Republicans still in position to win House majority, but it’s looking like an increasingly slim one

CBS News projects, as of Saturday night, that House Republicans will win a minimum of 214 seats and Democrats will win at least 210 seats in the 2022 midterm elections. 

Republicans are still in position to reach the 218 seats necessary to take control of the House, but the size of their potential majority is looking increasingly slim. Toss-up races have been breaking in favor of Democrats. In one case, on Saturday night, CBS News projected that in Washington, Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez defeated incumbent GOP Rep. Joe Kent in the 3rd District, a seat Republicans were favored to hold.

On Saturday, President Joe Biden, who is in Cambodia for a summit of Southeast Asian nations, spoke about the midterm elections, saying he was “incredibly pleased” to hear that Democrats held the Senate, and said he was confident Democrats could hold the House, too, but conceded “it’s a stretch — everything has to fall our way.”

Republicans hold 212 seats in the current Congress, and need to pick up just six more to gain the majority. Democrats currently hold 220 seats, and there are three vacancies: GOP Rep. Jackie Walorski of Indiana died in August, and Democrats Charlie Crist and Ted Deutch, both of Florida, resigned their seats. 

In one high-profile pick-up for Republicans, CBS News projected Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria, a member of the high-profile House Jan. 6 committee, was defeated by her Republican challenger, Jen Kiggans. 

Republican Rep. Mayra Flores in South Texas, who was projected to have lost to Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, tweeted “The RED WAVE did not happen. Republicans and Independents stayed home. DO NOT COMPLAIN ABOUT THE RESULTS IF YOU DID NOT DO YOUR PART!”

While the party in the White House often loses seats in the midterm election, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democratic candidates were “strongly outperforming expectations.”

“While many races remain too close to call, it is clear that House Democratic Members and candidates are strongly outperforming expectations across the country,” Pelosi said. “As states continue to tabulate the final results, every vote must be counted as cast.”

Democrats also faced  a disadvantage because of the redistricting that occurred after the 2020 census. Several heavily Republican states gained seats, while some heavily Democratic and battleground states lost a seat.

During the campaign season, Republicans focused on the economy, crime and immigration. Democrats’ messaging was more scattered, with candidates touting abortion access and democratic values. But every Republican in the House who challenged the 2020 election results is likely to win reelection, and only two of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump remain on the ballot for the general election. 

Kabir Khanna and Kristin Brown contributed to this report.