washington – Control of Congress In danger on Tuesdaywith constant tight races House and Senate This will determine which party has the majority and the authority to support or block the president’s agenda or whether the White House is running into trouble. divided Capitol Hill.

Since this date, there have been important conflicts with the first presidential election. January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitolbut also in unexpected corners of the country most chaotic congress sessions in modern times.

After all, just a handful or even one small seat can shift the balance in both compartments.

The economy, border security, reproductive rights and even the future US democracy itself they all ended the discussion.

Republicans are expected to make an early surge in West Virginia in the Senate, where Democrats currently hold a slim 51-49 majority. Independent Senator Joe Manchin’s retirement creates an opening for Republicans Jim JusticeHe is now the governor of the state. A pickup there would create a 50-50 stalemate as Republicans try to gain control.

The top House races focus on: new York And CaliforniaIn an unusual political turn, Democrats are trying to retake some of the 10 or so seats where Republicans have made surprising gains in recent years with star lawmakers who helped bring the party to power.

Other House races are scattered across the country, a sign of how narrow the field has become; only a few dozen seats are seriously challenged; some of the most contentious are in Maine, the “blue dot” around Omaha, Nebraska, and Alaska.

In some races, vote counting could extend into Tuesday.

“We are within striking distance of taking back the House,” House Democratic Leader says Hakeem Jeffriesnext with whom Make history as the first Black speaker If his party gains control, he told the Associated Press During a recent campaign event in Southern California.

But the Speaker of the Parliament mike johnsondrawing closer to Trump He predicts Republicans will “preserve and grow” the majority. He took over after Kevin McCarthy was fired from the speaker’s office.

Capitol Hill could make or break the priorities of a new White House. Embers or Harris Potential allies or foes in the House and Senate, or a divided Congress that could force a season of compromise or stalemate.

Congress can also play a role in continuing America’s tradition of peaceful transfers of presidential power. Four years ago, Trump sent his mob of supporters to “fight like hell” at the Capitol, and many Republicans in Congress voted to block it. Joe Biden’s vote. Congress will be asked to certify the results of the 2025 presidential election.

What started as a lackluster race for control of Congress transformed instantly When Harris stepped in to replace Biden at the top of the ticket, she mobilized Democrats with massive fundraisers and volunteers; lawmakers said it reminded them of the Obama-era enthusiasm for the 2008 election.

Billions of dollars have been spent by parties and outside groups in the narrow battleground for both the 435-member House and the 100-member Senate.

Democrats need to win a handful of House seats Taking away control of the party from Republicans. In the Senate, the vice president becomes the tiebreaker in the division, which leaves control of the chamber to the winner of the White House.

Senate Republicans have launched a broad opportunity map by recruiting wealthy newcomers to put Democratic incumbents on the defensive in nearly 10 states across the country.

In Ohio, Trump-backed Republican Bernie Moreno, a Cleveland businessman, is seeking to unseat three-term Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. Approximately $400 million was spent on the race.

One of the most watched Senate races in Montana may be among the last to be decided. Democrat Jon Tester, a popular three-term senator and “dirt farmer,” is fighting for his political career against Trump-backed Tim Sheehy, a former NAVY Seal who has made derogatory comments about Native Americans, a key Western constituency. situation.

Beyond the “blue wall” battlegrounds of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, Republicans are banking on Trump as they try to unseat three incumbent Democratic senators.

Outgoing Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell He has spent a career focused on seizing and maintaining majority power, but other opportunities for Republicans are shifting toward long shots.

In the southwestern states, Arizona’s firebrand Republican Kari Lake ran against Democrat Ruben Gallego in the seat opened by the retirement of Sen. Krysten Sinema. In Nevada, Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen is holding out against newcomer Sam Brown.

Democrats intensify their challenges a pair of Republican senators — Ted Cruz of Texas and Rick Scott of Florida — in states where reproductive rights are in focus following the Supreme Court’s decision to roll back access to abortion. Cruz is facing Democrat Colin Allred, a Dallas-area congressman, while Scott poured $10 million of his own fortune into the race against former House lawmaker Debbie Mucarsel-Powell.

Congress has the opportunity to achieve many history-making milestones as it is reshaped by American voters and more representative of a diverse nation.

It could be not one but two black women They could go to the Senate, something never seen before in the US

Delaware Democrat Lisa Blunt Rochester is favored in the Senate race against Republican Eric Hansen.

And in Maryland, Harris ally Angela Alsobrooks is in a highly competitive race against Republican Larry Hogan, the state’s popular former governor.

Americans have elected two Black women, including Harris, as senators since the nation’s founding, but never at the same time.

parliamentary candidate Sarah McBridea state lawmaker from Delaware who is close to the Biden family, is set to become the first openly transgender person in Congress.

The consequences of redistricting also change the balance of power within the House of Representatives, as states redraw their maps for congressional districts; Republicans are poised to take several seats from Democrats in North Carolina, with Democrats picking up a second black-majority Republican-dominated seat. Alabama

While lawmakers in the House of Representatives appear before voters every two years, senators serve longer terms of six years.

If the two chambers do indeed engage in reverse party control, which is possible, it would be rare.

Records show that if Democrats take the House of Representatives and Republicans take the Senate, the halls of Congress will turn to opposing political parties for the first time.

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Associated Press writers Stephen Groves, Kevin Freking and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.