Congress

State of play: The battle for Congress

Published

2 years ago

November 11, 2024

There are two uncalled Senate races — both leaning toward Democrats — and about two dozen uncalled House races three days after Election Day. With the seats remaining, Republicans have the clear inside track for retaining control of the House.

Nevada Senate: Incumbent Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen padded her lead as more ballots were counted in the Silver State, now leading GOP nominee Sam Brown by around 17,000 votes — or a little more than 1 percentage point. Interestingly, the “none of these candidates” option — a rather unique option in Nevada — is pulling in around 3 percent of the vote, a potentially decisive figure in this razor-thin contest. Late-counted ballots have consistently favored Rosen. Advantage Rosen.

Arizona Senate: Republican nominee Kari Lake chipped away at Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego’s lead in this contest throughout the counting on Thursday, nabbing a favorable batch of ballots out of critical Maricopa County. Gallego leads by nearly 44,000 votes, with an estimated 76 percent of the vote counted. The state continues to drop results of batches of counted ballots each day, but it may be a while before we have a definitive answer here. Advantage Gallego.

Pennsylvania Senate: The Associated Press called the contest for Sen.-elect David McCormick (R) on Thursday, though Democratic incumbent Sen. Bob Casey has yet to concede. Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt estimated there are at least another 100,000 ballots to count in the commonwealth, with the margin in the Senate race standing at under 33,000 votes. That’s a tall order for Casey to make up, but Democrats are urging patience as the ballots are tallied.

House races: There are 25 races remaining to be called by the AP, with California Reps. Julia Brownley (D) and Young Kim (R) seeing their victories confirmed overnight. Republicans currently have 211 called seats, while Democrats have 199.

A couple of races to highlight:

Maine’s 2nd: Democratic Rep. Jared Golden is leading by about 2,200 votes over GOP challenger Austin Theriault, but the state’s ranked-choice voting procedures will kick in next week, according to a Thursday news release from the state. Theriault’s campaign has also indicated it will pursue a recount, which would take place following the ranked-choice tabulation, so prepare for a final result to take a while here.
Washington’s 3rd: Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, consistently seen as one of the most vulnerable Democrats this cycle given the red tinge of her district, has seen her lead over GOP nominee Joe Kent grow to around 11,000 votes as more ballots have been tallied. Around 87 percent of the estimated votes are in, so the incumbent looks to be in prime position for reelection.
Arizona’s 6th: There were several lead changes throughout the day Thursday as more votes rolled in around this Tucson-adjacent district. Democratic nominee Kirsten Engel currently leads GOP Rep. Juan Ciscomani by just more than 200 votes with about 72 percent of estimated ballots tallied. The fate of this seat may go a long way toward determining whether Democrats have any path of flipping the House, so keep a close eye here.
California’s 47th: Another crucial seat for Democrats if they hold any hope of regaining House control remains tight as more votes are counted. Democratic nominee Dave Min ate into GOP nominee Scott Baugh’s initial edge on Election Day in this contest to replace Rep. Katie Porter (D). The margin is currently just more than 600 votes, with 76 percent of the vote tallied.

Congress

Trump-backed Marty O’Donnell wins primary for battleground Nevada House seat

Published

4 hours ago

June 10, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Trump-endorsed Marty O’Donnell won the GOP primary Tuesday to take on Democratic Rep. Susie Lee in Nevada’s battleground 3rd District.

The seat, which touches parts of Las Vegas, is one of Republicans’ targeted pickups this November since President Donald Trump carried it by less than 1 percentage point in 2024 after losing it by nearly seven points in 2020.

But O’Donnell — who also has the backing of the National Republican Congressional Committee — will face an uphill battle. He recently came under fire for hosting a neo-Nazi influencer on his podcast. Trump’s tariffs have hit the district hard, with Canadian tourism to Sin City down by 17 percent, leaving Democrats confident they can hold the seat.

O’Donnell is best known for his role as the audio composer for the “Halo” video game series. It’s his second run in the district after placing fourth in the 2024 Republican primary.

O’Donnell bested several candidates Tuesday, with businessperson Tera Anderson and former Ambassador to Iceland Jeff Gunter — who ran for Senate in 2024 — putting up the most significant challenges.

Congress

Sen. Lindsey Graham wins primary over ‘America First’ challenger

Published

7 hours ago

June 10, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham is on his way to clinching his fifth term in the Senate.

Graham won the Republican primary for Senate on Tuesday, vanquishing five opponents that included businessperson Mark Lynch — who challenged the senator over his staunch support for the war in Iran and long history in Washington. Lynch also drew support from some of the president’s most prominent MAGA Republican critics.

But Graham won more than half the primary vote, allowing him to avoid an embarrassing two-week runoff sprint. He is expected to cruise to victory in November; a Democrat has not represented the state in the Senate since 2005, when longtime Sen. Fritz Hollings chose not to seek reelection.

The four-term senator spent big in the final weeks of the campaign to make sure he won, combining with his allies to spend over $18 million in television and digital ads touting his record and endorsement from President Donald Trump. That spending proved to be decisive in staving off Lynch’s challenge from the right.

He even called in the big guns for a last minute bump, bringing in Trump, who reaffirmed his support for his occasional frenemy in a telerally on the eve of the primary election.

Graham’s success is a loss for the strict “America First” wing of the GOP that has criticized the president’s new interventionist foreign policy streak, including former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and former counterterrorism official Joe Kent. They came out in support of Lynch during the final stretch of the campaign, though that was not enough to upset Graham, a fixture of Columbia and Washington politics.

Congress

20 House Republicans cross party lines to pass pro-union bill

Published

9 hours ago

June 9, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Twenty House Republicans broke with Speaker Mike Johnson to help pass a Democratic-led bill Tuesday aimed at making it easier for workers to form unions, widening the divide between a bloc of pro-labor Republicans and GOP leaders.

Democrats successfully used a discharge petition to sidestep Johnson and force the vote with the help of a handful of House Republicans, including Reps. Don Bacon of Nebraska, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Nick LaLota of New York.

“It’s passing,” Fitzpatrick said before the vote when asked about Johnson’s efforts to whip Republicans against the bill.

The Faster Labor Contracts Act aims to reduce the amount of time between workers voting to form a union and negotiating their first collectively bargained contract, in part by requiring the parties to more quickly enter federal mediation. It’s the latest in a series of employment bills that pro-union House Republicans have bucked their party on in recent months.

House Education and Workforce Chair Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) spoke out sharply against the bill on the floor Tuesday, saying it would “threaten jobs, kill growth and in some cases, shut business down entirely.” But a hefty subset of Republicans backed the bill nonetheless, joining all voting Democrats.