US elections. Fight for the Senate and House of Representatives. How will the balance of power in Congress change?

“Decision time. America chooses.” A special edition is underway on TVN24 and TVN24 GO

In addition to the president, on November 5, Americans elected – as every two years – the entire composition of the House of Representatives and about one third of the Senate. The campaign for Congress was as competitive as before the presidential election. In the Senate – where Democrats currently have a 51-49 advantage – Republicans are the clear favorites to take control. As for the House of Representatives, the race is much tighter.

The stakes are high – the results of the Congressional elections will determine how effectively the new tenant of the White House will be able to rule the country for the next two years (the next Congressional elections will be held in 2026).

The balance of power in Congress may change in the coming hours, when more results will be received from all over the country.

Analysts say Republicans have a good chance of retaking the Senate. However, they may lose control of the House of Representatives, where Democrats need only four seats to win a majority, writes Reuters.

As in the case of the race for the White House, the outcome of the congressional elections will be determined by a small portion of voters, the agency estimates. The fight for the Senate focuses on seven key states, while when it comes to the House of Representatives, the most exciting and crucial for the final balance of power will be political clashes in 40 constituencies.

SEE ALSO: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT US ELECTIONS

Democrats are on the defensive, trying to maintain control of the Senate, whose members serve six-year terms. Republicans they only need to win two seats to retake the upper house of Congress, and the projected victory of Republican politician Jim Justice in West Virginia puts them halfway to success.

Read the coverage of the presidential elections on tvn24.pl

Republicans could secure a majority in the Senate by also winning Ohio, where Republican Bernie Moreno leads over Democrat Sherrod Brown. The Grand Old Party also put a lot of effort and money into winning in Montana, where Democrat Jon Tester faces a tough reelection fight against Republican Tim Sheehy.

As Reuters writes, Republicans have a chance to further expand their majority in the Senate if they win in several key Midwestern states. “This would allow them to block many of Harris' initiatives and personnel nominations if she were to win the White House, or to help Trump implement his promised tax cuts if he were to win,” we read. However, in the agency's assessment, it is unlikely that Republicans will obtain the 60-vote majority needed to adopt changes to the tax law.

American media predict the victory of Democrat Angela Alsobrooks in Maryland and her party colleague Lisa Blunt Rochester in Delaware, which would mean that for the first time in history two black women would sit simultaneously in the 100-member US Senate.

The situation is much less clear in the House of Representatives, where the Republican Party currently holds a 220-212 majority.

“Republicans are defending the narrow majority in the House of Representatives that they won in 2022, mainly thanks to their successes in so-called 'blue states' such as New York and California,” writes CNN. According to the station, the duels in these two states will determine who will ultimately take control of the lower house of Congress.

As reported by CNN, by 7 a.m. Polish time, Republicans had secured 190 seats in the House of Representatives, and Democrats had secured 157 (218 seats are needed to gain a majority in the chamber). In most of these electoral duels, the clear favorite won. Most of the dozens of races considered close remain unresolved.