Five Senate races, including Arizona, Georgia and Nevada, as well as a number of House races that have yet to be called.
WASHINGTON — The 2022 midterm elections are shaping up to be some of the most consequential in the nation’s history, with control of Congress at stake.
All 435 seats in the House and 35 of 100 seats in the Senate are on the ballot, as well as several influential gubernatorial elections in battleground states like Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
There are currently five Senate races, including Arizona, Georgia and Nevada, as well as a number of House races that have yet to be called. Most are separated by razor-thin margins and all will come down to counting the vote.
Democrats are defending their narrow majorities in both chambers. Republican control of either the House or Senate would be enough to curtail most of President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda and would likely result in investigations against his administration and even his family.
U.S. Senate
Top headlines and key races
- Flipped seats: ABC News projects John Fetterman has defeated Dr. Mehmet Oz to win Pennsylvania’s Senate race, the first flipped seat in the chamber.
- Balance of power: Republicans are slightly favored to take control of the Senate, FiveThirtyEight is projecting.
- Seats held: Republicans are projected to retain control of 18 of 21 GOP seats on the ballot, and Democrats are projected to retain 12 of the 14 seats on the ballot. Democrats held down a close race in New Hampshire with U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan’s projected win, while Republican JD Vance held onto control for the GOP in Ohio.
Where outstanding Senate races stand
- Alaska: With 67% of the expected vote reporting, Republican challenger Kelly Tshibaka leads with 44% of the vote, followed by Republican incumbent Lisa Murkowski with 43%.
- Arizona: With 67% of the expected vote reporting, Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Kelly leads with 52% of the vote, followed by Republican challenger Blake Masters with 46%.
- Georgia: With 96% of the expected vote reporting, incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and challenger Republican Herschel Walker are tied at 49% of the vote, meaning a runoff election is likely.
- Wisconsin: With 94% of the expected vote reporting, Republican incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson leads with 51% of the vote, followed by Democratic challenger Lt. Gov Mandela Barnes with 49%.
- Nevada: With 80% of the expected vote reporting, Republican challenger Adam Laxalt leads with 50% of the vote, followed by incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto with 47%.
U.S. House
Top headlines and key races
- Balance of power: Republicans are favored to flip the House, FiveThirtyEight projects. Republicans need to pick up just five seats to win back the chamber.
- Where things stand: Republicans had boasted that they could enjoy a majority of at least 20 seats, overtaking Democrats’ current five-seat majority. Yet the GOP has only gained a half-dozen seats, according to ABC News’ projections. And while several competitive races — for each party — are yet to be called, Republicans had anticipated having the chamber locked up early.
Gubernatorial races
Top headlines and key races
- Democrats flipped two governors’ seats in Maryland and Massachusetts.
- Democrats also were successful in governors’ races in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — battlegrounds critical to Biden’s 2020 win over former President Donald Trump.
- Republicans held on to governors’ mansions in Florida, Texas and Georgia, another battleground state Biden narrowly won two years ago.
Ballot measures
Abortion
Voters in battleground Michigan enshrined abortion rights in the state constitution, joining reliably Democratic California and Vermont in taking that step.
An anti-abortion measure in Kentucky was too early to call.
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The Tuesday ballot measures came months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to abortion it guaranteed to women nationwide. The decision in June has led to near-total bans in a dozen states.
Recreational marijuana
Voters have approved recreational marijuana in Maryland and Missouri and rejected it in Arkansas and North Dakota. The measure also is on the ballot in South Dakota.
The elections are seen as a test of legalization’s support in even the most conservative parts of the country.
The state voting follows moves by President Joe Biden toward decriminalizing marijuana.
Heading into the election, recreational marijuana was legal in 19 states, and polls have shown opposition to legalization softening.
The Associated Press and ABC News contributed to this report.
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