| BATTLE FOR THE SENATE — Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) narrowly eked out a win over Republican Sam Brown. She’ll return for a second term with Democrats now in the minority. Arizona is still outstanding, with Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego slightly leading. Republicans have 53 seats, and Democrats have 46, including Pennsylvania, which The AP called for Republican Dave McCormick last week. Democratic Sen. Bob Casey has not conceded, pointing to outstanding ballots, and McCormick has sued over provisional ballots. McCormick has not been invited to Senate orientation, which starts this week, and a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that “the winner” will be invited “once the votes are counted.” BATTLE FOR THE HOUSE — Republicans currently have 214 seats and Democrats have 203 seats. (These numbers include uncalled races in which candidates are members of the same party, like WA-04, where Republican Rep. Dan Newhouse is facing an intraparty challenge from Jerrod Sessler.) Here’s the latest: — Flips: The AP has yet to call the race, but Democratic Rep. Yadira Caraveo conceded to Republican state Rep. Gabe Evans in CO-08, a district created after the 2020 Census that President Joe Biden would have won by around 5 points in 2020. This GOP win makes Democrats’ path toward flipping the House even narrower. — Dem holds: Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, one of the most vulnerable House Democrats, defeated repeat Republican challenger Joe Kent in WA-03. Kent said that the “race is not over ” due to uncounted ballots, but “things are not trending in my favor.” “I won’t concede until every ballot is counted,” he added. Democratic Rep. Andrea Salinas in OR-06 also fended off a repeat challenge from Republican Mike Erickson. And Democrat April McClain-Delaney won open MD-06 over former Republican state Del. Neil Parrott to succeed outgoing Democratic Rep. David Trone. — Republican holds: Republican Rep. Don Bacon prevailed over Democratic state Sen. Tony Vargas for a second election in a row in NE-02. Harris did win this district. Republican Rep. David Schweikert also defeated former Democratic state Rep. Amish Shah in AZ-01. In AZ-02, Republican Rep. Eli Crane was elected to a second term. This race was not considered a core battleground seat, though Democrat Jonathan Nez, a former Navajo Nation president, was a strong fundraiser and polling in the leadup to the race suggested a tighter than expected race. We’re still waiting on more than a dozen battleground House races to be called. Here’s what we’re watching: — Vulnerable Dems: Democratic Reps. Mary Peltola in Alaska’s at-large district, Josh Harder in CA-09, Mike Levin in CA-49, Jared Golden in ME-02 and Marcy Kaptur in OH-09 are all still uncalled. Golden has already declared victory, despite the secretary of state saying that ranked choice tabulating will take place this week for the race because neither Golden nor Republican state Rep. Austin Theriault hit 50 percent when considering the thousands of ballots that did not have a first-choice candidate. Golden’s campaign argued that he earned a majority of the vote among those ballots that did have a first-choice candidate and urged the elections department to skip the ranked choice voting runoff and just conduct the recount that Theriault already requested. Open CA-47, which is held by outgoing Democratic Rep. Katie Porter, is also in flux. — Vulnerable Republicans: Republican Reps. Juan Ciscomani in AZ-06, John Duarte in CA-13, David Valadao in CA-22, Mike Garcia in CA-27, Ken Calvert in CA-41, Michelle Steel in CA-45, Mariannette Miller-Meeks in IA-01, and Lori Chavez-DeRemer in OR-05 are still waiting on the outcome of their races. IN THE STATES — Democrats managed to hang on to control of the Pennsylvania state House, though they failed to expand their majority. After a tight race was called on Friday, Democrats maintained their one-seat majority. Republicans held control of the state Senate. A big remaining TBD on the state legislative map: Arizona. “But prospects look dim for Arizona Democrats’ hopes of flipping the Legislature,” the Arizona Republic’s Mary Jo Pitzl and Ray Stern write . “Plan B — to knot up the state Senate in a 15-15 tie — is also looking like a distant prospect. … Republicans appear poised to boost their one-seat House majority. In the Senate, the GOP seems set to at least maintain its one-seat majority, with the potential to expand that margin with pickups in outstanding races.” PULL UP A CHAIR — “The fight over the next chair of the Democratic National Committee is one of the first arenas where the party will hash out its future under Trump 2.0,” POLITICO’s Holly Otterbein and Megan Messerly write. “Some progressives are floating Wisconsin Democratic Party leader Ben Wikler. … New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Minnesota Democratic Party head Ken Martin are also rumored potential candidates.” … Jockeying for down-ballot campaign committees is starting. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) officially launched his bid for chair of the NRSC, with backing from outgoing NRSC Chair Steve Daines (R-Mont.), in addition to Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). … In the lower chamber, NRCC Chair Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) is running for the post again, per Axios’ Juliegrace Brufke . DCCC’s chair is appointed by party leadership, unlike the NRCC’s top post that is elected by conference members, but it’s unclear if Rep. Suzan DelBene will stay on given the uncertainty of House control. Punchbowl’s Melanie Zanona and Max Cohen reported that Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) could be a contender, though POLITICO’s Nick Wu reports that her spokesperson said she is not running for DCCC chair. … We’re also set to see some shakeup in the states. Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said he’ll step down in March, acknowledging Democrats’ “devastating defeats up and down the ballot,” per The Texas Tribune’s Jasper Scherer . In an interview last week, “Hinojosa said Democrats’ poor performance was in part a result of the way they handled the issue of transgender rights — comments that stirred backlash from party members and LGBTQ advocates. … Hinojosa later apologized for the comments, saying he recognized ‘the pain and frustration’ my words have caused.” Hinojosa’s term was set to go through 2026. Party Vice Chair Shay Wyrick-Cathey and Kim Olson, who previously ran for the role, are among potential successors, who will ultimately be chosen by the state party’s governing executive committee. In Georgia, candidates, party officials, grassroots organizers and donors have called on Rep. Nikema Williams to step away from her role as chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, saying that her “dual roles are a recipe for distraction,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Greg Bluestein reports. Williams was elected to a second four-year term in 2023. Her supporters argue that her “unique position as an up-and-coming Democratic leader in the U.S. House and head of the state party helps bring more attention and resources to Georgia.”
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