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The GOP Will Have One of the Narrowest House Majorities Seen in U.S. History

4 0
04.12.2024

The final race to be called in the 2024 House of Representatives elections has been called for a Democratic candidate, meaning Republicans’ margin of control in that chamber of Congress will be among the most narrow in U.S. history.

Former state legislator Adam Gray (D) narrowly defeated incumbent Rep. John Duarte (R) in the race for a district in California’s Central Valley region. According to reporting from The Associated Press, Gray won by fewer than 200 votes out of the hundreds of thousands that were cast. Duarte is not contesting the outcome and has conceded the race to his Democratic opponent.

The close result between Gray and Duarte perhaps exemplifies how close things will be in the House itself when lawmakers are sworn into office in early January.

With Gray’s win, Democrats will have 215 seats in the House, a gain of two seats from their previous margin. Republicans were able to capture 220 seats, a two-seat loss.

The slim five-seat margin means that, if every lawmaker is present in the chamber for each vote, Republicans can only afford to lose two of their own conference members in order for a bill to pass.

But for the first few months of the 119th Congress, the margin will be even smaller for Republicans. That’s because two of the GOP’s conference members have been nominated to serve in the Trump administration, with a third member, former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida), already resigning after having been nominated by president-elect Donald Trump to become the next Attorney General. (Gaetz has withdrawn his nomination and will not return to Congress.)

With those three seats vacant when Congress reconvenes, the Republican House majority will be 217-215 over Democrats — meaning........

© Truthout


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