House Republicans are in position to reach the 218 seats they need to flip the chamber after the midterm elections. As of Tuesday night, CBS News estimates Republicans will win at least 217 seats, while Democrats are estimated to win at least 211 seats.
With the GOP just one seat away from taking the majority, CBS News characterizes the race for control of the House as likely Republican.
There remain nine outstanding races to be called. Seven are toss-ups, and there is one seat leaning Republican and another that is estimated to be likely Republican.
Going into Election Day, Sarah Chamberlain, president of the Republican Main Street Partnership group which works with more moderate House Republicans, predicted that Republican margins would amount to “just a couple of seats, and it shouldn’t be.”
“This should have been a landslide, frankly,” She added.
In the primaries, Chamberlain’s group supported Republican candidates like Reps. Peter Meijer of Michigan and Jamie Herrera-Beutler, House Republicans who were targeted by former President Donald Trump. Chamberlain argued that the moderate, mainstream candidates her group picked would have been more competitive in the general election, compared to the further-right candidates who beat them and were on the ballot.
She said that candidate quality issue, as well as a disconnect between Trump and the rest of the Republican establishment, was a reason the fight for House control was so close.
“I don’t think Trump’s going away,” Chamberlain said. “We just need to make better decisions with Trump. I do think some of the Trump candidates hurt us on Tuesday. And that’s why we need to work together as a party and move forward.”
