Tight race in US Congress as no party expected to secure large majority - Reports

In the House of Representatives, there is a chance that the majority party could have even less leeway than the current 220-212 split, which includes three vacancies, according to the Washington State Standard news service.

Experts caution that it may take some time beyond election night to determine which party has won control of the House.

Senate leaders are equally focused on tightly contested races in the states of Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, any of which could determine control of the Senate.

Republicans are seen as likely to gain West Virginia's seat held by Senator Joe Manchin, which could push them beyond 50 seats if they retain seats held by incumbents Ted Cruz in Texas, Deb Fischer in Nebraska and Rick Scott in Florida.

If Democrats maintain 50 seats, the party holding the vice presidency would control the Senate, making even a single seat gain crucial for both parties.

The outcomes in both the House and Senate will have significant impacts on the nation's direction, including potential efforts by the Republican Party to overhaul Obamacare, address parts of the 2017 tax law set to expire soon, and prevent a potential national debt default.

As all 435 House seats are up for election, the Republicans are defending a narrow majority and Democrats need a net gain of four seats to take control of the chamber, a CNN report said.

Both parties agree that whichever side wins will likely hold only a slim majority - potentially even a single seat.

Star Sports political betting analyst William Kedjanyi told Newsweek, "Republicans could have more to celebrate next week, with the prospect of seizing control of the Senate, as well as maintaining their majority in the House of Representatives."

Betfair spokesman Sam Rosbottom agreed that Republicans have a much stronger chance than Democrats of achieving a clean sweep.

According to the Cook Political Report, only 43 races are considered competitive, based on factors like candidates, past election outcomes, the local political climate and other research, The Washington Post reported.

Democrats need to secure just a few additional seats to reclaim the majority.

Currently, each party holds half of the competitive districts.

Many critical races are in battleground states like Pennsylvania and Michigan, where the presidential election turnout could impact who wins control of the House. Roughly half of the districts Republicans need to defend are in predominantly liberal states like California and New York, where they had narrow victories in 2022.

The tight race means the new president could be the first in decades to enter office with an opposing Congress, which could make it challenging to pursue their agenda.

Currently, Democrats hold control of both the presidency and the Senate, with 51 senators aligned with the party compared to 49 Republicans. However, they lost control of the House in the 2022 midterm elections, where Republicans now hold 220 seats to the Democrats' 212.

The 2024 election is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov 5, with Americans voting not only for the future of the American presidency but also for Congress and a number of state and local governments.

More than 78 million Americans have cast early ballots, including about 700,000 more Democrats than Republicans, according to the University of Florida Election Lab.

Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are the seven key battlegrounds or swing states in this election.

Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and former President and Republican nominee Donald Trump have each spent a significant amount of time campaigning in the states, with an unusually tight race widely expected.

-- BERNAMA