicans.
However, the story is vastly different in the lower chamber of Congress. In the House of Representatives, all 435 seats are up for election, yet only around 43 races are considered competitive, based on who is running, past election results, the local political climate and other research, according to The Washington Post.
Democrats need to flip just four seats to take back control of the House, while Republicans hope to expand their majority and make it easier to pass legislation, which they've struggled to do throughout this term, the Associated Press reports.
Some key races for the House find home in key battleground states from the presidential race such as Pennsylvania and Michigan, where turnout at the top of the ticket may affect what voters decide to do in down ballot races. On the other hand, about half of the districts that Republicans will need to defend are in some of the most liberal states of the nation like California and New York, which they narrowly won in 2022.
For instance, in New York's 4th District, which comprises the South Shore of Long Island, Rep. Anthony D'Esposito, a first-term Republican, is facing one of the most difficult districts to defend in the country, according to The New York Times. He is being challenged by Democrat and former Hempstead Town supervisor Laura Guillen, who lost to D'Esposito in 2022.
Contributing to D'Esposito's unknown fate are ethics woes surrounding his time in Congress. In September, the Times reported that the Representative had put the daughter of his longtime fiancee and his mistress on the congressional payroll at the same time, which may have violated House ethics rules. Democrats say his conduct is part of a long tradition of corruption in Nassau County.
Similarly, in California's 13th District, Republican Rep. John Duarte is facing tough opposition from Democratic challenger Adam Gray, who served for 10 years in the California State Assembly. The district is a top priority for both parties since in 2022, Duarte won the seat by just 564 votes, while Biden carried the region by double digits just two years earlier.
In Pennsylvania, arguably the most consequential battleground state in the presidential race, the 8th Congressional District is also facing a tough battle. Democratic Rep. Matt Cartwright, who has been in Congress since 2013 will face Republican Rob Bresnahan, who is emphasizing his experience as the CEO of an electrical company and reinvesting in local communities.
Cartwright represents a northeast Pennsylvania district that sided with Trump in 2020 even though Biden is a Scranton native, in a year that The Keystone State remains a big mystery for pundits and voters alike.
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