In an era of narrow majorities and subsequent legislative gridlock, every single U.S. House race matters. Ultimately, Republicans maintained their majority by the skin of their teeth, winning 220 seats to Democrats’ 215.
A little less than 10% of House races were truly competitive (we define competitive as those rated Toss Up, Lean Democrat, or Lean Republican). And most results mirrored the presidential outcome in each seat. Just 16 members of Congress will represent seats won by the opposing party’s presidential nominee — the same number of crossover districts that we had after the 2020 cycle.
Despite the small battleground, the high stakes of each competitive race led to unprecedented levels of spending from both parties. According to AdImpact, campaigns and outside groups spent $1.7 billion on House races.
As we wrap up the 2024 cycle, here are a dozen lessons we learned.
Breaking Down the House Results
1. Republicans will hold the smallest majority in the House since 1932.
Thanks to three upcoming vacancies, for the first few months of the year the GOP will only have 217
What is The Cook Political Report?
The Cook Political Report is an independent, non-partisan newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the US House of Representatives, US Senate, Governors and President as well as American political trends.
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Our subscribers have first access to individual race pages for each House, Senate and Governors race, which will include race ratings (each race is rated on a seven-point scale) and a narrative analysis pertaining to that race.